White Cat by: Holly Black

White Cat by: Holly Black

Publication Date: May 4, 2010

Publisher: McElderry

Page Count: 310

Format: Paperback

Series: Curse Workers #1

Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.  Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love — or death — and your dreams might be more real than your memories.

My Review:

When I opened this book, I really didn't know what to expect. Everything I encountered while reading it was just extremely edgy and amazing. This book is one I will definitely think about re-reading, and I hardly ever re-read books.

I am starting to find that I love to read books with male narrators. Cassel is definitely one of my favorites. He knew the world of crime and conning so well and explained all of the strategies like it was second nature to him. He lives in a world where it is deadly to let your guard down, even for a minute.

The concept of Curse Workers had never occurred to me before, nor had I ever read anything like it. I really love the idea because it isn't entirely supernatural. The people who can work curses are human and with every curse, there is a blowback of some kind. This was refreshing to read, compared to all the books with the seemingly invincible supernatural characters.

During the middle of reading White Cat, I started feeling really sorry for Cassel. The things that his own family did to him out of their own selfish desires was terrible. Things work out in the end and certain people get served some of their own medicine, so that was enjoyable to read.

This is the first book I have read by Holly Black, and she is now up there with Cassandra Clare on my favorite authors list. 

Official Rating:

Four Un-Birthday Cakes!