"White Cat" Final Thoughts *spoilers*

[Kim]

For those who have finished you can discuss how you thought the book was, the parts you like, the parts you didn't.

Rather than rewriting it here is my review:

As I said I would I will attempt to read every book that is selected in the 2 clubs I'm in whether I think it will be good or bad.

In saying that I didn't have very high hopes going into this one and I think that has helped. It wasn't great but it wasn't really bad either.

The story of Cassel: a non-magical worker (to begin with) in a family of workers who harbours a deep, dark secret. The night he killed his "best" friend. (view spoiler)[As the book goes on he learns he was being manipulated by his brothers who were forcing him to use his powers to kill people and then altering his memory. (hide spoiler)]

To me it's like a more adult, darker version of Charmed Life. The ones who are closest are often those you should trust the least.

The three stars I gave are really for the world Holly Black created and the story but not the characters. The only character I enjoyed was the Granddad. I did not like Cassel at all. I'm tired of weak, stumbling, intelligent yet oh so stupid main characters. And Lila sounds like she deserves a good slapping anyway. The brothers were fine enough in their role though the ending leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall I read it because it was a goal I set myself but I won't be reading the rest of the series unless they are chosen as well.

[Michelle]

I really enjoyed the world-building in this novel.

However, the beginning was slow and the climax kind of confusing. The end was interesting, and sort of made the book standalone, but I could definitely tell that there's a sequel. I enjoyed reading it, but now that I'm finished, I'm exactly that--finished.

After having loved the Spiderwick Chronicles, I was disappointed in this one.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

I was really underwhelmed with this book. I like the Modern Faerie Tale series (loved Tithe, liked the others), and enjoyed Spiderwick and The Good Neighbors series, but this one just didn't grab me. Maybe 'cause there were no faeries? Heh.

Honestly, even the blurb of this one didn't pull me in, even though I've enjoyed Black's other work, and after I read it I kept thinking that I shouldn't have bothered.

Also, I read the original fairy tale linked in the other thread, and I think the connection is pretty tenuous, at best. It's not really what I would think of as a fairy tale retelling, but maybe I'm too literal with such things.

Anyway -here's my review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Marsha]

The basic premise of the magical world was very intriguing and that kept me reading through lots of tedious backstory. Once I reached a point 2/3 of the way through, the pace immediately picked up with real action, rather than telling about what every character did in the past. I thought there was too much "set-up" before the action. It seemed unbalanced and would have greatly benefited by some acts of magic performed by various characters among the backstory.

I agree with Kim, that Cassel was annoyingly bungling, especially in the last 1/3 of the book. Once he uncovered the mysteries/cons surrounding him, I desperately wanted him to become more assertive and shake off the "kid brother" stigma. The author needed to allow him to grow more as a character. This lack of development in the main character will definitely keep me from reading the next in the series. That frustrates me because I really did enjoy the world she created, but not the key characters.

Marsha
http://www.MarshaAMoore.com

[Lara Amber]

I was a bit surprised by the number of negative posts on the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought it was a fast read (2 days). I thought the world was original and wanted to know more about it. The characters were interesting and since told from one character's perspective, the other characters being left a little hazy makes sense, I mean are YOU going to wax on about the driving forces behind your brothers' behavior, especially when you're a teen? Heck as a teen I think my description of my sister would be: here is my sister, she's four years older, she f-ing perfect and beautiful, now let's talk about something else instead of her straight-A, modeling, fluent in French ass.

I might go on to read more books assuming it's the same characters and world.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

If the driving forces behind me brothers' behavior directly impacted me, even obliquely, then yes - yes I would.

But, then, by all accounts I was always a bit odd...

[Michelle]

Colleen, i absolutely agree - as far as this being a fairy tail retelling, it's quite tenuous. having read that story back in the day (i am a total junkie for old fairy tales & mythology!!), the only connection was knowing that the cat in question would become a woman when he chopped her head off. and technically, there are 3 brothers here too, but this isn't a quest, and nobody gets a prize at the end, and cassiel certainly doesn't win any marriage jackpot by beheading his cat pal.

