White Cat Novel Review - TWU LS5623-20 - SU12

Black, Holly. White Cat. New York, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010. Print. ISBN 978-1-4169-6396-7, 310p. Cassel was the white sheep in a family of con artists and curse workers. With curse work having been made illegal decades earlier, everything in the family “business” is conducted in the shadows, or in the case of Cassel’s mom, from prison. Whether working emotions, physical curses, luck or memory curses the family is in deep and Cassel may be in deeper than he realizes. What he discovers about himself as he delves into the family secrets revolves around stolen memories, lost loves and one white cat. Holly Black’s White Cat is a fun, intriguing jaunt into the world of magical organized crime and the families who practice. What began as a fun and simple look into the lives of curse workers became a spine-tingling, interwoven onslaught of a “whodunit” that kept me turning each page quickly and with anticipation. Cassel, true to form of any great Young Adult Lit protagonist, is a wonderful ball of mess and untapped potential whose world is turned upside down as he begins to unravel his own hidden past. As Cassel noted, “I can’t trust the people I care about not to hurt me. And I’m not sure I can trust myself not to hurt them, either. Friendships suck” (pg. 93). What was most intriguing about the story as a whole, though, was that while Black took us down what we were sure would be tried and true paths through a magical story, at each new fork she took the road less traveled by. Family issues led readers to hate the wrong brother, the love story became entangled and ended bitter-sweet and sad yet satisfying, and the oddest of political affiliations led to a set of friendships that became part of Cassel’s plans to redeem himself and save the love of his younger days.. At each new turn Black made me raise my eyebrows and say to myself, “Really? I hadn’t thought it would be that!” Read this book for no other reason than to be surprised by new twists on what could have been a standard magical fantasy tale. No story is perfect, though, and while I don’t wish to give away a substantial element of the ending I will say that, for me, the culmination of the love story factor was a bit heartbreaking. While it did follow through with Black’s wonderful ability to bring new turns to a standard story, the shift in how the love story ended was slightly unsatisfying for me. I am sure, though, that it would be right up the alley of other readers. And it is certainly not enough to detract from the overall enjoyment of this particular bit of fantasy. All of the elements are in place, we have strong central characters, an amazing plot and just enough reality in our fantasy to make it all perfectly plausible…minus the ability to curse individuals with the slightest touch of a bare hand to skin. Read and enjoy! Black, Holly. White Cat. New York, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010. Print.