Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
This was an interesting storyline, with predictable plot twists. I would describe it as the teenage magical version of a mob story.
This was something I tried to read in 2018? DNF I couldn’t get into the story.
Ultimately, this is a fairly competent book with an unreliable narrator (which is pretty obvious off the bat, so this isn't a spoiler), but there are things that I just don't buy, particularly in Cassel's motivations, actions and decisions near the end. The end felt like a completely unnecessary downer. It would have been stronger if it had ended two sections earlier.
I like the world and the magic is interesting. I can totally see Cassel being a teen con artist (though at the start of the novel I thought he might be in college, it was really hard to tell his age). Grandpa is a wonderfully complex character.
There are some really nice things in this book and I really wanted to like it more than I did. Unfortunately, between the downer ending and the preview in the back of the book, which only played more on the parts I couldn't buy (in particular, his relationships with his mom and brothers in the end in book 1), I'm not expecting to read the sequel. I could change my mind, because I do love Holly's work.
I like the world and the magic is interesting. I can totally see Cassel being a teen con artist (though at the start of the novel I thought he might be in college, it was really hard to tell his age). Grandpa is a wonderfully complex character.
There are some really nice things in this book and I really wanted to like it more than I did. Unfortunately, between the downer ending and the preview in the back of the book, which only played more on the parts I couldn't buy (in particular, his relationships with his mom and brothers in the end in book 1), I'm not expecting to read the sequel. I could change my mind, because I do love Holly's work.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sharp, clever and on point as a dark contemporary fantasy. Just enough tweaking to our own world to keep you focused on the oddness of the ‘other’.
Some reprehensible characters and some trying to make good choices. Trying being the operative word.
Clear narration. A great read.
Some reprehensible characters and some trying to make good choices. Trying being the operative word.
Clear narration. A great read.
Truly superb. Holly Black has created a world in which black magic was outlawed in the 1920s along with alcohol in Prohibition. But it was never legalized and is strongly associated with criminal families. Our teen hero and narrator Cassel is from a family of magic workers--just "workers" is how they are known--but he is not a a worker himself. He has found himself sleepwalking, perhaps because he is so weighed down by with a complicated burden of guilt and ambivalence. He loves his brothers but he can't trust them, for good reason. I think what makes this book so good is that 1) the magic stuff isn't just there. Black is using it to expose the dynamics of dysfunctional families and the treachery of desire. 2) the magic stuff is very cool. So many writers try to create an original way of viewing magic and fail dismally. This one succeeds brilliantly. 3) This is a "history revised with magic" (like the Bartimaeus Trilogy or Jonathan Strange) that actually takes place in America instead of England--also original and interesting. 4) It's beautifully written, imagined to the last detail (like the grandfather's fingers that are blackened stumps from the "blowback" of using magic to kill people for the mafia) It's suffused with emotion and longings of all kinds, and the characters are believable and intriguing, like Cassel's great love who tells him "You like being bullied a little."
Read it!!
Read it!!
Wow. Though the magic system itself isn't particularly unique, the world Black creates around it was complex and compelling. In the Curse Workers series, magic was outlawed along with alcohol during Prohibition, and it never got repealed. So the mafia era crime syndicates are built on a foundation of illegal curse working, and still hold sway.
The premise is fascinating, with lots of clever touches as it plays out, and the plot is as twisty and atmospheric as you would expect from a crime noir. But what impressed me most was how character-centric the story was. Every plot twist and magical skill was revealed through character first, with implications felt only over time. Not every aspect lived up to the character driven plotting, keeping White Cat at a four, but it was a fun, fast read that was refreshingly original.
White Cat is one of my Ten Heists Novels to Fall For. If you love heists and con men in a scifi/fantasy setting, check out my list.
The premise is fascinating, with lots of clever touches as it plays out, and the plot is as twisty and atmospheric as you would expect from a crime noir. But what impressed me most was how character-centric the story was. Every plot twist and magical skill was revealed through character first, with implications felt only over time. Not every aspect lived up to the character driven plotting, keeping White Cat at a four, but it was a fun, fast read that was refreshingly original.
White Cat is one of my Ten Heists Novels to Fall For. If you love heists and con men in a scifi/fantasy setting, check out my list.
Great story! And Jesse Eisenberg is a fantastic reader - I liked this better as an audiobook than when I read it myself. Can't wait to get the next one!
Started out slow but was super fun by the end. Liked the way big 'reveals' were done & learning about the types of curses as well as how to 'work' someone. Cassel's development was well done, but his brothers and especially his grandfather could've used more embellishing. Entertaining, quick read! (Would've read it more quickly myself but other things got in the way)
This book was a quick read, with lots of intrigue and great characters. There were some spots where I felt that the big surprises were a little too easy to figure out, but I didn't really mind, as I was having so much fun with the story. I didn't have the ending pegged, though, and now I definitely have to read the second book in the series. Good YA without a lot of sappy romance.