White Cat by Holly Black

Book:  White Cat (Curse Workers #1) by Holly Black, 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry Books, 320 pages.

Synopsis from Goodreads: 
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 criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn't got magic, 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.

Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts to crumble when he finds himself 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. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed reading this book!  It is about Cassel, a boy who lives in a family of curse workers and con artists.  Though he is not a curse worker himself, Cassell has certainly learned the art of the con.  

The book is told in first person by Cassel, and it is interesting to have a boy's point of view - Black does a great job of this.  I found that I liked Cassel and was rooting for him, even though he isn't always portrayed in a favourable light.   It is interesting how Black's characters are not always easy to like or how they represent segments of society we don't always read about in books.

Pulling cons on people was a big part of this book and one which Black obviously researched well because it was convincing and compelling.

I'd recommend this book for both boys and girls, in fact, my teenaged son took this one off me when I was finished so that he could read it. There is something for everyone here:  some romance, action, mystery, and tension.  I can hardly wait to get my hands on Red Glove, the next book in this series to see what Cassel does next.  


Here is the book trailer from YouTube: