Review: White Cat

White Cat by Holly Black

 Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Cover Rating: 3/5 Stars

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry; Reprint edition (February 8, 2011)

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

  INTRO & SETTING: I thought this book was really good. It got a little boring in places, but other than that, it was fascinating.The world in which Cassel lives, where everyone wears gloves and charms in fear of being "worked" really catches your attention. There's also just the perfect amount of foreshadowing about what happened with Lila. The main setting is really Cassel's Grandfather's house, where Cassel grew up. It really was cool, simply because of everything in it. And that's a LOT, seeing as his Mom never threw away ANYTHING. Ever.

 CHARACTERS: Wow. Just wow. Characters are everything in this book. And I have to say, Cassel is hot. Just saying. His brothers, Philip and Barron, scare me, as do a lot of the other people in the book. I have to be honest, I don;t like Lila much. Sure, she's brave. And strong. But she seems..... Well, I don;t know. I just don;t like her a whole lot. My favorite character is probably Cassel's grandad. He's a death worker, and he's a totally kick-ass type of person. He loves his family, despite their problems, and you know he would do anything for them. 

 PLOT: This book had a really complicated plot. The suspense is laid on pretty thick, and the climax will have you thinking, "Cassel, you're screwed." And the ending sort of breaks your heart into a million little sad, weepy pieces. Anyways, I thought the plot was really well developed. 

 RANT SPACE: I don't really have anything to rant about. Good setting, characters, and plot. I've heard that if you liked the Heist Society, then you'll like this book. So I hope you guys will check this  book out! I definitely enjoyed it.