White Cat (The Curse Workers)

I liked that the book starts with action and humor right away, with Cassel waking up on the roof in his underwear while the rest of the students at his boarding school are watching from the courtyard, egging him on to jump. Immediately, the reader gets this bond with Cassel: he may be conning the rest of the world, but he lets the reader know how and why he's doing it. For me, character likability is a major factor in how I form an opinion about a book. As those who read my review of Megan Whalen Turner's Thief will know, I ended up having really mixed feelings about that book, primarily because I felt that Gen, the narrator, had tricked me. Cassel I trust... well, at least to the extent that he trusts himself.

I would like to take a moment just to pause and give my two cents about plot, suspense, and unreliable narrators. As a writer, I am currently struggling with how to set up fabulous intrigue and plot twists that seem logical, but will surprise the reader. I really feel that J.K. Rowling has this down. Not everyone can be JK though (not even her-- end of Deathly Hallows anyone?) and sometimes we have to accept that. In fact, I think even Rowling was only able to pull that off because she had a good 800 pages a book in which to hide clues, and her world-building and relationships were so strong that I didn't care how many pages were in the book or how long it took us to get to the big fight at the end. But back to my point: if you are writing a book, please do not try to "suspense it up" just for the sake of suspense. Don't make your narrators ambiguous just to later say "Ha HA! I fooled you, Silly Reader!!" Because really if you're using first person narration and still trying to hide things from your reader, that's just LAZY WRITING. And really, Alex Day helps define lazy writing for me better than I could ever do on my own, and I encourage everyone to watch his videos. Right now he's up to chapter 15.

But I suppose that's enough SMeyer-bashing for right now, though really it does become something of my favorite sport on occasion. Especially on days like today, when I am already a smidge grumpy and my shoulder is screaming at me from sitting in this desk chair all day, pouring over my manuscripts as I hack and edit to bits.

Holly Black stays on the correct side of the ambiguity line. For her, Cassel's unreliability as a character is pretty much voided by the fact that he talks to the reader as he would to his closest confidant, and his unreliability as a narrator is a well-executed exploration of the definitions of truth, memory, and trust in general. There is a real plot! With risks! (Oh, right. No more bashing...) And yes, the foreshadowing does kind of enable the reader to guess where the book is going. But that's not the point. The point isn't that I saw where the book was headed. The point is that I thoroughly enjoyed watching how Cassel was going to get out of his scrapes. This is honestly the first page-turning, highly entertaining book I've read all summer!

I first became acquainted with Holly Black's work in the anthologies Geektastic and Zombies vs Unicorns. I enjoyed her contributions enough that I decided to check out some of her full-length work. I put White Cat-the first book in the Curse Workers series-on my "to-read" list with the intent to check it out soon. Instead, the book occupied a space on my "to-read" shelf for almost two years. My lack of interest in the cover lead me to skip over this book repeatedly when looking for a new read. It did not help that this book was also part of an incomplete trilogy. Luckily, Twitter convinced me it was time to finally purchase this book.

Last week I noticed several tweets on my timeline mentioning that the eBook of White Cat by Holly Black was now $2.99. I remembered previously wanting to read this book, so I followed the link to the the store page. I noticed the great new cover right away. That combined with the low price were enough to convince me to finally check out the sample of this story.

I started reading the sample while on an hour-and-a-half car ride. By the time I got to my destination, I had purchased the whole novel and had a serious case of queasy stomach from reading in the car. I was officially hooked.

The major reason I enjoyed White Cat was it was so different from most of the stories I have read recently. For starters, it was an alternate universe "AU" novel. This is a nice change from the dystopian novel trend that YA has recently experienced. As I was familiar with the overall setting of the story, the author did not have to waste time creating it for me. She was able to jump into the narration while still carefully interweaving details of the alternate universe.

Another difference is how the characters were defined in the story. In most stories, it is easy to figure out who is "good" or "bad." The distinction is not as apparent in this case. Characters have their own intentions which don't always align with the protagonist, creating a conflict that is representative of relationships. This grabbed my interest and kept me reading.

Review: Black was able to tell a complex story that left me satisfied with the end of the first book, while leaving plenty of questions for the following two stories in the trilogy. Upon completing White Cat I had to resist purchasing the follow-up story-Red Glove-immediately. I highly recommend this book.

Have you ever seen those reviews on the store.com that go something like 'This book would have been much better had 200 useless pages been edited out?' At 320 pages White Cat IS that tight, concise, quick read that most of us complaining readers are looking for! I don't want to deceive you, there ARE some spots where there's too much description and the beginning of the book went on and on so much about being a con-artist and a bookie it nearly had me not want to continue reading but it's seriously not as bad as those 800 page books where nothing happens.

The beginning of the book killed me but I soldiered on ahead because the book was short. Maybe it's a personal issue but whenever a character starts going 'look at me I'm a criminal, let me regurgitate for you all the details about how to be the type of criminal I am even though you could get the same info with just a few minutes of research on google, aren't i cool?' it just makes me roll my eyes and go 'my, aren't YOU edgy.' I'm glad Cassel (and the author, who really seemed like she was getting off on how cool she thinks Cassel is) shut up after the first few chapters and let the plot take over.

What other reviewers said is true, I just couldn't like any of the characters either, every single one of them were annoying, even the minor characters like the grandpa, the sister in law and the high school friends. What really makes me give the book 4 stars is the plot, the originality and the shortness of the book. Had the author made me sludge through 600 pages, you best believe I'd be giving this book 2 stars at best!

The biggest complaint I have is that the author didn't think some things through thoroughly. For example Cassel is (according to himself) such a great con artist and bookie, and yet he's too broke to afford his own car. It is quite possible to buy a used car for $1,500 or less so it really makes no sense. Another major boo-boo was that at one part of the book Cassel talked about how a worker can change a living being into an inanimate object but can't change the inanimate object back into a living being, the being would die. Later on in the book, he changes something into a living snake. Cassel CREATES LIFE. There are other annoying blunders but I'll stop here.

Out of all the Holly Black books I've read this is the best one so far, but if you're anything like me, just speed-read through the first two chapters because all of that 'i'm a criminalllllllllll' stuff is really obnoxious.

I have been hearing great things about this book. I have even heard it is to be made into a film soon. Black's books are no stranger to the big screen and I must say, I can see this in the movie theater. It may be paranormal, but it almost feels like real life. Crazy friends and even more crazy family members. White Cat had a unique take on the paranormal world. I hope Hollywood gets it right.

White Cat is about a world where people have special powers. Not superheroes or anything, but they have the power to persuade others. They can change or simply take away what they want to gain what they please. These people are known as curse workers and what they do is against the law since most of them work as con artists. The power comes through their hands so everyone wears gloves, for some it is a must because their power is more dangerous than others. Our lead character, Cassel, is from a family of these con artists, but he doesn't possess any powers like the rest of them. So one night he is sleepwalking and ends up on the roof of a building. But he is led by a suspicious white cat. Through finding the cat, he discovers secrets and lies that were held from him by those he thought he could trust.

I really enjoyed this book. I got the audiobook version of this from the library and was surprised to see actor Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Zombieland) was the narrator. I love Eisenberg, so it made me more eager to listen to the audiobook. But within a few pages of him reading the book, I understood why he was chosen. Eisenberg is Cassel. Eisenberg has his own style in every movie he is in and it came through while he read this book. Cassel's mannerisms, the smart ass comments, everything was there and it is exactly like Jesse Eisenberg. They did a great choice choosing him. Since this is going to be a movie, I can see Eisenberg as Cassel, it makes sense to me.

I loved the characters in this book. They may have powers and all, but they were real. I especially loved Cassel. He may not be the everyday criminal like the rest of his family, but he was very smart. I like that he doesn't immediately right off what was happening to him. He quickly catches in to the fact something big is happening around him and the cat is actually trying to tell him. I like that our main character isn't perfect, after all he is a professional con man and can trick everyone including his own friends. But trust me, that isn't as awful as it might sound considering what his family has been up to.

I love the way the story progresses. We find that Cassel's past is awful and it never left him. He was and still is being accused of a girl's murder. A girl named Lila he loved a few years back. He soon becomes even more curious about why he can't remember exactly what happened that night. He only knows what his family has told him.

I don't want to spoil you, but this book is pretty incredible. I love the alternate world Black has created. The characters are intriguing and captivating. White Cat is full of secrets, lies and betrayals. There is plenty of mystery from in this book. Once things are solved, you won't believe it. This was another surprise for me this week and I hate that it has taken me so long to grab this book. Like I said, Hollywood, you better get this right.

The first chapter captivated me. The second confused me. The third had me completely lost. By the time I reached chapter seven or so, all initial interest I had in the book was banished. And the story just went downhill from then.

The thing is, this book is brutal. I mean, gut-wrenching, inwardly-wincing, depressingly brutal. Cassel, the main character, is somehow seriously injured at all times throughout the book. Some of the injuries are caused by villains, some are caused by his brothers, and the rest are inflicted purposely on himself. Characters un-guiltily kill the innocent, sever and break limbs, and use pain as a "teacher" to control themselves and others. Sounds happy, huh?

The story is told from the viewpoint of Cassel Sharpe, the only non-worker in his family. Workers are people with extraordinary, amazing powers, but most of today's workers use their gifts to live a successful life of crime, conning, stealing, and killing their way to the top. In Cassel's case, his life is more than a little messed up. His dad is dead, his mom is in jail for conning a millionaire, and he killed his childhood best friend, Lila, a few years ago. Then everything twists- a mysterious white cat comes into his life, giving him nightmares and causing him to sleepwalk into dangerous situations. Cassel is further faced with a shocking revelation: his own brothers have been brainwashing him, stealing his memories and replacing them with fake ones. Now it's time for him to peel away all the layers of endless cons and lies to discover the ugly truth.

Holly Black weaves a clear message into this book: Everyone has a dark side. This motto applies to basically all the characters. Cassel sees friendships as negotiations of power, Barron and Phillip choose money over family, Lila uses Cassel to get what she wants, and so on. I guess it's seen as more realistic, but if you aren't a fan of books where there is no obvious good guy, then skip over this one. You'll just end up depressed.

If you liked Twilight, it's possible that you'll like White Cat. (There's not much romance here, though.) Holly Black's a fantastic writer, really, but I just didn't like the bleak darkness of this book. I think she could've put a bit more subtlety in her plot twists and give more physical descriptions to her characters. However, her writing is beautiful, but I just feel it was captivated more of my interests in Spiderwick Chronicles.

Normally, I write reviews based on my own feelings about a book without trying to be objective about whether it was a "good" book or not...just if I personally enjoyed it.
With White Cat, I realized quickly that this wasn't my kind of book. The characters are dark and more than a little twisted, and I prefer my characters to be more clearly good vs. evil. Their motivations are never pure and no one is a truly great person. I wouldn't want to meet and hang out with a single character in this book in real life.
BUT I can't deny that Holly Black did an amazing job with this story. The characterization is extremely well done, because even though the people are unlikeable I really understood how they got that way. Cassel is a con man and hates himself quite a bit, but since I understood him so well I was able to sympathize with him at least to an extent. The backstory for his royally screwed up childhood helped. I even got the psychology of why he was attracted to the bold, bullying, and brutal Lila.
Also, I should mention I listened to the audiobook. Jesse Eisenberg (star of "The Social Network") is an outstanding narrator. The book is written in first person from Cassel's POV, and Eisenberg's voice was engaging. He made Cassel easier to spend time with.
As far as plot goes, I won't sum it up since many other reviews have. I will say that I figured out what was going on with the cat pretty early on, but the whole world of curseworkers was so interesting and unique I didn't care that the mystery wasn't very mysterious.
I'm giving the book four stars because I would recommend it for readers who don't like their characters squeaky clean (even though I do), who like ambiguity and don't need a happy ending, and because I ended up thinking a lot about Cassel and the other characters even after I finished the book. When it book sticks with you, even if it disturbed you, I think it deserves four stars. And of course I ended up tracking down the sequel, Red Glove, the next day because I really wanted to know what happened next.
Language: some, nothing too drastic or pervasive
Sexual content: several references to sexual acts, one intense makeout session that was about to go further before it was interrupted.
Lots of teen drinking and general immorality. In a book about magical grifters and a curseworking mafia, that's to be expected.
*Review courtesy of [...]

My only regret about this book was not reading it sooner.

17 year-old Cassel Sharpe is the black sheep of his mafia crime family. While they're mostly small-time con artists, they all have a special talent - they have the power to curse - meaning they can change your memories, kill someone, manipulate memories, or gain unusual strength by touching their target, or "mark" with their hands. Only Cassel seems to lack any special abilities. Because of the danger, it's a commonly accepted practice for everyone to wear gloves at all time. Such power doesn't come without a price, however. Curseworkers suffer from "blowback" directly related to their ability. The more the power is used, the more one suffers. Deathworkers suffer from rotting limbs, and nearly all accomplished hitmen are missing fingers, toes or maybe an ear. Emotion workers like Cassel's mom suffer from wild mood swings, and so on. For reasons that even he doesn't fully understand, Cassel is harboring an awful secret. Three years ago, in a fit of jealous rage, he murdered his long-time crush, Lila, the daughter of a powerful mob family. His older brothers Philip and Barron helped him cover it up, and have enrolled him in an exclusive private boarding school to keep him out of the way while his mother serves out a prison term for bilking lonely widowers out of their money.

Cassel is such an interesting character. He desperately wants to fit in, to be normal and liked, and yet, he's filled with so much self-loathing, he's always uncomfortable in his own skin and awkward around people. He spends half his time wishing he could cut himself free from all of his family ties and resents being drawn in to their schemes and crimes, but half the time he wishes that he would prove to be a late-bloomer and fantasizes about developing paranormal powers of his own so that he could be included with his brothers in their illicit activities. Cassel is surrounded by family who pride themselves on fooling others, and he's been taught since he was in his cradle to guard his true feelings and how to be an effective liar. Things really get rolling when Cassel sets up a small-time betting operation at his school, his mother is released from prison, he begins sleepwalking, and having intense dreams about a white cat that follows him everywhere.

There are some stunning twists and turns, and some major plot reversals at the end of the book that I never saw coming. I highly recommend this book.

Cassel Sharpe comes from a family of curse workers. These people can manipulate people or things, such as luck, emotion, death, transformation, among others. Only a fraction of a percent of people in America has these abilities. Using their powers is illegal, so most of these workers are either con artists or in the mafia. This includes all of Cassel's immediately family, except for him. He has no powers, the odd one out in his family. He is still involved in crime, including killing his best friend (and mafia princess) Lila three years ago. While his mother is in jail, he tries to lead a relatively normal life and create an identity for himself separate from his family. Until he has a dream that a white cat ate his tongue and he chases it down, only to wake up on the roof of his dorm with no way of getting down. He is temporarily kicked out of school only to be plunged into the craziness that is his family once more. He knows that his brothers are keeping things from him. How can he figure out anything when he doesn't even know if his own memories are real?

I have never read a book by Holly Black because her books just never appealed to me for some reason. Now I'm kicking myself because White Cat is so good that it is easily one of my favorite young adult books. Cassel Sharpe is a great protagonist. He's smart, clever, and cynical, but at his core, he's a good person. Although the reader knows at the outset that he has committed a horrible crime, Holly Black manages to make him a sympathetic and relatable character. I really feel for him and the hard situation with his family. It's a horrible thing when you don't belong anywhere and you can't even trust the people closest to you. Cassel is a very different main character than is typical than most young adult novels.

The alternate universe in this book is utterly unique and detailed. I've never read another book quite like it. I really liked that the reader is just thrown into a world almost like the one we live, but slightly different, without any initial explanations. Then things begin to unfold and make sense as you go along. This device is very similar to many adult science fiction books. If you're looking for a paranormal romance story, you won't find it here. This world is flawed and gritty. It's a place where the endings aren't happy and the people are flawed. The stark realism makes this story hit me harder than most young adult novels out there. The story is suspenseful, breathtaking, and infuriating at points. Some plot twists were predictable, but others seemed to slap me across the face out being so very unexpected. I really enjoyed trying to sort out the truth alongside Cassel.

I highly recommend White Cat to just about everyone and I am going to be one of the first to buy the next in the series. Before that, I need to go out and read the rest of her books as soon as possible.

The cover is what completely drew me into this book. I actually hate cats, but I like this cover, so I guess that is saying something for it. I'm assuming the boy on the front cover is Cassel, which fits his description pretty well I would say. It's the people on the back cover that confuse me a bit. I'm not sure if they are supposed to be Anton, Barron or Philip. It doesn't really matter; however, I am curious.

It is refreshing to read something in YA that isn't vampires, which is why I think I enjoyed this book as much as I did; however, at times in the story I got a bit confused because it seemed as if every single person in the whole entire world was being evasive. I also think that Cassel's family may go down in history as one of the worst fictional families ever. The granddad is one of the only redeeming family members, and even he is a drunk. Also, it seemed as if it didn't flow well at some points---extremely chaotic with all of the elements that were trying to be intertwined.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it and it was a quick read, but I don't think I enjoyed it quite as much as I was hoping. Cassel was a good main character, but I think it was the supporting characters who were less than desirable. I don't mean that I disliked them because they were not nice--I'm a person who thinks Bellatrix Lestrange is an absolutely delicious character--I mean that I disliked them because they seemed more one dimensional. All in all, this book left me feeling a bit chaotic, just like its story. I was satisfied and dissatisfied all at the same time.

Found this via SFFaudio.com, as a free audio book from Random House.

Born into a family of curse workers, Cassell doesn't have the magical powers to be a "worker." Curses come in all shapes and sizes from transforming victims into something else down to emotionally influencing people. All that is needed is the touch of a finger. This makes gloves much more than a fashion accessory since they are a necessary item of protection.

Curse work is illegal so curse workers are all either part of the powerful crime families, con workers, or exist with their secret on the edges of society. Cassell's family owes allegiance to a powerful crime family and working cons is as normal as breathing. In fact, working the con is the thing that makes up for not being a worker and Cassell eyes the world from this vantage point, which makes him a solitary figure with few friends.

Cassell has a dark secret, a problem with sleepwalking, and a family who specializes in running cons. He also lost the love of his life, Lila, long ago. However, he put that all behind him and is concentrating on life in boarding school and building a normal life, along with keeping book on the side. (Hey, a guy has to have a little spending money, right?) So when a white cat begins following him everywhere, terrifying dreams bring Lila back into his waking thoughts, and those dark secrets begin surfacing again, Cassell begins to suspect that he is a pawn in a complicated con game.

Can he out-con the pros and solve his problems? Well, of course he can or what would be the point of reading the book? The fascination is with watching Cassell have to admit that he needs help from others, seeing his longing for family ties even as he fears that he may have been betrayed by them,

Holly Black has a fully realized alternate world where the presence of curse working and magic define much more than Cassell's personal problems. There is a slight but interesting subplot about an organization that is working for "worker's rights." The government has begun pushing a testing program, urging workers to come forward and be identified. Family loyalty along with the inner workings of crime families are also interesting embellishments to the plot. The magical abilities described are fascinating, as is the concept of "blow back" which besets anyone who works a curse. Nothing is done with impunity so you'd better be darned sure you want to curse someone because you will suffer some sort of severe reaction in turn.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is that Cassell is an unreliable narrator. What is more, he knows he is an unreliable narrator as he is afraid that he is too influenced by dreams or that his memory has been worked. Everyone around him is fairly unreliable as well since Cassell is never sure when someone is working a con or being natural. Although the major plot twists are fairly well telegraphed ahead of time, this hardly matters because we are so concerned with the fact that Cassell may be working a con we don't see or that he is being conned himself.

The story is narrated by Jesse Eisenberg, who is probably best known for portraying the awkward college student in Zombieland or the equally awkward Mark Zuckerberg in Social Network. His trademark delivery works perfectly as the story is told by Cassell who is equally as awkward as either of those movie characters. Furthermore, Eisenberg alters his voice slightly but effectively to portray different characters: a fortune teller, Cassell's mother, his roommate Sam, and the crime boss all get slightly different intonations which perfectly convey character. I would have liked the book anyway as a straight read, but with Eisenberg's narration I bought it hook, line, and sinker. Just like an average mark, in fact.

It is called urban fantasy but didn't really feel that way to me. It is fantasy because of the curse working element but other than that there are precious few fantastic elements. Likewise, it is labeled YA, but aside from the age of the narrator and some elements like having to attend classes, it didn't feel like something written for younger readers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. What can I say? I like con stories. I like the universe Holly Black created. Jesse Eisenberg's narration pulled me into the story so I stayed there long enough to care about a boarding school student with an interesting set of problems. I also liked the fact that the story arc was concluded in this book except for one element which obviously serves as a bridge to the second book of the series.

It's just plain fun all round and moves at a fast, addictive pace. Recommended.

I seriously ADORED this book. Unexpectedly adored this book. I'd read several reviews of it, and everyone said it was good, but after how I felt about "the Spiderwick Chronicles" (liked but certainly didn't love), I never felt over inspired to read it. Then a friend gave me a copy, and I was looking for something a little different, so I gave it a try.
And I am SO glad I did.
Cassel grows up a non-curse worker in a family of curse workers, and this has caused some resentment and some problems for him throughout his life. When he wakes up one morning to find that he has sleep-walked to the school roof after a dream in which a White Cat steals his tongue, his entire world changes.
Holly Black does an AMAZING job of subtly creating a world that is similar to ours but also completely different. The world she has created is fascinating. Curse workers work with their hands, so everyone wears gloves. The idea of being touched by bare hands actually repels some people. She slowly develops it throughout the book in such a way that you're dying for more, to know more, without ever realizing why.
Cassel's attempt at coming to terms with his past and allowing himself to live in the present, dealing with his manipulative brothers and his jailed mother.
White Cat was filled with twists and turns that will keep you wanting more until the very end. As the plot develops and Cassel learns more about his somewhat mysterious past, you'll find yourself rooting for him despite some of the horrible things he's done.
The only unfortunate thing about this book is that it doesn't keep you guessing. Some of the bigger plot points were extremely obvious very early on in the book. Luckily, this didn't really take away from anything. And I would recommend against reading the summary beforehand. It gives way too much away.
Definitely worth the read!

I ended up really enjoying this opening book to Holly Black's Curse Workers series. Plot-wise, it has a lot in common with other books I've read recently, particularly, Once a Witch and Always a Witch where a girl in a family of witches finds out that - surprise! - she never thought she had power but she does. Similarly, we know going in that Cassel probably is a worker, even though everyone insists he's not because this is YA fiction and it just works that way. You know the rules. Also, the whole political concept of identifying workers for the safety of the public screams X-Men.

So the comparisons to other works are pretty strong, but despite that, the book manages to be fresh and surprising, I think mostly because of the world it is set in, which is not so different from our world except that people can work magic and everyone apparently wears gloves. (Which seems awkward to me? The weird licking-grease-off-gloves when eating pizza?) But I liked Lila's role in the story, the way the events cause Cassel to re-evaluate everything he thought he knew about his past. While White Cat is in itself a complete book, I think it's also a good set-up book for the rest of what I hope is a great series.

Ok, so my first thought after I finished this book was, "Da-yum, Holly Black wrote this?" Not that I have anything against Holly or anything, but White Cat wasn't like any of her other work. Though it was dark and charming, it lacked the sort of gritty, under your skin PNR plot that she's most well known for (think of the Modern Faerie series). But honestly, this feels like her best series yet. Black has created a completely unique magic system that fits into a slightly altered version of our world, with characters that simply thrive in the deception that accompanies it. As a result, most of this book is shrouded in mystery. Awesome, original mystery, like Mafia meets wizarding world kind of mystery. But don't let the Sopranos vibe scare you off---White Cat is really a story about uncovering the secrets in one's own family, and having the strength to define yourself even when you don't fit in.

What I enjoyed the most about the book was Cassel's character. It was a really nice change of pace to read a PNR book (if you would even categorize White Cat as such) with a male main character. Cassel is thoughtful, dark, lonely, loyal, caring, strong--but not in the macho, bad-boy kind of way. I know many authors these days choose to create male leads who have pectorals made of flawless marble with eyes that change color every time they blink, and as a result, we've come to expect the bad boy with a heart of gold sort of character in this kind of fiction...which is why I'm happy Holly decided to keep Cassel the way that she did. He felt very real to me. He's flawed yet likable at the same time, and it made his struggles much more emotionally gripping. It was fun watching him discover what was really happening behind closed doors.

Even though I really enjoyed the book, I wasn't entirely invested in Cassel's story until page 120 or so. There's lots of back story and explanation about the status of the country with relation to how they deal with Workers. But I can deal, since it all paid off: all of the information that gets fed to the reader paints a very sad backdrop for Cassel (being the only member of his family that isn't a worker) and the result is you immediately begin to suspect that things aren't exactly as they seem. Anyway, if you haven't had a chance to pick up the book, do so. The Curse Workers series is off to an awesome start!

Curse workers are people who can manipulate others with a single touch from their hands. Most curse workers are luck workers. People hire them to bring good luck to a new baby, marriage, or business endeavor. Curse workers can also change people's emotions for good or bad, wipe away memories or plant new ones, and create vivid dreams to pass along messages. There are also a few rare powers curse workers can possess. These include death workers who can kill on the spot and transformation workers who can change objects, or people, into something completely new.

Curse work is powerful, but it comes at a great cost. All curse workers experience blowback, where the curse seems to backfire into the worker. Most of the time this is temporary, but it leaves the worker immobile and weak. The more you curse work, the more permanent the blowback. Because of its great power, curse work is illegal.

Cassel Sharpe comes from a family of curse workers. His mother is currently in jail serving time after being caught. His father died long ago, his brothers work for a powerful mobster family, and his granddad is set in his retirement. Cassel desperately wants to be a strong member of the family, but there is just one little problem: he doesn't have any power. He's the black sheep in the family. Cassel is also responsible for killing his best friend, Lila, three years ago and hasn't quite recovered. So Cassel bides his time in a private school doing what he does best --- being a con man --- and tries to make sense of the mess his life has become.

Understandably, Cassel has trouble sleeping at night. Most of the time he obsesses over his situation in life, but lately he's been afflicted with terrible nightmares with one commonality: a white cat. This white cat won't leave him alone and seems to be telling him something --- something important. After his last nightmare, Cassel found himself on top of the roof clinging to the edge. He doesn't remember how he got there, but knows its time to seek some professional help. And that is where everything begins to unravel.

Cassel is kicked out of school until he can get a doctor's approval to return. He goes home only to find his older brother Barron, a memory curse worker, and Philip, a physical curse worker, acting strange and secretive. They both work for the powerful Zacharov family --- Lila's family --- and seem to be cooking up a con that Cassel can only wonder about. As Cassel gets help for his sleeping disorder, he slowly uncovers truths that he isn't ready to handle. It appears that Cassel himself has been worked and key memories are missing. The white cat may be more than just a cat, and Cassel might be more powerful than he thinks. Cassel slowly realizes that he's the center of a huge con game, but is it too late for him to do anything about it?

Holly Black has worked her magic once again with this exciting new series. Cassel is an extremely relatable teenager who is struggling to figure out where he fits into his family and in life. It's also pretty cool to read about his methods behind the different cons he sets up and how he controls almost every situation. Black has also just scratched the surface of the intriguing concept of curse work. She dives a bit into the history of it and shows the great power it possesses throughout the book, but I wanted more --- and you will too! Thankfully the second book in the series arrives next spring.

I loved this book. Loved, loved, loved.

Holly Black, in my opinion, is a wonderful writer. Her descriptions are imaginative and the details help further bring her stories to life. The plot is complicated and intricate, but the writing lets you navigate through without falling. Yes, you might stumble a little bit since not everything is transparent and laid out right in front of you. But I was confident from reading Tithe, that the events would be clarified as the novel progressed. Reading White Cat, I was frequently excited and in a constant state of anxiety because I was so afraid for Cassel and what would happen to him.

Black is also clever at rewriting history and our popular culture. It is done with subtle sentences, dialogue and memories so I knew almost intuitively about "workers" and "families" and the political and social ramifications of magic work. The framework is similar to crime families and that is what magic workers are considered, so it is easy for someone in our culture to have a frame of reference.

I love Cassel. And not in the "I want to jump his bones" way. Maybe I'm getting old, but he brought out a nurturing instinct in me. I felt bad for him and I wanted to take care of him. I wanted to let him know that there are people in the world he can rely on and he shouldn't be so closed off. However, it appears he has these issues for good reason. His mother is in jail and the rest of his family are "workers" and it becomes apparent they are keeping secrets. Events are occuring right under Cassel's nose that he can't figure out. He is tied up in a mystery and a memory from long ago that is having repercussions in the present. He finally decides he needs to figure out what it is.

Cassel is such a likeable character and so enjoyable to read. He gets into trouble, he has questionable habits and he has trouble trusting. In other words, he is so real. He is also unflinchingly honest and extremely clever. Perhaps his whole family has magic at their fingertips, but Cassel uses his brains, street smarts and inherited knowledge of the "con" to figure things out. Maybe because he doesn't rely on magic he develops his brain in a way that his other family members don't. I love the small steps he takes to gain friends, to trust. I love the larger steps he takes to find out the truth about his past and about himself.

I was never bored, whether Cassel was trying to deal with his family life, his school life or his personal life. It was all entertaining. The themes and plotlines in this book were so multilayered. It has to do with secrets, family, friendships and most of all trust.

***This last paragraph may be a bit spoilery: I can't say too much about the ending without giving it away. But just let me say I was mad. Not because it was poorly written or didn't work for the story, to be quite honest, it actually fits and was an great twist. But I was mad for Cassel and I want to kill someone or at least shake them so their teeth knocks around in their skull. I know that is the 1st of a trilogy, so I'm hoping Cassel perseveres, gets what he really wants and finds happiness.

Holly Black creates a fascinating world in White Cat. Most fantasies or paranormal fiction create an entirely new world or a hidden magical world that the ignorant humans know nothing about. Holly's world is much more interesting. This is a world where certain people are born with magic - either to do good or evil. The dark curseworkers function as criminals - an alternate universe mafia. On the surface, the world looks and feels just like modern-day America. Only subtle hints tell you that it's something else. For example, we learn in history class that the ban on curseworkers was put in place in 1929, nine years after prohibition and right before the stock market crashed. People also wear gloves constantly since cursework can only be done with bare hands. I loved seeing how Holly could create an alternate universe by only changing the things necessary for the story.

Cassel is an interesting character. He's the only non-magic member in a family of dark curse-workers. A disfunctional family of curse-workers. His meddling mother is in prison, his father is dead, his grandfather tries to take care of him, his brothers alternate between being bullies and looking after Cassel. Worst of all, Cassel lives with the knowledge that he killed his best friend Lila. He doesn't remember what happened - only holding a bloody knife over her dead body and grinning. Cassel does not come off as an extremely likable character but I grew to like him as I understood him better. He's arrogant, a loner, a minor con artist...but he actually is as smart as he thinks he is, is on a journey of self-discovery, and tries to do good in a big-picture way.

The story begins with a crazy sleepwalking episode that nearly gets Cassel killed. He's suspended from school temporarily and sent home to his crazy family. There goes Cassel's chance at normalcy. Things begin to happen quickly at this point. Cassel's brothers and sister-in-law are acting very strangely. And even weirder, a white cat is randomly following him around. As Cassel investigates his brothers and the cat, he realizes that he's at the center of one of the biggest cons ever. He faces a huge obstacle: who should he protect? Himself? His family? His friends? Should he choose not to protect some?

I enjoyed every page of White Cat. The plot unraveled slowly. There were new twists and revealing information in every chapter to keep my interesting. The beginning, often the weakest area of a book, drew me in quickly, and the middle never dragged. The big ending wasn't particularly surprising after I'd learned a certain amount of information but there was a little twist that totally surprised me. White Cat was my first Holly Black read. I can't wait to go back and read her other books.

