Customer Reviews

White Cat: The Curse Workers, Book One

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed Holly Black's first installment of The Curse Workers series: White Cat. In it, we're introduced to Cassel Sharpe and the world in which he lives--one much like our own save for the fact that "workers" exist who can work magic by touch alone. Cassel is the misfit in a family full of workers and con artists: since he wasn't born a worker, he has made up for his lack of gifts by perfecting the art of the con. With Cassel's mother in jail for working a man as a part of a con, and his boarding school kicking him out over an episode of sleepwalking, Cassel is left to the unstable care of his two brothers Phillip and Barron, and their grandfather. Haunted by his past, he works on conning his way back into school, uncovering some evidence that he himself is being worked--but by who? And can he save his family in the process of saving himself?

This was one of the best YA fantasy reads I've read in a while. I love the world that Black has created in this first installment of the series. Cassel is a great character whom the reader is going to love. Plus, his conniving family has enough interpersonal problems to keep things interesting as he tries to get to the bottom of the appearance of a mysterious white cat. The ending was a nice twist that left the reader pleasantly hanging for the second installment--while most of the questions have been answered, we know there's still more to the story! I'm looking forward to Book 2, and I hope we get to read more about Cassel and his family in the next one.

The bad first, to get it out of the way: this book isn't always the most subtle thing going. I was about an eighth of the way into the story when one of the big plot twists telegraphed itself so clearly I couldn't miss it. Another significant, connected twist became obvious once I'd spotted the first. I've been reading fantasy for a long time, but I'm not exactly the Sherlock Holmes of the genre, so other readers will figure this stuff out too. That was a bit of a bummer.

Now the good, and there's more of that! There were a lot of twists and turns in the story I didn't see coming, some intricate and some delightful and some a measure of both. I got fond of Cassel Sharpe over the course of his story, because sure, he's a con man and if we met in real life he'd see me as some kind of mark, but he has a soul to go with his brain. Morality's a complicated issue in the Sharpe family--it makes all kinds of things rather interesting, from simple doctor's appointments to crimes in progress, death, and love.

In Cassel's version of Earth a few members of humanity have always been able to work magic on others, changing their luck, or their dreams, or their memories. It's been illegal for years, but why would that stop the magical Mafia? Everyone wears gloves to protect themselves from 'the touch.' One bare hand touching another is shocking, taboo. When you try and eat Tater Tots, the grease gets all over the leather. Small things like this made the setting more complex than just 'our world, except there's magic, but everything else is the same!' Cassel's reality is a lot like ours, but the devil is in the details....

I want the next book to be out *now* so I can find out what happens next, and that's maybe the best recommendation a series book can have. It's been awhile since I've jonesed so for a sequel, so I'll round four-and-a-half stars up to five and hope Holly Black's a fast writer.

Curse workers -- they can change luck, emotions, dreams and even more just by touching your skin. And since curse work is illegal, they work as con artists or part of mob families.

Having sparked off the teen-girl-encounters-faerie-world craze, Holly Black easily slips into a very different kind of urban fantasy in "White Cat," the first book in the Curse Workers series. The idea is a pretty simple one, but Black twists and knots it into an elaborate, many-shaded fantasy story, with plenty of blood, mystery and magic.

Years ago, Cassel Sharpe killed his best friend Lila -- he doesn't know why or what happened, but he knows he did. And after Cassel sleepwalks onto a roof (and into Youtube fame), he ends up suspended from his school and back in the junk-filled family mansion. As he waits to get back in, he encounters a white stray cat hanging around the barn -- the same cat that has been in his dreams recently.

Other strange clues begin to crop up: a memory charm, strange behavior from his sister-in-law, and the gaps in his own memory. Little by little, Cassel begins to realize that the cat is Lila -- someone with the rarest kind of power has transformed her into a cat, and to change her back he'll have to find out who it is. But as he tries to figure out who transformed Lila and why, he discovers the secrets that have been painstakingly removed from his own head -- and the elaborate, deadly scheme that he's being forced into.

It's pretty obvious from the beginning of "White Cat" that there is more going on than meets the eye, and Holly Black spends most of the book delicately unwinding the various tangled schemes and secrets. The world she conjures up is pretty much like our own, except that there are some people who have magical powers -- it's gritty, prejudiced, and has some real dangers for Cass.

She also comes up with some pretty cool ideas, such as the curse work -- by touching your skin, the workers can instantly break your bones, manipulate your memories, enter your dreams and even transform your body. Fortunately, the "blowback" keeps the workers from seeming all-powerful.

