Amazon.com: White Cat (1) (The Curse Workers): 9781416963974: Black, Holly: Books

No Import Fees Deposit & $10.29 Shipping to Netherlands Details

Delivery Friday, March 10

Or fastest delivery Tuesday, March 7. Order within 9 hrs 3 mins

Deliver to Netherlands

In Stock

[{"displayPrice":"$11.99","priceAmount":11.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"M%2Fvel8KzBPXootv39IoApLKGDYVUQzitR%2BZ6Xze%2Fpf21H1u9uhJ9tn0hZTmI4cT1Y0GT8ZKcywHz1jg3vkETb7N3uNBzu83CtHGmUQmKwZ1BP75vJpvpSOUy90rQPzNoXJJ%2F4ymPfYE%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$9.75","priceAmount":9.75,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"75","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"chEjhmnbWfFaEatcZY3X%2FhBxxJ1i3VxNtmbqtZVehV736QoziIsKdaK9K9pKlW7R6y8jLhM1fee82BjCE4a9RokwtaxiNSA0EdJijZa6Lf9RPA5wfBEPSrZNmDVvVUaTnPLl%2FVekr7riuUKYfaJatiysubFNBX5EN%2FWFZc9dS7zd78dPfwarciY7WrlyDjxD","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$11.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Payment

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Gift options

Add at checkout

Details

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Gift options

Add at checkout

Delivery Monday, March 13

Or fastest delivery Wednesday, March 8. Order within 20 hrs 33 mins

Deliver to Netherlands

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Bay State Book Company

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Have one to sell?

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

Follow the Author

White Cat (1) (The Curse Workers) Paperback – February 8, 2011

by Holly Black (Author)

810 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Curse Workers

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

"Please retry"

—

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

"Please retry"

$12.76

$1.62

Paperback

"Please retry"

$11.99

$8.93

$1.55

Mass Market Paperback

"Please retry"

$5.00

$2.12

Audio CD, Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$30.00

$8.79

Enhance your purchase

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers—people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, all by the slightest touch of their hands. Since curse work is illegal, they’re all criminals. But not Cassel. He hasn’t got the magic touch, so he’s an outsider—the straight kid in a crooked family—as long as you ignore one small detail: He killed his best friend, Lila. Now he is sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat. He also notices that his brothers are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s part of one huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to outcon the conmen.

Book 1 of 3

The Curse Workers
Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date

February 8, 2011
Grade level

9 - 12
Reading age

14 years and up
Dimensions

5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

1416963979
ISBN-13

978-1416963974
Lexile measure

HL700L
See all details

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by Holly Black Paperback
$11.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
by Holly Black Paperback
$12.99
Only 18 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
by Holly Black Paperback
$9.39
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Products related to this item
Sponsored Hide feedback

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dangerously, darkly gorgeous fantasy." - Cassandra Clare, author of The Mortal Instruments series

* "Fans of the author will revel in the sophisticated and slightly-more-realistic-than-usual approach, . . . fascinating and carefully developed characters, and lush setting descriptions." - BCCB, starred review

"A noir thriller." - New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of speculative and fantasy novels, short stories, and comics. She has been a finalist for an Eisner and a Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic and Nebula Awards and a Newbery Honor. She has sold over twenty-six million books worldwide, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library. Visit her at BlackHolly.com.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Margaret K. McElderry Books; Reprint edition (February 8, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1416963979
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1416963974
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL700L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #328,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #161 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Social & Family Violence (Books)
- #363 in Teen & Young Adult Siblings Fiction
- #7,670 in Teen & Young Adult Fantasy

Customer Reviews:
810 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Holly Black

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of speculative and fantasy novels, short stories, and comics. She has been a finalist for an Eisner and a Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. She has sold over 26 million books worldwide, her work has been translated into over 30 languages and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.

