Isle McElroy's sophomore novel, People Collide, begins with a literal save-the-cat trope, used to delightfully deliberate effect.
Originating as the title of a popular screenwriting book by Blake Snyder, "save the cat" refers to the idea that a narrative should establish the likeability of its main character — by having them, for example, save a cat that's stuck in a tree — early in the text so that the audience is on board with that character's coming adventure.
