White Cat – Curse Workers #1
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Date: May 04, 2010
ISBN13: 9781416963967
ISBN: 1416963960
Available formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Audio book, eBook
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 conmen.
Curse Workers #1 – White Cat by Holly Black
5/5
Dark magic + con = Curse Workers
Speechless.
This is one of the few rare books that managed to make me reluctant to close the book and set it aside. And one of the books that left me
with such a huge after effect I couldn't go to sleep at 3am in the morning. (That's why I'm writing this review)
The Amazing White Cat! A High 5!
1. The cover art is amazing. Cassel seemed like a real hot con artist and the white cat was very mysterious.
2. Holly Black presented us with a unique concept of dark magic, using the term 'workers' for people who practice dark magic, and that the dark magic is not 'cast' but 'worked' through the simple act of touching with bare hands. That's why the characters stayed gloved all the time. And that's where the name Curse workers came from. And I was really interested and curious about the workers traits. There are so many kinds of magic and each worker is gifted with distinctive ones. In the story, Philip is a physical worker, having the ability to break someone's bones through a single touch, Cassel's mum, an emotion worker, who could manipulate a person's emotions, and Grandad is a Death worker who could kill someone just by touch.This magic doesn't require spells, nor practice and it comes all naturally. Yet, the magic has it drawbacks. Apparently, every time someone 'worked' magic, they experience the blowback too! Thus, making it a limitation.
3. I enjoy reading the development of the characters. The story is written from Cassel's POV, a boy who was born into a family of workers, but surprisingly he's not one. Having no magic, he felt like an outsider. However, after having dreams about a white cat and sleepwalking, he started doubting himself on the fact that he's not a worker. Maybe he is one after all. I enjoy reading from Cassel's POV because he certainly has a unique perspective; it amazes me how he is capable of living through the confusing state he was in, having to deal with stress, and working with a tampered memory. I read his turmoil, his grief, his sorrow, his troubles, and his past. It was depressing and a fix for an adrenaline junkie at the same time, especially when he lies. (I failed to mention that Cassel's con skills are impressive) Cassel is a great character!
4. The book was twisted! It's quite a complicated story plot with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns (oh you get the idea), but like The Host, as you proceed, you'll find yourself understanding even more.
5. It was a perfectly written book! It gives out 'horror' vibes but equivalently amazing. And I can tell this is a thoroughly researched book, from the con technique to the understanding of dark magic, to the ability of the author to make readers question their own judgments. I say White Cat is a huge maze that you need to find the way out of! Plus, unlike some other series I've read, the book was written in detail, every emotion elaborated, giving the readers a full dose of enjoyment. It's definitely fast-paced, but it doesn't leave anything out. I'm overly content when I finished this book, and I don't think I feel any sort of dissatisfaction because I'm pondering over loopholes (as I did with the other books – not that I found any.
White Cat – amazingness doesn't even cover it.
And I have no bad comments about the book at all!
Reviewed by,
Natasha Anne