Related products with free delivery on eligible orders
Sponsored Hide feedback | Try Prime for unlimited fast, free shipping

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

810 global ratings

5 star		59%
4 star		27%
3 star		10%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Witty & Inviting

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2011

Verified Purchase

(Review originally published at ReadBreatheRelax.com)

Cassel Sharpe isn't your regular hero. His family is full of curse workers who can change emotions, alter memories or even kill with the touch of their bare hands. The only person who's not a curse worker is Cassel. Aside from coping with his lack of "working" abilities and his guilt over his best friend's death (a murder he thinks he was involved in), Cassel's just a regular con artist kid.

In a nutshell, what I loved best about this book was Cassel. He's a witty, clever trouble maker. Like Tris from Divergent , Cassel's not a noble hero who's completely selfless. He has vices. I mean, with his family who can blame him? His mom uses her emotion-working abilities to con rich men out of money, and his brother Philip works as a hit man for Zacharov, the head of a crime mafia.

Although Cassel can't work curses, he's well-versed in the art of the con. Like running an underground betting pool at his snooty private school. Yet, Cassel's "wrongness" is so right.

He longs to be a valued member of his family, which equates to being a curse worker, but he also dreams of being just a normal kid. And in that struggle, Cassel and his crazy curse-working family shine. I really rooted for him- even though he lied, cheated and stole.

I was totally engaged in every sentence of every page because I was dying to find out what would happen next to this crazy con artist kid. How would he talk his way out of trouble this time? Could he discover what happened to his murdered friend, Lila?

Some of the ways Black makes this story so fun and relatable:

- The book is told from Cassel's perspective
- The world in this story is highly anti-curse worker, which gives the feeling of wanting to stick it to the man
- Darker parts are lightened with Cassel's endless sarcasm and humor
- A sense of danger, mystery and power surrounds curse working

Although some books have a very clear YA-aimed audience, some stories deal with themes that people of any age can identify with. White Cat is definitely one of those books. Cassel deals with issues like rejection, family drama and feeling like an outsider- plus, he struggles with jealousy, betrayal and unrequited love.

These are universal ideas that are presented in a way that both an 80-year-old and an 18-year-old would find interesting. Cassel's story is one that is both foreign and familiar. He's surrounded by crime and chaos, yet he's just a regular senior in high school who's trying to find his way.

I also appreciated Black's ability to surprise. She doesn't fall into cliched plot traps. A lot of exciting action and mystery take place that I not only failed to predict but totally blind-sided me. I love that!

After you read a couple hundred books, sometimes you can feel like you've "read it all" and can't be surprised by a book's twists and turns. Black keeps things fresh. Even if I did see something coming, Black put a new spin on it that made it seem new all over again. (I know I'm being vague, but I really hate spoilers!)

Black's writing is just amazing. She has of sinking her literary claws into readers and never letting go.

Like here, at the end of the 1st chapter:

"For me, the curse is a crutch, but the con is everything. It was my mother who taught me that if you're going to screw someone over- with magic and wit or with alone- you have to know the mark better than he knows himself. The first thing you have to do is gain his confidence. Charm him. Just be sure he thinks he's smarter than you are. Then you- or, ideally, your partner, suggest the score. ...Being a con artist means thinking that you're smarter than everyone else and that you're thought of everything. That you can get away with anything. That you can con anyone. I wish I could say that I don't think about the con when I deal with people, but the difference between me and my mother is that I don't con myself."

OVERALL

White Cat is a must-read. I LOVED this book!! I gobbled it up and couldn't get enough. I'm almost finished devouring Red Glove (Curse Workers, Book 2) . Do yourself a favor and read the first (free!) chapter on publisher's website. I dare you to resist buying White Cat after you're finished!

One person found this helpful

Young-ish Supernatural Story

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2012

Verified Purchase

Have you ever felt like you were the one unimportant, ordinary person out of the entire group of extraordinary people? In a world where curse workers are feared and "working" (curses) are illegal, imagine being born into a family of curse workers but being the only one not to be a worker. In Holly Black's White Cat, Cassel has the unfortunate life of being born into a family filled with criminals who just happen to be curse workers, but his only talent is being a pretty good con artist.

