The Underneath 《木屋下的守护者》又译《真相临界点》 2009年纽伯瑞银奖小说 ISBN 9781416950592

狗是猫的天敌。但唱着悲伤歌曲的猎犬不一样！一只怀孕却被遗弃的花斑猫，立刻对这只被铁链束缚的猎犬产生了好感。原本敌对的动物，在残破的木屋底下，组成了不一样的家庭。
两只小猫的出生，为这个家带来了生气。但是木屋里的猎人，却是生活中的隐忧。他一心想抓到沼泽里的鳄鱼王，而不管猫或狗，都会是最好的诱饵。狗爸爸和猫妈妈因此不断叮咛：“要待在木屋下才安全。”
但猫的好奇心任谁也挡不住。屋外的阳光太诱人，小猫受吸引而踏出去，立刻被猎人抓住，猫妈妈奋不顾身抢救，虽然让小猫从麻布袋逃开，却也牺牲了自己。生死之际，猫妈妈叮咛：“要找到并保护姐姐，要让狗爸爸重获自由！”

小猫能否找到回家的路？猎人真能猎到鳄鱼王？埋藏地底千年的蛇妖和鳄鱼王有何关系？蛇妖的怨愤会带来什么后果？谁才是木屋下的守护者？
神秘而魔幻的故事，充满悬疑，但又饱含诗意。情节穿越千年，反复向我们诉说着诺言的动人、亲情的可贵，以及爱的真谛。

There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, atleast for a while, and then abandoned on the side of theroad.
A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of achained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares tofind him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat,this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are anunlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges thecat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens therebecause Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely usethem as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe inthe Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath.
Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And onekitten's one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that isastonishing, remarkable, and enormous in its meaning. For everyonewho loves Sounder, Shiloh, and The Yearling, for everyone who lovesthe haunting beauty of writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings,Flannery O'Connor, and Carson McCullers, Kathi Appelt spins aharrowing yet keenly sweet tale about the power of love -- and itsopposite, hate -- the fragility of happiness and the importance ofmaking good on your promises.