And Black's prose slips onto the story like a worn leather jacket -- the story is gritty, grimy and jaded, and there's always shadows lurking around the corner. But there's a raw beauty to it, especially during scenes like Cass's "pebble" ritual. And she threads the story with the luminous, bright flashbacks of Cassel's time with Lila (think golden cat-globes, ear-piercing and vintage movies). The dialogue is snappy and darkly humorous, and Black knows how to add twists you'll never see coming.

Cassel is that rarest of characters -- a teenage anti-hero. He's a likable, pleasant kid who dislikes the amoral con jobs and brutal mob work that his family engages in, but he also has a weakness for a brilliant lie or a little clever gambling. He's perfectly matched with the luminously quirky Lila, who hangs over the book like DuMaurier's Rebecca (although not as evil or absent).

"White Cat" is a clever and unique urban fantasy, with some shocking twists and a grimy, dark atmosphere -- definitely Holly Black at her best. Can't wait to see what happens with the Curse Workers next.

First, I won't rehash the plot, since many here have done an excellent job at it. I'll also add that I loved both Tithe and Ironside and was eager to love this book too. Unfortunately, I didn't.

The idea of workers and Cassel's family were extremely interesting. The history of workers, with the mafia aspect, was great and I thought it added a lot to the story, which I had thought was going to be more of a teen romance sort of thing. If you're looking for a really romance-heavy book, this isn't for you. Lila wasn't at all what I thought she would be and while I appreciated that she wasn't a shrinking violet, I still didn't end up liking her much. I was even more disappointed by Cassel's family. I don't want to ruin anything, but if you're someone who needs the characters to have deep connections/relationships like I am, then you're probably going to be finishing this book with a sour taste in your mouth.

Don't get me wrong, this book did have some strong points and it truly is different from other things I've read. If you're tired of the typical teen sci-fi/fantasy (I'm not really sure which this story falls under...) then this might be the book for you. By the end though, I was just bummed out by the whole thing and I'm not going to read the second of the series.

Hands can become dangerous weapons with the right training. But what if the lightest touch was enough? What if a finger placed on bare skin could change a person's luck? What if it could make a person fall in love? What if it could transform them? What if it could steal a memory? What if a single, slight touch was enough to kill?

In a world where curse magic is real a bare hand is more dangerous than any weapon.

Working is illegal, of course, but that doesn't make it go away. Instead, the curse workers are just driven underground, tied to crime families and working from the shadows to protect themselves--or maybe everyone else.

Cassel Sharpe comes from a long line of con men, gangsters and workers. Except for Cassel. He might know the art of the con better than most, but he isn't a worker. He is a killer. He killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago. He loved her, but he killed her anyway.

Cassel thought Wallingford Prep--a normal school away from his criminal family--would be a place where he could become the person he wanted to be, or at least convince everyone else he was the person he wanted to be. That is until the white cat shows up.

It might want to tell him something. Or kill him. Maybe both.*

As Cassel tries to unravel the white cat's intentions the facade of his normal life starts to crumble and nothing is what he expected. Cassel knows that being a con artist means thinking that you're smarter than everyone else and that you've thought of everything. But what happens when it starts to seem like you're the one being conned? That you can get away with anything. That you can con anyone. What do you do when it looks like you're the one getting conned?

Cassel's about to get even in White Cat (2010) by Holly Black.

White Cat is a total mind bender. Part mystery, part con game, part suspense, Holly Black has created a world like no other. The plot is filled with twists and unexpected turns but enough structure that readers will be able to keep ahead of (some) of the curves.

The story, much like its narrator Cassel, is simultaneously gritty and charming. Bare hands are simultaneously menacing and erotic. And lest being a worker seem too easy, every curse carries a blowback that turns on the worker itself, sometimes with devastating results. White Cat is a complex book that will likely leave readers with mixed feelings. Many of the characters, even the protagonists, are not nice people. Much of the ultimate resolution is messy. But life is not always nice nor neat, which is why White Cat is such a startlingly real fantasy that will leave readers wanting more.**

View the excellent trailer here: [...]

*I greatly appreciate this book supporting my personal opinion that cats are scary. I also madly love the cover. Edgy, sinister, and fabulous.

**Always a good thing for the first book in a trilogy. There is no official date for the second book yet, but I can confirm from Holly Black's livejournal and Sarah Rees Brennan's twitter that the second book will be called Red Glove. Watch for it.***

***Any Cassandra Clare fans should also watch for a quick reference to Jace in this book ;)

Possible Pairings: What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell, The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Money Wanders by Eric Dezenhall, Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, Leverage (television series), White Collar (television series)

Holly Black's WHITE CAT is a magical thriller, loaded with curses, organized crime families, and con artists with dangerous talents. LOVED this book, especially the ending. I'm excited to share it with my middle school kids once it's released. It's the first in a series called CURSE WORKERS, and it's one of those titles that both boys and girls are going to love. Highly recommended.