People are so scared about being worked by a curse worker they all wear gloves and won't touch bare hands. Because curse work is illegal, most workers are criminals and get absorbed by the local crime families to do their dirty work. Since he isn't a worker in a family of thugs and workers, Cassel just wants a normal life away from the business. He sees his normal prep school as salvation from the family business. But when he is found on the roof in the middle of the night after having sleepwalked out of his bedroom window, the school won't let him return. Forced to return home to his crazy hitman grandfather, his two shifty brothers, and with his mother currently doing time in prison, Cassel tries to live life as normally as possible.

That might be possible if he could get it out of his head how he murdered the girl he loved, Lila, daughter and heir to the rival crime family. His memory is spotty on exactly what happened and why he did it, but all he can remember is all that blood and his family helping him hide the crime and the body. As he spends more time with his family, it becomes clear that something strange is happening. His brother Barron seems to be losing his memory and someone has clearly worked his brother Phillip's wife. As Cassel digs a little deeper, he discovers his memory of the night he killed Lila might not be so clear after all. Fearing he has been worked, Cassel takes steps to assure he can't be worked anymore. In doing so, he might discover the truth about his family that he never, ever wanted to know. But you know what they say? The truth will set you free!

The idea of a supernatural mafia is a pretty cool concept! This is like "Sopranos" meets "X-Men"! And the government's move to make curse working illegal has only made them all flee to illegal venues for their craft where mob families collect them like tchotchkes. Cassel's character was a perfect mix of a product of a family full of criminals (he ran book at his prep school) and wanting a normal life (desperate to return to his life away from his worker family). He was clearly torn between his two worlds, a feeling I am sure many teens can relate to (although probably not in the supernatural killer way, of course). I would love to see the parallels our kids could find between their own lives and Cassel's life.

This was an intriguing start to a series that would appeal to any fan of supernatural/paranormal stories. There isn't much romance, although the hint of its possibility to come is out there. The story ends well, but clearly continues in the remainder of the trilogy, so you can read the one book or continue on if you wish. It is also relatively clean for a variety of ages, although it might appeal to a middle school/junior high group rather than much older students. I am interested to see where the rest of the series goes!

2 people found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Book Lover

Recommended to anyone who likes magic & crime, with nice plot twists!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2016

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed it; I loved the worldbuilding and some of the concepts, and even though I’m not raving about it, it’s a good book! It’d make a very good read for teenagers (it is pushed as a YA) but is a nice one for adults too; it doesn’t present anything majorly challenging but at the same time, is a story about identity and guilt, magic and family…The story’s interesting, and you’re immediately sucked into the plot; Cassel’s interesting, horrible, conflicted and brilliantly written. The worldbuilding is excellent, and I loved the way magic’s done, particularly for the death-workers! The plot twists are also excellent.

However…I never quite felt the world was a whole. I struggled between the “magic” and the “con” sides of things; I think the danger and the crime element could probably have been played more strongly, at least on Cassel’s side (his mother being in prison was a good indicator of what could happen if things went wrong). I suppose the “magic being outlawed” aspect was the flaw for me; everyone in the book wanted to not be using it because it was dangerous, not because the rest of the world had issues with it. I wonder if the book’s been slightly mis-sold as well; the blurb on the cover is “You’re only a finger-tip away from another world” – which is true, but it’s not a world-walking, another reality thing. It’s a “someone can kill you with a touch”, which is a bit of a different prospect! When I re-read the blurb, I don’t exactly see the book I read…so I’m not sure how much that affected my expectations of what I was going to read, and how much that would help if it was changed.

I’m not sure if I’m going to pick up the next one – I have other things I’d rather read, and I’m not that invested in the world or story that I have to know what happens next. But I’d recommend it to anyone who likes magic and crime, with a dose of nice plot twists and a good characterisation!

