Review of White Cat by Holly Black

I think I'm going to make a habit of starting my reviews with why I picked up the book to start with.
So, I decided to read White Cat originally because (a) the cover art was magnificent, (b) I've read the Modern Faeries Tales by Holly already and some of her stories from The Poison Eaters and loved the whole dark vibe, and (c) because in a Mortal Instruments FAQ Cassandra Clare said that Jace would make an appearance. And I love me some Jace.
After reading White Cat, I found that I love me some Cassel, too.


White Cat is the first in the Curse Workers series. Curse Workers are people who can 'Work' you with just a touch. There are luck workers, emotion workers, and so on. Working became illegal decades ago, and nowadays Workers are underground. Cassel, the protagonist, comes from a family of Workers, but isn't one himself, and throughout the novel is somewhat left out of the loop by his family.

Things I loved about White Cat:

• The family dynamics. Even in a fantasy world, the relationship between Cassel and the rest of his family is totally believable. I especially liked his relationships with his older brothers, and how they're stretched as he discovers his family's secrets.
• The mysterious-ness. Since Cassel isn't privy to what's going on within his family, and we only see his perspective, for a lot of the book we don't know what's going on. This could be seen as a negative point, for some readers, but I personally loved this.
• The open ending. Some books in other series' end happily, so the sequel has to reintroduce a new problem. White Cat is left unresolved enough for the sequel not to see forced.

Speaking of sequels, the next book in the Curse Workers series, Red Glove, comes out on the 5th of April, 2011. Conveniently, a year and a day after White Cat came out.
So, I give White Cat a 5 out of 5.

So, in the comments, have you read White Cat? What do you think about it? Are you as excited as I am to read Red Glove?