Reviewed from an ARC & due out from Margaret McElderry May 4, 2010.

Holly Black is a writer that I keep on my TO READ list because while I may not always love a book of hers, I usually like parts of it enough to want to read the next thing that she does on the strength of her no-nonsense,s sparse style of writing. In my (admittedly flawed) opinion, I've found that women writers have a general tendency to overwrite but Black's prose style remains straightforward while her plots and characters follow the dark path into the dark in a logical way.

I like that.

So when the first book of her new series ( White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1) ) became available to read, I jumped on it.

White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1) is the story of Cassel Sharpe, a 17-year-old from a family of curse workers (people who have a special gift to 'curse' people). Curse workers are treated with suspicion and in Cassel's world, they make up crime families. They might be con artists or thugs. It depends upon the particular talent of the worker.

Cassel doesn't seem to have the touch so he isn't a "worker" which makes him unique in his family. He is, however, being haunted by dreams of a white cat. When he is found on the ledge one evening at his private school, he is thought to have been attempting suicide whereas he says he was just sleepwalking. He is put on suspension and in the effort to get back into school, he develops a con job that seems to set in motion an event that will finally open up what happened three years when Cassel appeared to have killed his best friend.

As a character, Cassel is closer to Charlie Huston's man-in-the-wrong-place Hank Thompson than the usual teen hero of YA paranormal novels a la Shiver. He's a guy who is pays his dues by being a con artist of playing the odds to his benefit. He's a liar and a thief (sometimes).

And he may be a killer. But he doesn't want to be.

The plot points are simple: What is the white cat? Why is it haunting Cassel? What is going on with his brothers? And what really happened to Lila Zacharov all those years ago?

Black writes the story simple and to the point and I love when an author does that. No extra modifiers. No extra descriptions when not needed. No extraneous characters for fluff but in the end don't matter one whit.

No fluff period.

Just the story and the characters and things getting done.

If one is looking for a supernatural teen romance, White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1) is not the book for you.

If one is looking for a story in which the hero is a teen and he has to 'go there' even if it is dark and unpleasant, then this is book to take a chance on.

It isn't a perfect book. It may not be for everyone, but for me, it was perfect and well done.

Holly Black's WHITE CAT leaps instantly into action. The hero, seventeen-year-old Cassel Sharpe, wakes up barefoot and shirtless on an icy-cold night, about to step off a roof at his boarding school. Cassel assumes he was sleepwalking and hopes to be able to put the incident behind him. But after he's rescued by the fire department, the school authorities kick him out to avoid the legal liability resulting from his death if he were to accidentally kill himself while sleepwalking again. Cassel is devastated. He desperately wants to escape the deviant lifestyle of his family and be normal, and he sees boarding school as his one, big chance to accomplish that.

Cassel comes from a family of "curse workers" who can, with the touch of a finger, injure people with magic. Their various powers range from manipulating thoughts and emotions to physically harming others, up to and including his grandfather's ability to put a "death curse" on someone which will instantly kill him. Curse work is illegal, and his family lives on the edge of the law, many of them working for the local mobster. Even when they aren't working curses for hire, they make money as grifters. But though Cassel's amoral mother raised him and his two older brothers to see all of life as a gamble and a con, several crucial factors have kept him from falling completely into the cesspool of his family's unrepentant corruption:

Unlike the rest of his family, he isn't delusional about his own omnipotence when he runs a con. All of his cons are small potatoes stuff, like being a bookie at his boarding school for minor bets, which cause little or no harm to anyone. Cassel is capable of empathy, and he doesn't like to hurt other people, which can't be said for almost everyone in his sociopathic family. Most important of all, he apparently has no curse-working ability, which means he wasn't born with a power that society claims can only be used for evil. Unfortunately, there is one, huge thing that links him powerfully to his family's taint. They are covering up for him the fact that he apparently killed his girlfriend when they were both very young teens.

Cassel has mixed memories about this event. It feels like a dream that happened to someone else. He can clearly remember standing over his girlfriend's body with blood on him, but he has no recollection as to why on earth he would commit such an unforgivable crime against someone he loved--and still loves and misses years later.

In spite of the enormous psychological burdens Cassel carries, he makes choices that are anything but weak. He doesn't give in and become a criminal as his two brothers have. And he doesn't crawl off in a corner and whine about his terrible fate. Instead, he shows amazing initiative for someone his age by getting himself into a private school and away from his family, while hobbled with the reasonable doubt that he can never fully achieve his dream of normality. Since he isn't normal, he can only try to present an illusion of it to others, and doing that makes him feel guilty, because it seems too much like running the same old cons his family has engaged in for generations.

The concept of the con is at the center of this story, and the core of any con is the ability to tell lies convincingly and to keep secrets. That's a very creative twist on the two major sources of conflict in any fictional story, no matter what the genre, lies and secrets. In plot-driven, action/adventure, mystery, suspense and thriller stories, lies and secrets keep the hero in constant danger from the villain and often unable to know for sure who the villain is. In character-driven, relationship stories, lies and secrets stand in the way of trust, which is the foundation of emotional intimacy, commitment, and stability in romantic, familial and friendship connections. WHITE CAT is a story with both of these types of plots intertwined, a mystery/suspense plot and multiple, character-driven relationship subplots. And overarching and unifying all of that is the primary, "A Plot," Cassel's conflicted relationship with himself as he attempts to find out who he really is by breaking through a multitude of lies and secrets layered on top of him since birth by his family and society as a whole.

It is incredibly difficult to seamlessly intertwine, as Holly Black has done, action and relationship plots without emotion bogging down the action or action fizzling out the emotion. But she does a brilliant job of keeping action and emotion constantly in balance as she skillfully leads us through Cassel's discovery of who among the people in his life are his antagonists and who are his allies. The glue she uses to pull it all together is a theme throughout the book of determinism versus free will. That's a rather deep philosophical concept for a popular-fiction novel whose goal is to "merely" entertain, but it is this profound and universal human struggle which makes Cassel's journey one that all teenagers (and most of us adults) can relate to. The need to break free of limiting societal labels and expectations about who we are and who we can hope to be.

Cassel lives in a harsh world, so this book has a very somber tone. It is not as dark, perhaps, as many of the dystopian novels so popular right now, but it has a similar ultimate villain. The destructive, adult, power structure within a corrupt society which mandates that an entire group of people is inferior because they are tainted by innate qualities they never chose to have.

Because Cassel is fighting against institutionalized bigotry, the odds are completely against him in the greatest gamble of his life. I think it is for that reason that the end of this book, while it resolves the major questions posed by the story, does not resolve Cassel's core concern about constructing his own identity, rather than having a depraved one forced upon him by society. I look forward to seeing how Black will ultimately resolve Cassel's dream of escaping a life that is nothing but a series of empty, dehumanizing cons.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy, and most particularly to fans of Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier. I arrived at my scoring for this book in this manner:

Plotting: 5
Characterization: 5
Quality of writing: 5
Originality: 5

Kudos, also, to the publishers for the gorgeous cover!

White Cat was an amazing departure from Faeries for Mrs. Holly Black. I have only been reading her for a while, but I devour every single book of hers that I pick up.

The most interesting thing for me, from a writer's perspective, is that she wrote this book from a point of view that I have personally never seen in mainstream novels. She handled the writing beautifully.

The characters, situation, and locations involved are interesting .Cassel Sharpe is going to give Edward Cullen and Jace Wayland a run for their money. His wit, and how he sees the world is clearly defined.

Mrs. Black's new series is set to be just as addictive, fun, and full of adventure as her other works.

Can't wait to read more of the Curse Workers' series. It's going to be absolutely incredible. Here's to a great new adventure by one of the mistresses of Urban Fantasy.

Cassel Sharpe is the youngest son in a family of curse workers. Although he lacks any powers of his own, his upbringing amongst mobsters, con artists, and grifters has left him with his own powerful skill set. He tries to blend in with his classmates at Wallingford Preparatory, but Cassel is not like everyone else. For one thing, three years ago he murdered his best friend, Lila. He has no memory of this. His older brothers covered up the murder and sent him to Wallingford, where he remains until he wakes up on the roof of his dorm late one night, and he has no choice but to confront both his family and his past.

First off, I need to say that the hype on this book is huge, and pretty much impossible to live up to. With that said, I think White Cat does live up to the hype. Yes, there are other magic books right now, other con books, other books with a narrator who doesn't know the whole story, but the difference is that Holly Black does all these things really, really well.

Although this book has a magical element (the curse workers), it is otherwise completely realistic. All the information about curse workers is woven into the story, so there are no long sections of exposition and description. This is absolutely a well-written book. The writer/writing teacher in me recognizes that amount of work that has gone in to revising a story like this, and I wish more authors were able to take the time to do this. White Cat also strikes a balance between being a complete story and being the first book in a series. The end of the book felt like the end of the story, and yet the world inside it is so well done that I can hardly wait to read the next book.

I loved this book. and I know I'll be reading it again.