6 people found this helpful

C. Manning

A simple touch can change your world

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2012

Verified Purchase

Cassel is cursed. He comes from a family of magic workers and lives in a world where magic was banned decades ago, but Cassel can't work magic. His family hate him for being the only non-worker...and because they helped cover up a murder he committed as a child. But when Cassel finds himself being haunted by a white cat, and his dreams are leading him to sleepwalk to increasingly bizarre places, he is forced to turn to his family to discover the secrets hidden in his past.

This is the first book in the Curse Workers series and the first book by Holly Black I've read and it blew me away. Finding young adult urban fantasy can be near impossible, but this is an incredible example of just how good it can be. Holly Black has reshaped our world by pushing curse workers out of the closet in 1929 and now in the present day their existence is banned so they are forced to hide their identities. One thing I love is that in this world, magic comes at a cost, so whatever you do will rebound on you in a somewhat karmic way.

The plot is brilliantly written and packed with twists and turns. There is an incredible depth of storyline and the world of the curse workers is fully fleshed out. Workers are divided into different groups (death workers that can kill with a touch, memory workers who can rewrite your life) and exist as an underground society since the ban, with most working as con artists or for organized gangs. There are even worker equality groups in the non-worker community. The idea of a con is woven throughout the storyline as it is a skill Cassel learnt at his mother's knee.

Cassel is a great lead character. As the normal guy in a family of workers, he is able to introduce us to their world without info-dumping and also plays the black sheep incredibly well which helps him in his quest to find out why he's being haunted by the white cat. His roommate Sam ends up as his best friend almost by accident and I loved how their friendship grew over the course of the book. Daneca the pro-worker supporter adds some comic relief to the book with her determintion to win Cassel to her side.

Cassel's family on the other hand was a different story. I didn't really like either of his brothers or his jailbird mother, but I adored his death worker grandfather Desi. He brought a new dimension to the story and quickly became a favourite character.

All in all, this was a great read and I'm looking forward to Red Glove .

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 49/50

11 people found this helpful

Anna (Enchanted by YA)

I thought there wasn’t much room left in the YA genre for a completely new prospect but I eat my words

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

I thought there wasn’t much room left in the YA genre for a completely new prospect but I eat my words. I have not read anything like this, full stop. Holly Black has written a unique and beautiful novel that I loved a lot more than I expected!

The start was admittedly slow because since it’s the first in a series there was of course world-building; and while it wasn’t bad/boring, it was hard to get into the story and connect to the characters but it quickly picked up and from then on never let up. I loved the ever present humour and the start was brilliant, with the male protagonist hanging from a roof in his boxers… A very clear indicator that this would be a fun book. The world of Curse Workers where people can change your emotions, or turn you into a cat, or remove memories with single touch is incredibly interesting, and there’s a lot more that can come from it.

As far as characters went I thought Cassel’s family was shady to say the least. Cassel’s the only non-worker in the family and with that came a lot of secrets and dodging around the truth like it was the plague. They never gave straight answers and as con-artists were very good at lying; it all came with the job of being a Curse Worker because the second someone realised they were being Worked everything would go up in smoke and they’d be carted off to jail (Cassel’s mother learnt that the hard way, but God only knows if she learnt her lesson).

Cassel was easily my favourite part of the book because it was easy to see him as a real person: likeable but flawed (it was easy to forget it’s written by a female, so well done Black!). He’s the laid back guy who prefers to hide in the shadows where drama still manages to find him; and what’s most surprising is that he’s not the type of person you expect to rise up and be a hero, but he does even when he doesn’t think can do it himself. I really wanted things to work out for him but of course if that happened there would be no story! Instead he faces complicated obstacle after obstacle trying to cling onto what parts of himself he still had left untouched by poisonous lies.

