Review | White Cat by Holly Black

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 con men.

Thoughts: I'd previously read one book by Holly Black, Tithe, and I did not like it all. I really thought that maybe I had a problem with this author's writing, so I was done with her. But that wasn't fair, so when I saw that this new book was coming out and it had nothing to do with fairies, I decided to give her one more shot.

I wasn't sure what to expect because when I read "curse workers," I instantly thought witches, wizards, magic. To my surprise, "curse workers" are a little different than that. I loved the entire idea of what a curse worker is, and how the author creates a whole new world that revolves around people who are curse workers. I was easily able to get into the story that unfolded and right from the start, I didn't want to stop (listening to it) and really wanted to learn more.

Cassel is a great character, and since he's the only member of his family who isn't a curse worker, he's had to deal with being sort of being singled out by his family. He's a very complex character and I loved him a whole lot. The other characters were great also, and I loved how they are all very unique and very well developed.

I really enjoyed this story and there are many plot twists and even though some of the things that happened were predictable, I loved the ending, it was a complete surprise. This book is full of mystery, suspense and at some points frustrating, but I definitely recommend it. I am really glad I decided to read this because I truly enjoyed it.

Favorite Quote: "The easiest lies to tell are the ones you want to be true."

This book was provided by my local library.