BOOK REVIEW: White Cat
Title: White Cat
Author: Holly Black
Series: Curse Workers (Book #1)
In Cassel's world everything, including your luck, emotions, and memories, can be changed with the touch of a hand. Since these changes are not always for the better, curse working has been deemed illegal by the government. Cassel comes from a prominent family of workers, but he himself doesn't have the ability. What he did inherit is his family's love for cons and scams. No matter how hard he tries, he just can't stop pulling them. Then one night he wakes up to find himself on the roof of his boarding school. Unsure if he was merely sleepwalking, or was worked to try and kill himself, Cassel is expelled by an oversensitive faculty, and sent home to his family, where everything is a con that he just might find himself getting caught up in.
White Cat is one of those books that has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now, but I've never really gotten around to reading it, despite honestly enjoying previous works by the author. There's a lot that I found really appealing about White Cat. Similar to Black's Modern Faerie Tales, White Cat possesses a cast of morally gray characters, that makes for a rather fascinating read. Black does a fantastic job of getting us into the mind of a teenager who's family freely works each other to their own benefits (his mother- he admits early on in the book- constantly manipulated his emotions, and emotions of his two brothers, growing up), creating an environment where trust is just not possible. The world building involved in White Cat is probably one of its greatest strengths. I really enjoyed learning more about this world where the right person can kill you with a touch of the hand, and even with the ban, everyone wears gloves out of fear of being worked.
At the same time, White Cat does have it's problems. The first two thirds of this book has this delightful slow burn to it, as Cassel tries to find out what's wrong with him. Unfortunately when all of the big secrets are revealed, they're not nearly as surprising as they need to be. On top of that, the final section of the book is told at an almost break neck speed. While I normally enjoy fast paced storylines, I feel that this does an disservice to some of the characters that emerge as larger players later in the book, and end up feeling a tad underdeveloped as a result. Admittedly, I did not see the very final twist in the book coming at all, and am curious to see how it will impact future books in the series.
Final Thoughts: White Cat is a worthy work of young adult contemporary fantasy by author Holly Black. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, as well getting to examine the unique dynamic in Cassel's family. The book is somewhat hampered by pacing problems in the final act, but I still fount it to be an enjoyable read nevertheless. I plan on continuing the series with book two, Red Glove. Four Stars
Author: Holly Black
Series: Curse Workers (Book #1)
In Cassel's world everything, including your luck, emotions, and memories, can be changed with the touch of a hand. Since these changes are not always for the better, curse working has been deemed illegal by the government. Cassel comes from a prominent family of workers, but he himself doesn't have the ability. What he did inherit is his family's love for cons and scams. No matter how hard he tries, he just can't stop pulling them. Then one night he wakes up to find himself on the roof of his boarding school. Unsure if he was merely sleepwalking, or was worked to try and kill himself, Cassel is expelled by an oversensitive faculty, and sent home to his family, where everything is a con that he just might find himself getting caught up in.
White Cat is one of those books that has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now, but I've never really gotten around to reading it, despite honestly enjoying previous works by the author. There's a lot that I found really appealing about White Cat. Similar to Black's Modern Faerie Tales, White Cat possesses a cast of morally gray characters, that makes for a rather fascinating read. Black does a fantastic job of getting us into the mind of a teenager who's family freely works each other to their own benefits (his mother- he admits early on in the book- constantly manipulated his emotions, and emotions of his two brothers, growing up), creating an environment where trust is just not possible. The world building involved in White Cat is probably one of its greatest strengths. I really enjoyed learning more about this world where the right person can kill you with a touch of the hand, and even with the ban, everyone wears gloves out of fear of being worked.
At the same time, White Cat does have it's problems. The first two thirds of this book has this delightful slow burn to it, as Cassel tries to find out what's wrong with him. Unfortunately when all of the big secrets are revealed, they're not nearly as surprising as they need to be. On top of that, the final section of the book is told at an almost break neck speed. While I normally enjoy fast paced storylines, I feel that this does an disservice to some of the characters that emerge as larger players later in the book, and end up feeling a tad underdeveloped as a result. Admittedly, I did not see the very final twist in the book coming at all, and am curious to see how it will impact future books in the series.
Final Thoughts: White Cat is a worthy work of young adult contemporary fantasy by author Holly Black. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, as well getting to examine the unique dynamic in Cassel's family. The book is somewhat hampered by pacing problems in the final act, but I still fount it to be an enjoyable read nevertheless. I plan on continuing the series with book two, Red Glove. Four Stars