White Cat by Holly Black

This was my first book by Holly Black but it definitely won’t be my last. White Cat is an exciting read that you will not be able to put down until you hit the last page. Imagine living in a world where an ungloved hand is like holding a loaded gun. That is the world that Holly Black has created in her new series (The Curse Workers). Curse working is illegal and some may say that it is for good reason. Curse workers can change your emotions, your memories, your luck, and more with only the slightest touch of their hands.

White Cat is the first in the series and follows Cassel Sharpe. Cassel comes from a family of curse workers; unfortunately he is a non curse worker. Cassel has learned to survive in their world by becoming a talented conman. He has come to love everything about the con until he starts to suspect that he is the one who has been conned all along.

Three years ago Cassel murdered his best friend Lila. He can’t remember the details of that night but he does remember standing over her dead body with the bloody knife in his hand. He is haunted by that night and what it means. The only way that he knows hoe to cope is to blend into the crown and be as “normal” as possible.

His careful façade comes crashing down when he almost sleepwalks off the roof of his dorm following a white cat. Why is this white cat haunting his dreams? What is the cat trying to tell him? Sent home to deal with his sleepwalking problem, Cassel first objective is to get back to school and his routine (away from his family). Cassel knows that his brothers work people but waking up to their whispered conversation leads him to believe they are hiding something more. Cassel is determined to figure out what is going on. What are they up to? How is Cassel involved? Is everything that Cassel thinks he knows a lie? Could his whole life be a con? What really happened to Lila? Could she still be alive? Finding the answers to these questions will change everything…..but will it be for the better.

Talk about cliffhanger ending. All I am going to say is that I am very pissed at Cassel’s mother. Very very pissed! I mean why does Cassel always get the shaft?! Read it and you will know what I mean. I can’t wait for Red Glove which is due out May 2011.