White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1) (edition 2010)

4.5 stars

The Storyline
Cassel was born into a family of curse workers; however, he’s the outsider of the family… the one born without magic. Not to say he’s perfect…he’s become quite the con man at school and plus he did kill his best friend Lila and has lived with the guilt for the past 3 years. While at school he begins having dreams where he’s visited by a white cat that obviously wants to tell him something but Cassel isn’t paying that much attention… I mean it is just a dream, right? And there's something stirring within his own family but he's kept out of it because he isn't one of them. Everyone's keeping him in the dark and as he realizes they've been lying to him, he starts determining what exactly they've been keeping from him.

The Family
I found this whole aspect to be quite sad, yet a vital part of explaining why Cassel is who he is. His mother is in prison for ‘working’ a man into giving her thousands of dollars. His brother Phillip pretty much works for the mob because he has the power to break bones and hurt people simply with the touch of his finger. His brother Barron is the one he’s most close with but throughout the novel they grow distant. Cassel is literally the outsider in the family and is left out from all conversations regarding curse work because he’s technically not one of them.

My Thoughts
This is one brilliantly original novel and I loved it! I read this quickly and loved every minute of it. The characters were great, I loved the overall sense of humor, and the overall story is just completely unique that I couldn’t help but fall in head first. Cassel was my favorite character. I loved his sense of humor, I loved how he handled his own business, I loved how he wasn’t your typical whiny teenage boy, but I also loved that he came across as completely unpretentious. Quite rare, I’ve found, in YA novels that the characters in the end feel as if they were real people (regardless of all the magic involved.)

Overall
Well I’m starting Red Glove right away if that’s any indication. :)

Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog! ( )

If I ever get my favorite authors list together Holly Black definitely has a place there. ( )

A little slow at the outset, this book quickly gained speed and had me at the edge of my seat. I thought the ending was unnecessarily contrived, I'm not a big fan of such enormous cliff-hangers between series installments. Luckily, I've already got RED GLOVE, so I can move straight into the next one.

Read Abigail's review at All Things Urban Fantasy. ( )

I don't know why I don't read more Holly Black. I enjoy the few I have read. This one in particular is a great world that is unique and interesting. I also love that the main character isn't an over the top alpha male type. Interested to see where she goes with the series. ( )

by Holly Black

Opening line--"I wake up barefoot, standing on cold slate tiles."

Okay, I really loved this book. It wasn't one of the pivotal reading experiences of my life, but it was smart, fun, and since I finished I've been thinking about it a lot, drawing comparisons to other books and generally marvelling at its awesomeness.

So here's the premise: In a world where working curses, or any sort of magic (but that seems synonymous with curses) is illegal, all the curse-workers have ended up in the hands of one of the big families. Yes. Like mob families. Cassel is the only non-worker in a family of workers. He's also the youngest* of three brothers. His father is dead; his mother is in jail; his grandfather is crazier than ever. And Cassel just wants a normal life attending a prestigious boarding school. Unfortunately, he has secrets in his past, and when he wakes up on the roof of his dorm after sleepwalking, his life changes.

Holly Black took the "White Cat" fairy tale and adapted it in really interesting ways. Despite the title I didn't make the connection until one particular point, at which I set down the book for a second and went, "OH! Now I get what she's doing!" So thumbs up for a very unique re-telling. If you know the story, that's fine. If not, I'd suggest looking it up AFTER you finish the book, because it will spoil one of the big secrets.

I did call most of the twists and turns, but I wasn't particularly bothered by this for some reason. I think it's because Cassel's voice and story were engaging enough to keep me from feeling annoyed. And besides that, there were some very strong reasons that he couldn't see what everyone else could. It wasn't that he was being dumb, it was that he was being manipulated.

I loved that all of the characters were so ambiguous. I love ambiguous characters, as long as they settle down into some sort of sense by the end of the book (or at least by the end of the series). If they don't, I'm just annoyed. Cassel was great, as was his grandfather. And I loved Sam! Sam is Cassel's roommate and is awesome. He drives a biodiesel hearse. 'Nuff said.

It did cut off a bit abruptly, which left me saying, "There had BETTER be a sequel." And there is, coming out next year.

I have all sorts of other thoughts, but they're a bit more spoilery.

Book source: public library
Book information: Margaret McElderry Books, 2010

* I didn't think about this at the time, but WOW! Holly Black does that youngest-son fairy tale trope really nicely. I didn't even notice it while reading, but it definitely adds another level of complexity to the story.

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Such a fantastic book! I loved the very subtle weaving in of the eponymous fairy tale (and yes, I did just want to use that word). I loved the mystery of Cassel’s past. I loved the world. I loved Grandpa and Sam. While I did call most of the twists, I still found myself engaged. Fortunately, it’s just the first in a series. [2010 in books] ( )