Lara, i'm nowhere near *negative* on the book, but it did leave me wanting a lot more. my review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
after being solidly underwhelmed by the teen angsty romance overload in The Forest of Hands and Teeth, i found the lack of overemotional swooning very refreshing. and i LOVED the organic-feeling magic system in this book, i just wish she'd done more with it.

as a random aside, the night after i finished 'white cat', we watched a movie called intacto (it's on netflix streaming if you want to check it out) that had some big similarities to the magic. in this movie, there's a bunch of people who are effectively luck workers that can give/steal luck from each other with a touch.

[pauliree]

Lara Amber wrote: "I was a bit surprised by the number of negative posts on the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought it was a fast read (2 days). I thought the world was original and wanted to know more..."

I agree with Lara, slightly surprised by the lesser reactions. I absolutely loved this book and its sequel Red Glove simply blew me away - I am hanging for the third book to be released. I think it was something about being first person from the boy's point of view - so different from the regular teen pap you normally get. It could be because I read it fresh from the mind numbingly boring Fallen by Lauren Kate which I didn't finish (although I had read it before, hated it, and was trying to reread because so many other people loved it)

There was something about it, that magical system is the best, that really appealed and I guess the fact that it is a trilogy and you can see the potential there for something very special that just got me excited.

[Snail in Danger (Sid)]

I wasn't as impressed by Red Glove - but I do think it addresses some of the criticisms made here.

[Marsha]

The magical system in this book was remarkable. That seems the real strength of this work, in my opinion.

Marsha
http://MarshaAMoore.com

[Joan]

While I can't say I loved the book, I'm in the positive camp. Particularly for YA fantasy, the fact that the characters were not cartoon characters was refreshing. I have 13 and 17 year old daughters and would rather have them read this than the Twilight series again. There is some ambiguity in the characters and emotional obsession isn't shown as being a positive. That's a real plus for me. I intend to read the rest of the series and pass it along to the girls.

[Stacia (the 2010 club)]

Even if everything wasn't fully fleshed out, the idea for the series was a fresh one and the characters were not the same old, same old. I liked the mafia family vibe.

[Gewbook]

I honestly didn't expect much from this book. I liked Tithe ok, but it wasn't fantastic for me. So White Cat was a pleasant surprise. I actually liked the characters and thought that Cassel did take charge of his life as much as a teenager could in that situation. He made a plan and he executed it. Not without some stumbles, but I like that he's human and makes mistakes and lets his emotions win sometimes, but not completely rule him.
I liked the way the story unfolded and how the layers were revealed. And I really liked the magic system and how it worked. Being dropped into the world from Cassel's perspective only turned out to be very effective. Everything is so familiar and yet just a little off, a little different to the reader. It's very similar to the way Cassel feels about his life and his memories. We begin to understand how this world and magic really work as Cassel begins to understand what is really happening to him.
And I really didn't like Lila, but thinking back to being a pre-teen and teenager, there is often someone who seems so amazing that they capture attention and loyalty even if you don't realize until later that maybe they don't or didn't deserve it. Cassel and Lila's dynamic is very real even if it isn't very nice. And it contrasts well with Cassel's emerging friendships with Sam and Daneca. I'm a sucker for a main character who has great supporting characters behind him and this time they were fleshed out really and well done.
So, I think I have talked myself into 4 stars instead of 3 while I was writing this. I have requested the sequel (which I didn't realize was already available) from my library and I am looking forward to it.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Joan wrote: "While I can't say I loved the book, I'm in the positive camp. Particularly for YA fantasy, the fact that the characters were not cartoon characters was refreshing. I have 13 and 17 year old daugh..."

Well, sure, if you compare everything to Twilight it's bound to come out in a positive light. ;)

[Sarah]

I didn't love the book at all. I read it because I'm always looking for YA novels to share with my students, and many of them are really into paranormal stories. My review, which was written when I finished the novel is here:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60...