White Cat by Holly Black
Series: Curse Workers #1
Published by Margaret K. McElderry on May 4th 2010
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 320
Goodreads
Cassel comes from a family of Curse Workers - people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn't got magic, 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.
Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts to crumble when he finds himself 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. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen
Short & Sweet: I swore I was going to read this one when it came out. And then the second came out, and then the third. So, I finally picked up the audiobook and put it on. It was marvelous. Cassel is from a family of Curse Workers who also happen to be con artists. In fact, his mother is in jail. When he goes sleep walking and finds himself on a roof, he knows he's been worked. As he digs deeper, he finds that his family is involved. He has never been a worker, but he is definitely a conman and uses his skills to dig around and find out what is really going on. I just love Cassel and I loved this book. It was full of cons and trickery. It was exciting and fun and I loved the way it ended as well. I'm going to have to get the next one soon.
Final Verdict: A fun start to a series that mixes magic with the mob. The rest of the series is out and I can't wait to see what Cassel does next.
Kristen
Kristen is the co-blog owner of The Book Monsters. I am a twenty-something year old who is passionate about reading. I am a Library Media Specialist in an elementary school in the suburbs of Chicago. When I'm not reading, I'm attending bookish events, spending time with my hubby, or catching up on TV shows (I am forever behind!).
