review: white cat by holly black

At the center of White Cat are Cassel and a white cat that keeps appearing in his life. Cassel knows something strange is going on and that it might be connected to the cat, but he can’t begin to unravel what’s happening until he’s forced to live with his curse worker family after being kicked out of the school dorms for sleepwalking.

Initially I was a little lost as Holly Black doesn’t explain upfront what the deal is with curse workers; she writes White Cat as if curse workers are part of “the real world.” As more of the story unfolded and curse workers were organically explained, I grew to appreciate that Black didn’t go into a long setup. Besides, how could I not love a book starring a white cat? Though I am now eyeing my white cat a bit suspiciously wondering just what she might be plotting. The cat and all involving her (especially the plot to get her out of the shelter) kept me entertained. I also loved how Black repurposed history (such as the colonization of Australia) to fall in line with White Cat’s reality.
5/5
ARC Review
Review copy provided by the publisher, Margaret K. McElderry Books.