White Cat

Title: White Cat
Author: Holly Black
Published: March 2010
ISBN: 9781416963967
Price: 17.99
Pages: 310
Other books in the series: Red Glove, Black Heart
Genre: fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Level: 9-12th grade
Summary: Cassel comes from a family of very powerful curse workers. Curse workers have magical powers that allow them to touch people and do things like manipulate their thoughts, change their luck or even kill them. Curse working is outlawed and most people where gloves that cover their hands to protect themselves. Cassel's family secretly engages in various illegal curse working jobs but Cassel with no powers is kind of left out of the families illegal business. But Cassel isn't without his own secrets. In fact Cassel is hiding a very dark and painful secret of his own. He isn't sure how but he is convinced that his secret has something to do with the mysterious white cat that keeps showing up in his dreams. And it might have something to do with why Cassel finds himself on top of the roof of his school dorms in the middle of the night, with no idea how he got there. Cassel knows something is right but what could it be?
Review: Holy Black is known for her urban fantasies and White Cat does not disappoint. The story has a very dark and edgy feel. The story is almost like a magical version of the Sopranos with Cassel's family coming across as magical mobsters. Between Cassel's family drama and his own secret there is a lot of action and story to get into. The secret of what Cassel is hiding and what actually happens slowly unfolds and when it is finally revealed what actually happened it is extremely surprising. The story takes many twists and turns and keeps the reading interested all the way to the end. Though the story can get a bit confusing because of the amount of betrayal and manipulating that goes on. It's hard to keep all of it straight. But readers will be so caught up in the story that they will not be put off by the complexity.
Reader's Annotation: Cassel hides a dark secret. He killed his girlfriend a few years ago. Now he is being stalked by a white cat. What Cassel doesn't know is that his past may not be what he thinks it is.
Main themes: family, magic, corruption, mobsters, secrets
Bibliotheraputic Usefulness: Cassel struggles with trust issues due to his families manipulative background. Cassel is led to believe one thing by his family but it is not the truth. The story shows readers how family can be manipulative. The lie that Cassel was told completely changes how Cassel behaves and acts. He believes he is a terrible person who killed his own girlfriend. The reader will see how one's own perceptions of self can impact your actions and feelings.
Issues: The story has violence, manipulation, and illegal activity. Cassel is actually the school bookie and often times engages in less than legal activities. Cassel is also accused of killing his girlfriend.
Book Talk Ideas: The mobster aspect of this book is what will draw the biggest appeal. The book talk should focus on Cassel's family and their powers as curse workers and how they use them to engage in illegal activity.
Author Website: http://www.blackholly.com/
Read Alikes: Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman, The Blue Girl by Charles De Lint
Professional Reviews: Kirkus Reviews
Publisher's Weekly
Why chose this book? Holly Black writes amazing dark urban fantasies that are very popular. This series features a male protagonist and a unique story line that will have wide appeal to teen readers.