Also reviewed on my blog, the Vintage Bookworm. ([...])

White Cat was not what I expected. I had heard some things about it, but I don't think that I fully knew what I was getting myself into with this book. I picked this book up because I kept seeing it everywhere. I couldn't find a bad review.

I didn't know that it was told in the point-of-view of a male! Ha ha! I probably should of read more on it, but I'm kind of glad I didn't because I'm afraid it may have taken me longer to finally pick it up and start reading it. I'm weird like that. =/ But I think with all the awesome books with male points-of-view I'm reading lately, I'll have to pick up more.

It took me a few minutes to get into this, but the beginning was hilarious! It opens with Cassel, the main character, standing on top of a roof in only his boxers, dreaming that he was chasing a white cat who stole his tongue!

I loved Cassel. Yes, he annoyed me at times, which I usually find about a lot of main characters I read about. But he was really witty and a nice guy. Though he kind confusing at times because of what happens to him without his knowledge throughout the book.

I didn't really bond with any of the other characters, though. But I did like them. All of the characters have stayed with me and I think I will always remember them when someone brings up the book, but Cassel was my absolute favorite.

The world Black created was amazing. She hit the high points in originality here. I haven't read a YA book like it! Nor have I heard of any. Mobsters/conmen meets the magical world! I really love that the world knows about the curse workers. Even though most people are against them and sometimes its dangerous to be a curse worker.

Something else I really loved about this book was that I never really knew what was coming next. I kept trying to guess, but was always hit with something completely different and jaw-dropping.

The writing for this novel flows very well and I could easily read through a lot of pages without realizing, which you will hear in every review that I write that has that type of writing in the book because it is one of my favorite things and I always like to mention it. I was always able to picture the world and characters and what was going on. Sometimes I got so into it I thought I was watching a movie.

Overall, I can't really find anything I didn't like about this book. Other than the fact that at times it confused me because of the memory work that a certain memory worker did. Not going to name any names! It would be a spoiler. I am now VERY excited for Red Glove and can't wait for it's release date on the 5th of April.

Cassel just wants a normal life at his boarding school. Sure, he's not much interested in learning and can't quite seem to stay away from bad-boy things, like running the betting books... but fitting in and flying straight is not something in his background. In Cassel's world, there are people who happen to have magical talents. Unfortunately, magic is illegal and most "curse-workers" are allied with crime families. Cassel's family--all aside from him, are workers and decidedly on the wrong side of the law. His mother is currently in prison for working a con, his older brother is part of a notorious criminal organization... and no matter how much Cassel seeks to stay away from the chaos of his dysfunctional family, he can't help working the angles and looking at everyone else as marks.

Cassel's attempt at normal life is put in jeopardy when he dreams of a white cat and wakes up clinging to the roof of the school dorms--from which he has to be rescued, and the school can't wait to get rid of him because he is an insurance risk as a sleep-walker. As Cassel tries to scheme his way BACK into school he has to face living with his older brother--and his wife who seems strangely "worked" and hears music that no one else hears, with visits from his other brother who had never liked him, and from his grand-father, the death-worker with his missing fingers (working magic takes a toll!), who wants him to clean up the family home (filled to the gills like the worst hoarder's place) because his mother might get out of jail and add to the insanity.

Cassel's world is dark and severely ethically challenged! Despite it all, despite Cassel's own dark past, he has to tread a very difficult line between loyalty to his scary family and to the workers and criminals they all know, and trying to not be as bad as his life is tempting him to be... a life that would make anyone look at the typical horrors of school as a teen, and make it seem PREFERABLE. This is definitely worth a read, and I am really looking forward to the next book!

I loved this book! Seriously loved it. Usually I can't stand reading a novel on the computer, but this one I just couldn't tear myself away from. Cassel isn't your average protagonist-he's got a dark past and openly admits that he murdered his best friend. Not the type of thing that makes readers love a character. But I was loving Cassel by the end of the novel.

The cons Cassel pulled in `White Cat' were so complicated and worked so well they made me laugh, in the best way possible. The fact that he comes from a crime family makes him even more unique, adding mobsters to several scenes.

This book is action packed, with a little romance sprinkled within, plus a very dysfunctional family. It'll keep any reader on the edge of their seat and leave them begging for more. The ending killed me: Not exactly a cliff-hanger, but I need to find out what happens next! It's a love/hate relationship when that happens. You know the writing's good enough to love, but you hate waiting for more.

`White Cat' by Holly Black gets 5/5 stars. I can't wait to read more from her in the future!

The novel begins with Cassel Sharpe on the roof of his school, having sleepwalked while dreaming about a white cat. When people accuse him of trying to commit suicide, he finds himself stuck in a society full of fear and hatred towards curse workers, though he possesses no power himself. Through flashbacks and hazy memories, Cassel begins to wonder if everything he believed in may be a lie. Are his family members keeping a secret? Why is he the only non-worker in his family? Why is this white cat constantly appearing in his dreams?

To not spoil the book, there is not much at all that I can actually reveal about the story line. You'll have to trust me when I tell you that the characters are very unique and that it'll be difficult for you to decide where you stand with them. Are they good or bad? Well, your opinions will definitely changed multiple times throughout the book. The history that they all share is mind-blowing because of the way the story has been carefully manipulated, with Holly Black showing us just enough to let us make an assumption, before hitting us with a twist to throw us off track again. From Cassel's friends, to his family and to the opposing curse worker families, you'll love the fun bickering, fight scenes and suspenseful mysteries between them.

White Cat is very plot-centric, with the bulk of the novel dealing with Sam and the revelations he makes about his life. This novel is a rollercoaster ride, through and through, so keep your seatbelts on because you're in for a treat! The cliffhanger White Cat ends on is shocking - earth-shattering, jaw-dropping, shocking. Good thing the sequel's been released, huh?

The Sharpe family have the power to work you. But curse work is illegal. Which is why Cassel's mother is off cooling her heels in jail. Unlike his mom and two older brothers, Cassel isn't a worker. That doesn't mean he's walking the straight and narrow though. Three years ago he killed his best friend Lila, a crime his family has worked hard to keep hidden.

Now his past is coming back to haunt him in his dreams. Vivid nightmares where a white cat takes center stage threaten to blow his cover at the private school he has been sucessfully hiding his shady nature at. When the even shadier behavior of his brothers starts leading Cassel to believe he's become the central figure in a con to top all cons he has to sort it all out without them becoming any wiser. Missing memories, feuding crime families and a truth he'll never see coming make White Cat a fast paced and satisfyingly twisted tale fans of good fantasy fic will devour quickly.

I've had White Cat sitting here ready to be reviewed for weeks. That doesn't happen to me often and it's usually for one reason only... because a book was so enjoyable and seamlessly executed I find it hard to be objective about it. It is, simply put, very well written. I didn't find holes in the plot or manage to predict the ending which I often do and at times find a little frustrating. A good surprise once in a while or at least a tapestry not easily unwoven are always winners for me as a reader.

The only thing I really didn't like was Lila. I found it hard to see why Cassel considered her his best friend. Personally, I thought she was a little too cruel and unpredictable to be someone many people would befriend. Even still it adds to the story and leaves lots of room for speculation about her demise.

Because I'm finding it so hard to offer more let me just say this... if you like any of Black's other work or are looking for some good urban fantasy fiction this book is just the start of what I think is going to be a really great and original series. Don't be the last person to catch on before it becomes hugely popular!

***May contain spoilers***

I am not going to lie, this is the most complex/ complicated book I have read in some time (and by complicated I do not mean "the author clearly does not know how to write/ doesn't know how to convey to the reader what they are trying to say and therefore the story is unnecessarily complicated with big holes in the plot", but complicated as in, "Holly Black is a genius who was able to create a world that no one else has ever imagined before (let alone written about), and was able to flawlessly seam each layer of this world together"). If I had to compare this book is something recent, I would compare it to the film "Inception". Both have plots that are full of twists and turns and both leave you thinking about them/ processing their story line hours, if not days, after finishing them.

I don't often read books where the main character is male and I think that that is a mistake. Cassel is such an interesting and intriguing character and seeing inside his inner thoughts/ working is indescribable. As for the other slew of characters? Well either you love 'em or you hate 'em, but that adds even more to the atmosphere of the story. Take Cassel's grandfather for instance or his roommate, both are such likeable characters whereas his brothers are complete doorknobs. And even though I want to hate his brothers for their actions I can't completely do so because I do sympathize for them. Yes their actions weren't the greatest and overall they were quite shady but the world that they live in is super tough on them and they have to struggle day in and day out to survive within it.

Now parts of this story are quite predictable, I was able to predict two of the largest plot elements within maybe a quarter of the book, but it didn't bother me too much just because there was so much else going on that I was unable to predict. I am very excited to see what the next book in the series, "Red Glove", has in store for us!

I've really enjoyed Holly Black's other books, The Spiderwick Chronicles and her Tithe trilogy. And the premise of this book sounded incredibly interesting. I love intricate plots where you have to figure out who's conning who and what the fallout will be as a result. So I was really looking forward to this book.

I enjoyed it, pretty much. It was difficult to get into at first because the pacing was very slow, and the writing wasn't up to the standard of Holly's previous books. After the first third, though, both of these aspects improved drastically.

I loved the whole idea of `curse working,' and how everyone has to wear gloves. Removing one's gloves is considered a shockingly intimate gesture (as depicted in the playboy-type pictures Cassel briefly encounters). The emphasis put on the gloves was an excellent reminder of how different Cassel's world is from ours. I would have liked to see more of those differences, though. I also would have liked to know more of how the mafia works. Is it like prohibition, or something else?

The discrimination aspect to the story wasn't as original as I'd hoped. The whole concept of curse workers registering themselves was explored in X-Men, so I was hoping for a different twist on this. Perhaps there will be more in future books.

The best part of this story is the last third, when Cassel finally realizes what's really going on and who the real enemy is. He deals with it in a very clever way, which I'm guessing will come back to bite him later. This part is what has intrigued me enough to want to read more.

Overall, this is not Holly's best work, but the concept has kind of hooked me. I'll have to read further in the series before I'll feel comfortable recommending it, though.

In a great series start, Holly Black summons up a fascinating Y.A. urban fantasy similar to Kelly Armstrong's witch and demon cabals...where cursework..the ability to curse with your hands by mere touch is a talent that is highly stigmatized, feared, and yet revered. It is also illegal. But like so many things, cursework exists on the fringe. Black has managed to make it alluring to readers, especially when unraveling the secrets of Cassel Sharpe.

At Wallingford Prep, Cassel enjoys a popularity steeped in petty crime. Despite the stigma of his curseworker family he's managed to fit in well at Wallingford where he's found a place for himself. He's the bookie of the school...respected. What else is he going to do? Cassel sticks out like a sore thumb: he's not got a whit of the family's magic. Or does he? When Cassel is lured out into the night, nearly plummeting to his death from the top of Wallingford's towers, Cassel swears he was led there by a white cat. So what is the significance of this mysterious feline? The reoccurring dreams of a white cat continue to plague him, and in those dreams she is talking to him.

Black takes you on an adventurous journey where Cassel's family, his home life, his friends...even his memories may not be his own. Getting one step closer and trying to backtrack over three years of twisted memories, Cassel is on the tip of something enormous. Black held me spellbound (and holding my breath) as she revealed Cassel's secret.

Being a huge Holly Black fan, I instantly gravitated towards this new series. I am definitely going to pick up the rest of the series simply because I want to see how the story progresses and how far she can take Cassel. There are sinister repercussions to his family and Cassel has made some dangerous enemies in his kin. I am also very anxious to see how that turns out.

White Cat is very different from Tithe, Valiant and Ironside...and I think that might be because her curseworker story is told from a male perspective: that of Cassel. Sometimes it reads as less tangible, and that could be that it's an urban fantasy kick...a different setting from her other works. Less luxurious. So it has elements of the real world and not that much of the fanciful. There is plenty of mystery and suspense that Black invokes and that is deliciously welcome. Overall, White Cat is a very enjoyable read that won't disappoint.

A Fiendishly Bookish Review

1. World building. Holly Black builds worlds so solid you'd have a hard time knocking them down with an industrial size wrecking ball. No exception in WHITE CAT. When I read her stuff, I take notes. Well, the second time I read it.

2. Flawless writing. I read it in two sittings - it would've been one if my (black) dog hadn't interrupted by trying to knock the book out of my hand. Every word/emotion/description was perfectly placed and conveyed.

3. Friendly plotting. I know Holly Black workshops her books with writer-friends, and in my mind, I imagine them sitting in some quirky coffeehouse in the northeast, rubbing their hands together evilly, plotting all the ways they can make readers crazy. The twisty turns and painful plot points are so complex they HAVE to be discussed over hot chocolate. Or evil plotting juice. Whatever.

4. Complexity. You have it all in WHITE CAT. Familial relationships, friendships, crime, self-loathing, trickery and deceit - it layers upon itself - so many reasons to be emotionally invested.

5. Characterization. Speaking of emotionally invested, you know you are when you want to step into a story and take over the parentage of a main character. I want to punch Cassel's mother IN THE FACE. REPEATEDLY. I want to wrap my arm around his sister-in-law and lead her to the light. I want to break the "no cat" rule in this house and bring home a .... white cat.

6. Emotion. As Cassel remembers and makes choices about his own destiny, he learns things about himself and his family. Things that aren't easy. You feel it with him. You feel the desperation behind the hoarding of his mother, the need for more and more and more and that it's never quite enough, and that the need for more has insinuated itself into Cassel. You sense the emotion behind the con. Layers. Layers of stuff, layers of motivation. Genius.

7. Cassel. *sigh*

8. Cassel. Now that the swooning is out of the way, he's not just a hot boy. You sense he's built from the ground up. I bet Holly Black has world building notebooks galore. I'd give my left arm to see some of those.

9. Romance. It feels real. It will rip your heart from your chest. It will. Trust me.

10. MORE. RED GLOVE and BLACK HEART are on the way.

Imagine this... there are holes in your memory that you don't even know about, there are parts of yourself that you didn't know existed, and there is a girl you thought you had killed... who is haunting your dreams.

Sucks to be you.

This is Cassel's life. His boring non-worker life, he's the only one in his family who isn't a worker. Barron is a Luck worker, his mother works emotions, his grandfather is a death curse worker, and his brother Phillip a physical worker who can break your leg with a touch of his little finger. That's why in this world you keep your hands covered at all times. One out of every thousand is a worker, and not all countries and governments are happy that the number is that high. Cassel is convinced he's a cold blooded murderer. He doesn't remember killing his best friend Lila but he has memories of standing over her corpse with a sick happy smile, and all of his brothers covering up for him. Years later he's haunted by a white cat who seems to understand what he says. Dreams start invading his sleep of Lila yelling at him to take off the curse... but he's not a worker... on top of that his brothers are in deep with a crime lord and his mother may or may not be released from Prison soon. His life is a mess, but he rises to the occasion.

What I loved about this novel with the real life pain. Everything did not turn out perfect and wonderful. In fact at the end his mother screws him over quite perfectly. Lila is not understanding, happy and fine with what happened, and looking back on his memories the girl he loved was really a hardened bully. I loved this book. The first person perspective was alright and perhaps, to me, the only thing the held the book back at all. Besides that I can't wait to find out what happens to Cassel after what his mother did in the second book. Ah mafia and magic who could ask for a better mix?

Mixed feelings about this book. There are part of it I liked, parts of it that I didn't and a lot of it left me absolutely indifferent.

I loved the whole idea of workers and the fact that someone could be messing with your memories, and you would have no way of telling. The confusion when fake memories clash with real ones was well described.

I hated most of the workers in this book. They all seemed to be a power-hungry self-serving lot. They were all about using the others for their own personal gain. Even family members.

The main character left me absolutely indifferent. I guess that's why that book fell short off the mark with me. I just didn't care about the protagonist enough to care about what happened to him or what danger he was in.

But this is all purely subjective. What one person doesn't like, another one might adore. So I would still suggest that you give "White Cat" a try and decide for yourselves.

A different take on magic, Holly Black wove a very compelling and surprisingly believable tale of black magic and crime families. My expectations were high leading into White Cat, and Black did not disappoint. Her characters were richly developed and the back-story well depicted and portrayed. White Cat spun a tale that had me engrossed from start to finish. This wasn't a cuddly, romantic little YA novel though, and it's sharp edges had me enjoying the ride even more.

REVIEW: The world of White Cat is set in an alternative reality, where magic workers, or what are called Curse Workers can lay hands upon someone and manipulate them. Whether they can manipulate their luck, their emotions, memories, or even transform them, depends on the worker. Luck workers are the most common, Transformation workers the most rare. The world wears gloves, because a bare hand can end your life...if you run into a Death Worker.

Cassel is from a long legacy of workers. His mother is in jail from an "Assault" that she did during a con. His brothers work for a crime family that employes workers to do their dirty work. Cassel isn't a worker though, but the criminal gene does run strong within him. So much so, that at 14 he killed. He doesn't even remember doing it, only that his best friend ended up dead and that some part of him enjoyed it.

This novel tasted like a Scorsese film. Gritty and real, it spread open a vile little view of black magic and shook it in your face until you became comfortable with it and kind of fell in love with Cassel and his neurosis. There were slight hints at romantic interludes, but personally I feel Cassel has to sort himself out before he finds his soulmate. Which is why I want to beat his mother with a baseball bat. Gotta love those crazy interfering ex-con parents.

A great read for fans for YA. If you are in a mood to step away from the cuddly werewolves and sex kitten witches... you might give White Cat a whirl.

RECOMMENDATIONS: There is a more mature theme to this novel, so I recommend it for older teens, 14+. Fans of Beautiful Creatures, The Iron Series by Julie Kagawa and grittier YAs like the Wicked Lovely series should enjoy.

A different take on magic, Holly Black wove a very compelling and surprisingly believable tale of black magic and crime families. My expectations were high leading into White Cat, and Black did not disappoint. Her characters were richly developed and the back-story well depicted and portrayed. White Cat spun a tale that had me engrossed from start to finish. This wasn't a cuddly, romantic little YA novel though, and it's sharp edges had me enjoying the ride even more.

REVIEW: The world of White Cat is set in an alternative reality, where magic workers, or what are called Curse Workers can lay hands upon someone and manipulate them. Whether they can manipulate their luck, their emotions, memories, or even transform them, depends on the worker. Luck workers are the most common, Transformation workers the most rare. The world wears gloves, because a bare hand can end your life...if you run into a Death Worker.

Cassel is from a long legacy of workers. His mother is in jail from an "Assault" that she did during a con. His brothers work for a crime family that employes workers to do their dirty work. Cassel isn't a worker though, but the criminal gene does run strong within him. So much so, that at 14 he killed. He doesn't even remember doing it, only that his best friend ended up dead and that some part of him enjoyed it.

This novel tasted like a Scorsese film. Gritty and real, it spread open a vile little view of black magic and shook it in your face until you became comfortable with it and kind of fell in love with Cassel and his neurosis. There were slight hints at romantic interludes, but personally I feel Cassel has to sort himself out before he finds his soulmate. Which is why I want to beat his mother with a baseball bat. Gotta love those crazy interfering ex-con parents.

A great read for fans for YA. If you are in a mood to step away from the cuddly werewolves and sex kitten witches... you might give White Cat a whirl.

RECOMMENDATIONS: There is a more mature theme to this novel, so I recommend it for older teens, 14+. Fans of Beautiful Creatures, The Iron Series by Julie Kagawa and grittier YAs like the Wicked Lovely series should enjoy.

When I first heard bloggers raving about this book, I was excited to get it and experience it for myself. But then I heard that the author is Holly Black and I had some major second thoughts. I read about half of her book Tithe and it freaked me out so bad that I literally wanted to put it in the freezer like Joey from Friends. But I put my fears aside to read White Cat and I ended up loving it!

I love the uniqueness of this book. It's unlike any other paranormal book that I've read before. The closest things that I can relate it to is witchcraft or the glamour of vampires. Whereas the glamour of vampires is all the same from one to another, the curse workers are born with different talents. I would also classify White Cat as a sort of dystopian because the curse workers have significantly changed the world and the way people live their lives. Because curse working occurs through the touch of the hand, everyone wears gloves. Curse workers are mobsters and their work is illegal.

The story was so intricate and involved that I was constantly guessing and had no idea what was going to happen next. And those are my favorite kind of stories because I want to always be surprised! I also enjoyed the moral behind the story; every action has it's consequence. Even with curse workers. If the worker can erase memory, they every time he works someone, he looses pieces of his own memory. This book blew me out of the water. Holly Black is an excellent writer and storyteller!

In Cassel Sharpe's alternate reality, Curse Workers have the power to alter emotions, grant you luck, break your leg, or even kill you with a single touch of their bare skin. Although 'working' was outlawed in the early 1920s, curse workers have continued to thrive outside of the law under the direction of mafia-like families of magical users. Cassel hails from a long and impressive line of curse workers and con artists. And while he's not a worker like his brothers Phillip and Barron, he can definitely claim the con artist status. But Cassel is going straight. While his mom serves time in jail, Cassel is attending an exclusive private school and trying to act normal - even if he does run a small-time betting ring to cover his daily expenses. Yet the perfect image he has so painstakingly constructed begins to crumble when Cassel begins dreaming about a white cat asking for his help and sleepwalking at school. Confused with the jumbled snatches of memory from his past and the various versions of truth his brothers offer in explanation for their increasingly odd behavior, Cassel finds himself deep in the tangled web of a mysterious conspiracy spanning years and involving every person he has ever loved.

In "White Cat," nothing is as it seems: from the 'public' image Cassel creates of himself, his relationship with his brothers and mom, or to his own perception of himself and his abilities. Compelling and gritty, Cassel finds truth spilling forward at the most unexpected moments from the unlikeliest of sources. I am utterly intrigued to discover where Holly Black will take the Sharpe brothers next. All three have this unique love/hate relationship with each other, tied up in knots alongside their conflicting loyalties and hopes for the future. Not to mention their own skewed perceptions of family and loyalty. It's some truly heady stuff. Then there's Cassel's grandpa who is decidedly old school but who everyone just sees as old. But wowza, the man is a killer. Literally. Although I do wish he wouldn't spend so much time being cryptic with Cassel - his insights could have saved him buckets of time.

Although it did take me a few chapters to really warm up to Cassel, sections like this one quickly helped me to see just what a unique and intelligent guy he really is.

"Mom says that because she can make people feel what she wants them to, she knows how they think. She says that if I was like her, I'd have the instinct too. Maybe being a worker tempts you to be all mystical, but I think mom knows about people because she watches faces very closely. There're these looks people get that last less than a second -- micro-expressions, they call them, fleeting clues that reveal a lot more than we wish. I think my mother sees those without even noticing. I see them too.

Like, walking back toward the coffee shop with the cat in my arms, I can tell that Sam is freaked out by the con, by his part in it, by my planning it. I can tell. No matter how much he smiles.

I'm not my mother, though. I'm no emotion worker. Knowing that he's freaked out doesn't help me. I can't make him feel any different."

How could I not fall instantly in love with Cassel's profusion of con-man lingo and his obvious removal from anything remotely resembling a 'normal' relationship. Familial or friendly. In Cassel's world, a mother wouldn't hesitate to use her ability to manipulate her children's emotions or reward her kids for successfully pulling off a con. Heart-breaking but so incredibly engrossing. In this exceptionally character-driven novel, Holly Black has crafted a world so unlike any other YA book I've come across. "White Cat" is dark. Gritty. Intense. Just my kind of story.

Before reading White Cat, I had very little idea of what exactly I was getting into. The reviews I've seen for this book are very ranged, and a lot of people had very different opinions on it. But I do know that for Holly Black to have gained such a large following in the young adult book community, she had to be good. I was right.

Cassel is a great main character, and a male which is rare. I enjoyed reading along from his point of view, and discovering all the new things that he gleaned as he discovered them as well. The rest of the characters in the book seemed to all have very odd connections with each other. I did enjoy reading about all of the characters--especially the main characters--in this book.

I loved Holly Black's writing style. There is just... something about it that always leaft me craving more. I can't remember a time that I've wanted to read a sequel as much as after I finished White Cat. The world she creates is so elegant and richly woven that I felt as though I was truly living in the world of the Workers.

Though I didn't know exactly what kind of powers the Workers had before reading, I was very pleasantly surprised by what I found. I've never read a book like this before, and I am so glad I finally decided to pick it up. Everything about this book was insanely original and just... cool.

I truly adored this book and am so looking forward to reading the sequel, which I conveniently have at this very moment. I very strongly recommend reading White Cat. If you do, you too will surely be swept away in the rich and vivid world created by Holly Black.

Story: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Originality: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Cover: 4/5

There were so many things I really loved about White Cat by Holly Black, and that may have meant that the one thing about the book that bothered me stood out much more so than it would otherwise. In an alternate modern-day US, curses are real, illegal, and dealt out by a Mafia-like underground of interlinked families with the genes that make them curse workers. Cassel's life is hard enough -- his mother is in prison for using curses to trap rich boyfriends, relationships with the rest of his family are strained, he's in a boarding school full of kids from rich but normal families, and he's the only one in his family without the power to cast curses. Oh, and he's started having some seriously problematic sleepwalking, which may be linked to a horrific and confusing incident from his past that he would really rather stay buried.

Seriously, how could this book not be awesome? The set-up is great, the world-building is great, and not only Cassel but his friends seem like real, three-dimensional people. Admittedly, Cassel strikes me in the beginning as someone I might want to smack as often as not, but that didn't stop the book from drawing me in.

What almost killed the book for me, though, was the fact that the author may have gone too far in the foreshadowing department -- all of the twists and turns of the ending are amazing, but I could see it coming from 1/3 of the way into the book. As a result, the ending just wasn't nearly as awesome for me as it would have been if the foreshadowing had been dealt out with a lighter hand. That said, I will grab the 2nd book in this series off the shelf the second I see it -- there are some truly amazing places this could go.

If there were ever a successor to Charles de Lint as reigning monarch of urban fantasy, it's Holly Black. Following her wickedly lovely "Tithe" series of faerie tales, Black has set her attention to a new world with "The Curse Workers" and the first book in the series, "White Cat". An eerie and sharply written teenage world halfway between a fairy tale and a mafia story, "White Cat" is sure to entice new fans and please old ones.

Cassel is a pretty typical teenage boy and a strongly written main character who lives in a world where half the people in it can work a curse by coming in skin-to-skin contact, so everyone wears gloves. A powerless kid in a family of powerful mobsters, Cassel's focus is on trying to fit in to the everyday world while his brothers break kneecaps for a crime boss and his mother is in jail for using her power to make rich men fall in love with her so that she could empty their bank accounts.

Naturally, things get turned upside down when strange dreams and stranger family encounters lead Cassel to question everything he thought he already knew about his family and himself, and leads to an explosive finale that will have fans absolutely begging for the sequel.

As per Black's usual calling cards, each character in "White Cat" is sharply defined with their own empathetic situations and motivations for doing what they do, the magic is understated and more a vehicle for storytelling rather than taking up the entire plot, and the settings are vividly drawn and lushly written so that readers can immerse themselves fully in the reading experience. Fans of Black's faerie stories will be thrilled with this new series, but it also has potential to draw in even more readers (young boy readers in particular who might turn down a book about faeries would be caught up in this magicked-up mobster story).

Ultimately, "The Curse Workers" is a fascinating new series featuring all of Black's usual punch, verve, and spirit, and the sequel to "White Cat" is sure to be a thriller. I think it's certainly safe to say at this point that Black is no one-trick pony, and while a sequel to her latest faerie book, "Ironside," would certainly be welcomed by her legion of fans, "White Cat" has made it exceptionally clear that there is still a wealth of stories to be told from the ever-exciting Holly Black.

5/5 stars.

Cassel lives in a world where curse workers can alter your emotions, luck, memories, dreams, and well-being by simply touching you. It's a dangerous ability, which is why everyone wears gloves and curse working is illegal, and those who do possess the ability are criminals and con artists. Cassel is an outsider in his family of criminals for two reasons: he doesn't possess the ability to work curses, and he killed his friend Lila three years ago and doesn't remember doing it. He's been attempting to fly under the radar at his normal boarding school, but when a particularly vivid dream has him sleepwalking and chasing a mysterious white cat, he begins to question what really happened to Lila, and discovers that his family is hiding something big from him.

White Cat is an excellent book set in a dark, gritty, and imaginative world with many delicious twists and turns. Black is an exceedingly clever writer and will keep readers rapt, wondering where she'll go next and who can be trusted. Cassel is the best sort of narrator: resourceful, sarcastic, and determined, yet he still makes mistakes and sometimes allows his pride to get the best of him. He also is fascinating in that trust is a large concern for him. He claims he's not like the rest of his family, but yet, like them, he has issues with trusting and feels compelled to lie in order to be self-sufficient--so much so that lying is like a second nature to him. Still, his journey from ignorance to the terrible truth that his family is keeping from him is entertaining and ends up far from where readers would expect.

Black balances everything perfectly--family dynamics, secrets, betrayal, the mystery of Lila's death, Cassel's school and friends, and his feelings of helplessness. Each element of the story is complete and well-developed. And though the truth revealed at the climax of the book is stunning, when looking back readers will see that Black left a good amount of little clues and hints and support Cassel's revelation and convince readers. Everything adds up nicely, and Black's conclusion is frustrating and exciting, and will lead to plenty of drama in book two, which will be very welcome after the very open ending of White Cat.

Cassel lives in the world of curse workers - people born with the ability to influence others with the touch of their hand. It is illegal to act with these gifts, and distrust abounds. Everyone wears gloves... just in case. Being the only non worker in a family of criminals makes it hard for Cassel to fit in anywhere. His private school gives him at least the illusion of normalcy until he almost sleepwalks himself off the roof.

Then there are his brothers with their secrets and their lies. Cassel seems to recall things in flickering moments, memories lost from his past. He doesn't know who to trust and he has nowhere to turn. He knows only one thing - someone has been messing with his life and he is determined to find out who.

Expect some major twists and turns in this story, some of which you may have predicted and some which will take you totally by surprise. Cassel is a hard character to get a read on, you get the sense that even he doesn't know exactly who he is. The curse working part of the plot was an inventive take on your every day magic. You can picture the world they live in, with everyone walking around, hands in gloves. It was a quick, enjoyable read that I recommend for fans of teen and adult fiction alike.

~Review by: Book Addict from When Pen Met Paper [...]

Cassel comes from a long line of curse workers--people born with the power to change your memories, emotions, luck, or shape with a single touch from a bare hand. Since curse work is frowned upon, most curse workers are mobsters and con artists. Cassel's family is no different, and even though Cassel isn't a curse worker like the rest of his family, he was raised with the con. It's almost a way of life. But everything changes when Cassel starts to have sleepwalking nightmares of a strange white cat intent on telling him something. Suddenly, things start to make less and less sense, like the memories of killing his best friend Lila three years earlier, the strange and secretive behavior of his brothers, and why Cassel has always been told he isn't a curse worker. Is Cassel just a pawn in another wicked con game? And how can he outcon the real conmen to find out the truth?

White Cat is another fantastic and unique story from skilled author Black. The many selling points of this novel, curse work, conmen and mobsters, and the promise of a larger scandal, all work superbly well together. Black's imagined world where magic or curse work is real is so fascinating. On one hand, there is the wonder that such power is possible, and on the other, there is the fear of the different held by normal people. I just love how Black develops the sociopolitical scene here and how that, in turn, influences the rest of this tale. The story itself is enthralling; only a few details are predictable, and all the secrets and cons will keep most readers guessing until the end. The characters as well as realistic within their circumstances, but I have to say that the plot is really what kept the story going. I thoroughly enjoyed White Cat and look forward to more installments in the Curse Workers series.

White Cat will be enjoyed by fans of Tithe, also by Holly Black, Revealers by Amanda Marrone, and Firespell by Chloe Neill.

I have seriously missed out. Before White Cat, I had never read a single book by Holly Black, but I am definitely a fan of her writing now. White Cat was a fast-paced, thrilling read that had me guessing from the start. I loved how Black brilliantly intertwined reality and fiction, magic and the mafia. How did she even come up with this wildly imaginative storyline? White Cat is basically The Sopranos meets Harry Potter. We have mobster curse workers living the life of luxury, and I went just ballistic for it. These curse workers have the ability to do anything from tamper with your memory to alter your emotions drastically; it all depends on the type of curse worker. Anyone who works a curse is seen as a criminal in the eyes of the law so there was A LOT of illegal activity happening in this book.

I thought the world building was out of this world (no pun intended). White Cat was insanely creative. Black gave plenty of background and history on curse working, but I never felt overwhelmed by the details. It was fascinating to hear about why the ban on curse working was passed and how curse workers have been perceived differently over time. It is clear from the start that there is a lot of prejudice against curse workers. While it's not mandated by law, everyone is expected to wear gloves at all times. Bare hands are seen as a threat. Curse workers only have to touch someone's bare skin with their ungloved hand in order to work a curse so you can see why gloves are very popular in this society. I loved how every curse had its consequences. When a curse worker works a curse, they experience blowback. For an emotion worker, the blowback could be feeling extremely emotional for a little while. While a death worker may lose a finger or an ear after working a death curse. I liked how curse work came at a cost to the worker so the workers were kept a little more in line. Well, not all of them.

I have to admit I was a little concerned about reading another book told from the male POV, especially after my disappointment in Beautiful Creatures, but Black captured the male POV perfectly. In fact, I might even have a little bit of a crush on Cassel. He's not perfect. Believe me, he's far from perfect. He's one step away from being a gangster just like his brothers and grandfather, but, unlike most of his family, he does have some moral values. Plus, he's big on family. You wouldn't expect to like him, but you can't help it. Cassel is a master of deception, and his cons even took me by surprise. Just when I thought there was no way out of a situation, Cassel would cook up some genius plan that had me reeling. I seriously never would have thought up any of his schemes. Not in a million years. But what Cassel doesn't realize is that he's conning himself. Despite others' insistence that he is a good person, he refuses to believe that he can be anything but a criminal. He's constantly dwelling on the mistakes he's made in the past and he's blind to the good things he's done. I'm behind his decisions all the way. He's definitely one of my favorite male POVs ever, and he may even be #1.

Then there's Daneca and Sam. While the book starts off with Cassel not really having any friends, these two really make the effort to help Cassel out and gain his trust. I loved these two. Sam was hilarious and just a fun guy, and Daneca was someone you could really depend on. I look forward to seeing more of these two in future books.

White Cat was an edge of your seat, thrilling read and I cannot wait to read the rest of this series! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading about mobster families and magic!

White Cat (Curse Workers) by Holly Black is a book that I had on my Want list for quite a while. It never came up on my book exchange sites and, for some reason, I passed over it whenever I downloaded new books. This past week, I downloaded a handful of books that had been on my Want list for a while and White Cat (Curse Workers) is the first one I read. I only hope I enjoy the rest of them as much as I enjoyed this one.

Cassel Sharpe belongs to a family of "workers", magic users or curse workers, a practice that is outlawed. However, the gene seems to have skipped him somehow, because he is the only member of the family without power. He is, however, an excellent con artist, which he did get from his parents. With his father dead and his mother incarcerated, Cassel attends a very prestigious school, where he attempts to keep his family secrets while running a minor con here and there. Cassel is also haunted by the memory of Lila, his best friend and first love. Two years earlier he murdered Lila, although he has no recollection of actually committing the deed nor of why he did it. His family covered up his crime and now his brothers and grandfather are trying to help Cassel move forward with his life.

However, all is not as it seems. A terrifying bout of sleepwalking turns Cassel's world upside down. Truths he has believed his entire life are false and nothing will ever be the same...

Holly Black has created an interesting world in her Curse Workers series. Cassel is caught between many worlds: his family's world of curse workers and organized crime, the elite world of his classmates and the interesting world of Carney, where interesting characters reside. Cassel is an inteligent, likable character whom you want to see get a happy ending. I can't say if his ending is happy, but I can say that it leads me to want to read the sequel Red Glove (Curse Workers, Book 2), which was just released last week.

White Cat is a captivating mixture of curse workers and con-men. I read this book in just a few hours time. It was a quick, suspenseful read that kept my attention throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading this book.

Cassel is an outsider in his family full of curse workers. Relying heavily on his ability as a conman, he makes his own place in the world. He does what he had to do to get by. He has issues big time. He believes that he killed his best friend, which really messes with his mind. I like that he was not the perfect hero, but was flawed, just like the rest of us. I liked that the story was written from his POV. I don't get to read many books where a guy is the main character, and it was really interesting.

I liked the other characters as well. Sam, Daneca, and Grandpa were well written as well. I didn't care for the brothers or the mom, but I'm looking forward to reading more about them in the next book. I'm on the fence about Lila. I wanted to like her, but I didn't want to as well.

The world Holly Black created was fascinating. The setting, characters and 'curse' were really cool to read about. There was a lot going on in the book, and sometimes it got confusing. But it all came together at the end. Now I just have to read book #2, Red Glove, to see what's going to happen next!

In this magnificently crafted world unlike any other, magic is portrayed as a well-known weapon among the characters of the book and is used to instill a sense of mob and crime, making White Cat one of the most unique novels I've ever read.

Admittedly, this was my first Holly Black novel, but it certainly won't be my last. White Cat was a fast-paced mystery that very much reminds me of the crime investigation shows that I grew up watching as a kid. Clues are unraveled and things are foreshadowed and everything weaves together to make an extremely enthralling book that never bored me.

Cassel was such an entertaining protagonist. He's witty and sarcastic and definitely a smartass, but as the story deepens and we learn more about his history with Lila, a girl that he believes he had murdered, his layers kind of strip away and he comes more serious. More determined. Not only does Holly Black write amazing worlds, she also does a pretty nifty job with the characters she puts in them.

The only thing I can really complain about was that after awhile, it did start to become confusing. A lot of different names and memories are thrown at you, so if you're not really focused on the book, you're going to be scrambling to flip pages back to figure out what you missed.

Overall, I really enjoyed White Cat. The Curse Workers world is one that I can't wait to dive back into, especially with the sudden, and somewhat bizarre, ending that the first book left us with. This is a new kind of paranormal and a new twist on magic, so I definitely recommend it!

Okay, the book was definitely entertaining and unique, and I liked Cassel, the main character, but still...something felt off about it.

It's a bit of a slow start, and the characters change personalitites every other page, and you never know who's good (when in question, they're most likely bad--really bad).

For me, what makes a book is the characters and how they interact with each other. I prefer books where the main character has at least two people they can trust unconditionally, but in this book...not happening.

There wasn't much character development, except with Cassel. Otherwise, the other charaters felt kind of fake, especially his friens from school.

What did I like? I'm not really sure. I guess I liked the fact that it really kept you guessing, and, even though most of the twists were obvious, I admite there was one I didn't see coming, though once it was revealed I wasn't all that surprised.

The lure of this book, I think, is its originality with the Curse Workers. The concept it as new as anything can be, and the idea of "blow backs" is pretty cool.

As I watched bookshelf tours on Youtube this book seemed to be on a lot of shelves so I decided it must be worth the read. I must say that I wasn't disappointed at all. I found White Cat by Holly Black to be a very well written book with a very original story line.

I like the way that she developed the characters. Some authors seem to feel the need to over-develop their characters and that gets tedious and boring for me as a reader. Black, however, does a marvelous job. She makes the characters believable, well as believable as "workers" can be. You find yourself sucked into the world of Cassel and all of his "friends".

The only criticism that I have for this book is that it was somewhat hard to follow in the first few pages. Once I figured out what was going on though I had a hard time putting this book down. There are many twists and turns in the story line that keep you guessing from the beginning to the end. You have kind of a hard time figuring out who really has the upper hand in the story, which makes for a great ending. I can't wait to get my hands on the second installment of this series.

I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for something a little different than the vampire and werewolf books that are so popular these days.

Overall rating: 4/5

don't have too many strong feelings about this book.

My favorite aspect of this book was the concept. I really liked all the curse-worker stuff, and the blowback idea was great. In this book, actions had consequences, whether it'd be killing a man with one touch or just changing the odds of a game in your favor. Most fantasy nowadays, people just do whatever they want with the unrealistic threat of "dire consequences". Well, this book has a system. I like systems.

Cassel was a pretty unreliable narrator. I mean, he was wrong about his own life for about 80% of the novel. I found his personality pretty generic. Yes, it is cool who his family is and that he a super-cute conman, but the personality? He is whipped by a dead girl. Speaking of the dead girl, Lila was awesome. She was tough, mysterious, and a bad-ass. I actually liked Cassel's entire family, even his brothers. I know they aren't exactly the good guys, but I thought they were more realistic that way.

Oh, the plot was nice, albeit a little predictable. The twists smelled from a hundred pages away. Except perhaps the one that ended the book...it will be interesting to see how that plays out in future books.

This book was engaging, the concept was great, and I'm interested to see what happens next.

I didn't like the cover though. I dislike it when the author's name is more prominent than the title, and the smoke thing at the top is annoying.

Synopsis
Cassel lives in a world where curses are spread with the touch of a finger. Gloves are a necessary protection from curse work, all curses are considered illegal and all curse workers are mobsters or criminals. Cassel grew up as the only dud in a family of curse workers, and is still haunted by the memories of his childhood. His attempts to live a "normal" life are thwarted when he wakes one night on the roof of his dorm, clad in nothing but his boxers, and no memory of how he got up there.

Review
I suppose I should let you know that I didn't actually read this book, I listened to the audio book which can change my perception of the story. I did find the pace of they story to be very engaging and certainly helped my long drive go by quickly. Though the story is a bit predictable, I identified with Cassel and was cheering him on. There were definitely a few surprises along the way, and the book did leave me ready for the next installment. In my mind, Holly Black is always tied with fairly dark tales, and this one lives up to her other stories. I really enjoyed White Cat.

My Recommendation
It's a great listen on a long road trip and lacks an sexual parts that would make listening with a family uncomfortable, though there is some graphic violence. Read it or listen to it. If you liked Holly Black's other books, you'll like this one too.

Okay, when I first started reading this one, I had some serious doubts. The plot in the beginning seemed muddled and the characterizations very unclear. I wanted more from the author about this alternative reality she had set up; one where magic is out in the open and illegal in the US. I wanted more information about this young guy we meet sleepwalking on a roof. What the heck are workers? It wasn't till about 100 pages in that all these weird plot lines started to smooth out and come together. It wasn't long after that I started getting vested in Cassel and his strange family.

This idea of mixing the supernatural with organized crime is a great one. This book does not fall victim to the usual angsty teen dialogue common in most of the YA supernatural fantasy out right now. It's well written with a bit of an edge that goes far in creating a thread of suspense that runs through most of the book. After the rather agonizing and clunky introduction, this book is very well paced and turns into an intelligent, thrilling story. If you can hang with it in the beginning, you will be well rewarded. I look forward to the next one in the series! Even allowing for the rough start, this is a big recommend for teens 14 and up. No language issues, some sexual references, violence.

Kudos to the author for freshening up a crowded genre with an innovative story!

In a world where mobster families practice dark magic, Cassel feels left out as the only one in his dysfunctional family who has no magic powers. He compensates with his abilities to con and lie much like the rest of the family. As if normal teen angst weren't bad enough, he is haunted by the horrific death of a friend and struggles to remember how she died. When he dreams of a white cat talking to him and wakes up sleepwalking on the roof of his prep school dorm, his life spins out of control.

Holly Black's fairy tale trilogy, Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside, are among my favorite fantasy novels. While not about fairies, this is another urban fantasy by Holly Black, one that will keep you up all night reading to the end, as the plot twists and turns and Cassel learns disturbing things about himself and about his family. The world of curse worker mobsters is a highly original conception.

The novel itself is excellent, but the cover art is yet another example, along with Justine Larbalestier's Liar and Jaclyn Dolamore's Magic Under Glass, of YA cover art whitewashing. Cassel has black hair, black eyes, and tan skin, yet the boy on the front cover has auburn hair and very pale skin. The continued racism in the publishing industry, which believes that featuring white people on the front cover will sell more copies, is a disgrace.

Holly Black's WHITE CAT should appeal to middle school students--boys and girls alike. The main character, Cassel, is teen who finds himself in lots of trouble. He has come to believe that he gruesomely killed his childhood best friend. He is from a curse worker family, but doesn't know what his magical ability is, or worse yet, if he even has one. He has memory problems, and while sleepwalking one night, he nearly takes a nose dive from the roof of his private school's dormitory. He then gets thrown out of school and into the hands of his none-to-friendly brothers, one of whom is a thug for a crime boss. The other is a huge liar. Both brothers guard a dark secret involving Cassel of which even Cassel is unaware.

Throw in a white cat that appears both in dreams and in reality and threateningly tries to communicate with Cassel. What is the white cat, and what does it want with Cassel? What is the deadly secret that Cassel's brothers are hiding?

THE REHASH
This book wastes no time, thrusting us head first into the plot where Cassel Sharpe (I listened to the whole audiobook thinking it was Castle. Oops.) is standing on the ledge of a building, sleep walking. He’s just about to hurl himself off the roof of his school when he wakes up and—naturally—freaks the freak out. After calling for help and getting down, everyone thinks Cassel was trying to kill himself and doesn’t buy his I-was-really-sleep-walking sob story. The school officials decide they don’t want to take any chances and temporarily kick him out so he can get help with his family. This plan would be stellar if his relatives weren’t a bunch of sketchy “workers,” or people with magical abilities that can use their powers with the touch of a hand. Cassel’s grandfather is a death worker (his touch can kill people), his brother Barren is a memeory worker (he can manipulate memories), his other brother Philip is a body worker (his touch can effect someone’s body), and his mother is an emotion worker (she can make people feel whatever she wants). Needless to say, they tend to run on the wrong side of the tracks and Cassel has always stood out as the only family member with no magical talent at all.

Although this lack of mystical power has always bothered him, it has never stopped Cassel from loving or trusting his family. Blood is thicker than water, right? But this idea gets tested when he’s forced to stay with his brother Philip and sees some suspicious activity. Cassel has spent the last four years riddled with guilt after waking up from sleep walking, standing above the dead body of his best friend/girl crush Lila. With no one else around, Cassel has always thought he was the one to kill her and it’s been eating him alive. Now that he’s around his family, however, Cassel starts questioning this for the first time and sniffs around for answers.

Cassel definitely finds what he’s looking for and a whole lot more, uncovering a scheme that’s been going on right under his nose his whole life.

THE UGLY
Okay, I need to start by saying I personally can’t stand Jesse Eisenberg. Don’t you have a celebrity that just grates on your nerves for LITERALLY no reason? I don’t know Jesse Eisenberg and he’s probably a lovely person, but I just can’t take him in movies (besides Zombieland because that’s just the best film ever). Had I noticed he was the narrator, I would have steered clear of this audiobook from the start. To say I was thrown off and confused when his voice rang out over my headphones would be an understatement. But I love Holly Black and have a special place in my heart for her Modern Faerie Tales series (Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside), so I tried to give this a chance. Take everything I say in this section with a grain of salt, because Jesse Eisenberg kind of tainted the whole experience for me.

I found his voice to be SO BORING. There was very little variation or inflection in his tone and Cassel is a pretty analytical character in the way he thinks and schemes. That combination had me tuning out for long sections of audio and then scrambling to play catch up when something major happened. At a mere six and half hours, this audiobook should have taken me a day. Maybe two if work was really busy. But in the end I clocked out at over a week because I had to force myself to listen to it.

Part of me also thought Cassel’s character was a bit dull. Cassel deeply loves the people he cares about and I really felt for him when everything is revealed at the end, but he has a cool detachment that I wasn’t really able to sympathize with. As a kid I was such a goody goody and hearing him strategize ways to steal documents or trick his headmasters went a little beyond me. Once Lila came into the picture with her bad-girl confidence and take-charge attitude, I found myself more interested in her than Cassel.

THE GOOD
I know it sounds like I hated this, but I really didn’t! The story itself is good and I loved the way Holly Black slowly unraveled it piece by piece. We discover the answer to every mystery WITH Cassel, which was fun to experience. And despite having a hard time relating to the main character, I thought the dark, criminal, mobster side of this story put an interesting twist on the magical world Black built. The powers the “workers” have are so subtle and it was fascinating so see how they effected our modern day society. It added a richness to the setting that I really appreciated.

FINAL WORD
Meh. Actually read it, don’t listen to the audiobook. I think this story would be worthwhile if my own brain had provided the narration.

Present tense, first person and teenage male narrator: not usually my first picks. This book had all three, and it worked.

The con life aspects were fun, the magic system was interesting and, while I hope the politics don't become too central a theme in future stories, the world was an appropriately cool yet somewhat creepy place to be. :) The protagonist enjoyed a decent amount of character development and there was enough mystery/suspense to keep the plot moving.

I think I'll be checking out the next book in the series. With a mom like Cassel's, the possibilities for trouble are practically limitless.

White Cat is magical, mysterious, and dangerous. It has an amazing cast of characters and a likable hero in Cassel Sharpe.

Cassel is a loner and his mind is always working like that of a conman, something instilled in him by his mother. He doesn't fit in with his family of curse workers, and he holds himself at a distance from his fellow classmates at school. He keeps the secret that he killed his best friend close to himself and he suffers from the partial memory of it. He's clever. He doesn't fit in, but he doesn't bemoan the fact. He has a dark past. And he knows that he's done bad things. He isn't a bad guy, but he worries that he is. And as things start to get weird, he begins uncovering secrets.

This world in which curse workers exist is not so unlike our own, aside from this one bit of magic. The inclusion of the mobster aspect enhances the curse working and reinforces the sinister potential that those with these abilities possess. Combining the curses and the mafia gives the story an edge and a uniqueness that I can appreciate. The plot moves along steadily, fueled by Cassel's curious struggle to uncover the truth, and the conclusion is satisfying.

If you like urban fantasy, mystery, danger, and magic, then you will probably enjoy White Cat.

My first impression upon finishing this was "Well. That was interesting."

Some rambling thoughts:

I liked the writing. It fits the genre and the story and is, for me, a welcome change in Black's usual writing style. So if you didn't like her previous novels and are thinking of skipping this one because of it, think again. You'll be surprised.

I also now get why everyone cites this series as an example of well-written male POV. It is good. That's probably why I didn't completely identify with the narrator on an emotional level. I never do when it's a well-written male POV. And I guess I'm not supposed to, because why would I think the way he does? He's a guy. Duh.

Plot-wise, the novel is solid. It's intriguing, it's exciting, it makes sense and I want to find out more. It's basically everything you can ask from a book, to be honest. And it flows really well, too. Like sometimes you'll see Cassel noticing random things and it doesn't really serve any purpose in the story, but I find that refreshing because when everything is relevant in a narration, the plots gets way too predictable.

Something interesting happened, though, despite my lack of falling in love with Cassel: I started to "adopt" his way of thinking. When confronted to a situation that would have been perfectly normal for a regular person, I was screaming in my head "nooooo Cassel don't do the normal thing! It's baaad! You should never trust anyone, ever, trusting is wrong!"... Which is not how I feel in real life. And for me, that's proof of a consistent, immersive and well-done characterization, one that pulls you in despite yourself.

If you still need a reason to open this book, I'll give you one: Black does subtle but in-depth world building. Example: She mentions the odds of being a curse worker is one in a thousand. BUT then how is Cassel's entire family gifted? WELL SHE EXPLAINS IT. You heard that right. I know I'm way too excited about this, but so many authors leave gaping plot holes that have to be later explained in an interview. And she didn't! Yay world building!

I still feel like there was a little something missing, though, but I'm not sure what. It might just be the male POV messing with my brain.

Oh, and after reading book 2 and 3, I can definitely tell you that if you feel hesitant about Cassel after book 1, you definitely won't after book 2. Promise.

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.

Blurb from Barnes and Noble.com

4 out of 5 stars

First off, I have never read a book like this. The world the characters live in is completely original. I have never imagined curse worker, let alone read about anything like them.

The plot swirled with cons and betrayal, to the point where it was almost confusing. But in a way that makes you just want to read more, rather than stop.

The characters were all very believable, even the bad guys.

Personally, I had to check out this book after hearing and reading so many good things about the series and the author. The first chapter had me hooked with such an odd and funny beginning. As the book went on, I couldn't help but laugh, cry and sigh right along with the characters.

For a little while, I couldn't figure out why the book was titled White Cat, because in the beginning the white cat is not a major thing. But as the book continued, it became the best title for the book, which I was very pleased with.

I do not own the book, but I would love to, as I'm sure I'll read it again sometime. I can't wait for the second book.

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pooled ink Reviews:
3.5 Stars

WHITE CAT is gritty novel that weaves between crime, mystery, magic, murder, and mayhem. Flicking its thin tail amongst the players spinning its web tighter and tighter until with a twitch of its whiskers a bomb goes off propelling the story into an irreversible path. Real, impossible, but always the teeniest bit hopeful, this book is sure to intrigue.

Read my FULL review here: [...]