White Cat: Holly Black

White Cat: (Curse Workers 1) by Holly Black
Curse working is illegal, and curse workers are branded as scoundrels and con artists. Cassel is the only one in his family who's not a curse worker. Although he's the "straight" kid in a cursed family, he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago. How he's having terrifying dreams of a white cat and suspects a secret plot between his brothers. He'll have to unravel his past to out-con the people he thought he knew best.

I just finished this book. While I initially had a hard time getting into it due to lack of time, once I finally sat down I really enjoyed it.

What I particularly liked was that the magic took place in today's real world. The only difference was that there was a ban on magic and that everyone wore gloves. On top of that, if you work a curse, you get a blow back. For example, someone who can tamper with memories and take them away, they too loose some memory. The more curse work you do, the more memory you loose.

The book revolves around Cassel, a boy who has truly had a run of bad luck. Not only does he come from a criminal family, but he finds out he can't really trust his older brothers or mom. I won't divulge more information though! The author does not hold back on real life details and at times the book is a bit gritty (ie, showing of blood, vomit, fighting...).

At the end of the book there is the suggestion that if you use your talent for good you don't experience a blow back and I would like to see more of that in the next book. This is by no means a complete ending, much like all of Holly Blacks books, even her last book in Modern Faerie Tale has an opened plot, although it's much more concluded than book 1 and 2 in that series.

I truly look forward to rest of the series!

Again, I find myself wanting to give this book 10 stars. It's a rare find in so many ways and did not leave me very disappointed!

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci

From The Cover:
Haven’t you heard? Geek is the new cool! Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside)and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr. With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!

After seeing all star cast of authors that were contributing stories to this book, I decided I had to read it. And, boy, did that turn out to be an excellent decision. This book delivers it all in a nifty little package. (The cover has all the authors and comic book illustrators on the front in old school video game style.)

This would be a very long post if I reviewed every story/comic in the book, but it is safe to say that this book comes with something for everyone. We’ve all gone through a point where we felt inadequate or judged for who we are, so everyone (even if you aren’t a geek) can relate to the something in Geektastic. The stories range from laugh out loud funny (“Once You’re A Jedi, You’re A Jedi All The Way”) to ones that make you remember the horrors of high school (“The Truth About Dino Girl”.) Every story gives you something, even if you don’t realize it at the time.

While each story in the book was wonderful, I believe my favorite part was the comics. In between each of the stories, there is a tiny comic. Each one made me shake with giggles that could not be stopped.

Non-Geeks and Geeks, come one, come all, for this book is amazing. Even if you don’t understand Klingon, even if you don’t have any idea what cosplay is, and even if you don’t know what a con is, you will walk away a better person from reading this book.

I give this book 10/10 stars.