Now while I’m not usually a romance fanatic I think it needed something more than Cassel’s memories of a girl he loved that to be honest sounded really spiteful and just plain bitchy. He didn’t drone on about her *phew* and she was mentioned plenty enough for me as is, but perhaps someone else could have added something to the story? Just an idea, but still this was a great book and if you’re dubious about it like I was just have a go and stick with it. You won’t regret it and you just might end up loving it…

Posted on: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk

Ali

white cat - minor spoilers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2012

Verified Purchase

*I repeat, minor spoilers for the book in this review*

My main frustration with this book was a technical and personal one: it was written entirely in first person present tense, which I loathe. I will actually avoid books using this narrative technique because I hate it so much but, as it was Holly Black novel, I decided to try and get over my aversion. Which sort of worked. There was nothing remotely wrong with this story. The story was good what with its ambiguous characters, who were neither good or bad, and decent, if a bit vague (my issues with the narrative rearing their head again), world building. Even Cassel was not a character who you could call a good guy - he gets his kicks out of conning people, for heaven's sake. A novel with this narrative style is too fixed and has too narrow a viewpoint for me. I like to know as much as possible when reading.

It wasn't all bad, though. If there's one thing I like in a book, it's an unreliable narrator. I like not knowing if the character is being truthful or playing with my trust. I like not being able to believe a single thing that the character tells me. Cassel was one of the most unreliable narrators I have read in a while, not only because he keeps things from the reader but also because almost every other character was keeping things from him. That made it interesting to me and is all I'm saying about it because to say more would spoil the book even further.

As well as being unreliable as a narrator and a con artist, Cassel was also completely likeable. I found myself rooting for him throughout. Cassel killed someone and the frustration of not remembering what happened, the guilt of knowing he's a killer, was well written and definitely something that helped with the sympathy I felt towards him.

The other characters were also well written. The good were good (I loved Cassel's roommate Sam and how he also realises that conning people is fun. I hope to read more of him in the subsequent novels), the bad were awful and the in between ones were the best by far.

Holly Black also does something fun with the plot that I wasn't expecting: she lulls you into thinking you are a clever so-and-so who has guessed what's going on from the start just to pull the rug out from under you right at the very end, thus making the writing unreliable also.

While I didn't quite get over my aversion to first person present tense narratives, I found a lot of other things to enjoy in White Cat. Unreliable narrators, characters whose motives aren't clear and a twisty-turny plot that keeps you guessing are more than enough to make be pick up the next in the series.

One person found this helpful

Pamela Roach

WOW!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2011

Verified Purchase

This is the first book by this author that I have had the pleasure of reading. Holly Black effortlessly draws the reader into the world of workers and curses and crime families.

I thought the story was very original. Having a male protagonist lead us through the story was a fresh approach, one I am sure, many YA authors will be jumping on in the near future.

The voice of Cassel is an interesting one. There is a slight hint of irony with his character. As the only non-worker in a family full of workers, all he has ever wanted was to be different - to be a curse worker like his siblings and his parents, yet at his elite school he strives to blend into the background and be just like everyone else. Part is in protection for his family, part is fear of being noticed. But just because Cassel isn't a worker doesn't mean he isn't without talent. At an early age, his mother trained him in the art of conning and even runs an elaborate underground gambling scheme in his school.

The story unfolds gradually, and I found myself guessing along with Cassel instead of rushing ahead to try and figure it out before him. My paranoia grew along with Cassel's, unsure who to trust. With an interesting twist of modern magic and old school mafia, this book is nothing short of brilliant. I got lost in Cassel's world, his history became my history, his laws became my laws.

Even the supporting cast were memorable, with room-mates and the second in command to a powerful crime family making each appearance filled with possibilities.

The book ended with an obvious twist for a sequel, and I can hardly wait for it!

One person found this helpful

See all reviews

Get to Know Us

Make Money with Us

Amazon Payment Products

Let Us Help You

English $USD - U.S. Dollar United States

© 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates