White Cat by Holly Black

White Cat

****

Not all addictions are bad in my opinion.  If it weren’t for my love of Cassandra Clare, I would not have known to read White Cat, written by Ms. Clare’s author BFF, Holly Black.

It unfortunately took me a while to get to this one.  I know, I know.  But there are so many books and so little time.  What is a 30 going on 13 year old supposed to do?  Well, I finally remedied this problem and picked up White Cat at the local library.   And boy do I wish I had read it sooner.  What a fun ride!

Cassel Sharpe is the youngest in a family of Curse Workers.  Unfortunately for Cassel (or fortunately depending on who you may be talking to in this fabulous alternate world that Holly Black has created), he did not inherit any curse worker abilities.  What he has learned from his family is to be an excellent grifter.   And thank goodness too.  If it wasn’t for his side-business of swindling the rich kids at his boarding school, he probably couldn’t afford to stay there.  But his student status is in jeopardy when he finds himself inexplicably sleepwalking on the roof of his dorm.  From that point, Cassel quickly begins unraveling a plot that has been in the works for years and begins to realize that he just might be the one being conned.

There was one thing I did not like about this book.  As the reader, you figure out what is going on long before Cassel does.  Now don’t let this dissuade you from reading the book.  There is a good reason as to why Cassel doesn’t figure it out.  But it would have been nice to have been in suspense a bit longer.

What did I like?  Oh gee, let me see.  One, this is the first YA novel I have read that is written in the first person and from a male perspective.  It was fun getting know a male character this way.  Two, Cassel is darn loveable!  Three, I love the whole family of cons storyline.  In a lot of ways Cassel reminds me of a young Neal Caffrey.  And what girl doesn’t love a little Neal?  And four, Holly Black’s alternate reality took urban fantasy to a whole new level for me. 

If you haven’t done so yet, please read this book.  It is original and lots of fun.  You won’t be disappointed.

Nat