White Cat by Holly Black

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Pages: Hardback, 310

Publisher: Margaret A. McElderry Books (May 4, 2010)

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.

Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love -- or death -- and your dreams might be more real than your memories.

Holly Black does not disappoint with her new series, but did we expect anything less? I think not! I love the originality of this book and the fact that it is a completely elaborate plot that the reader finds him/herself sucked into before they even realize it. My followers chose this one for me to read and man, am I glad they did. I loved every second of it. It was suspenseful, full of twists and turns, and it didn’t hurt that you had a male lead. Cassel is unlike other male leads because his family harbors secrets (not like any others that you know, that’s for sure). Cassel is trying to find his place in a world with a mother who is overbearing and on top of that works people’s emotions to her advantage, two brothers who seem to hate him, a grandfather who spends the majority of his time drunk, and no true friends at the school he is almost kicked out of.

Things change for Cassel though when he finds himself on the roof of his school with his classmates and teacher below him thinking that he was trying to commit suicide. That event sets into motion Cassel’s adventure into finding out who he truly is, what really happened to his best friend, and who his true family is. I love the events that lead us there because there are just enough clues written in so that the reader can find them if they want to. You know me, I was writing questions down in my journal and then going back to write beside them. There was action in here too which made the story that much harder to put down to watch my children! The ending was probably my favorite part because it was so very well written.

Visit Holly here to find out more about the series and see the trailer if you missed it before.

Happy reading everyone!

In My Mailbox (15)

Thanks as always to Kristi at The Story Siren for putting this lovely ditty up! My apologies for not having one last week, so this one will be LARGE!!

For Review:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games
with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

How to Steal A Car by Pete Hautman
Some girls act out by drinking or doing drugs. Some girls act out by sleeping with guys. Some girls act out by starving themselves or cutting themselves. Some girls act out by being a bitch to other girls.

Not Kelleigh. Kelleigh steals cars.

In How to Steal a Car, National Book Award winner Pete Hautman takes teen readers on a thrilling, scary ride through one suburban girl's turbulent life - one car theft at a time.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standford
New to town, Beatrice is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet loner who hasn't made a new friend since third grade. Something about him, though, gets to Bea, and soon they form an unexpected friendship. It's not romance, exactly - but it's definitely love. Still, Bea can't quite dispel Jonah's gloom and doom - and as she finds out his family history, she understands why. Can Bea help Jonah? Or is he destined to vanish?

Good Neighbors Book Two: Kith by Holly Black
Rue Silver's life is not what it appears to be. Her mother is a faerie, and has been taken back to the faerie realm. As Rue goes to bring her back, she must travel deep into an inhuman world. At the same time, the faerie realm is venturing into our world too, and taking its toll on those Rue loves. When her grandfather's plans threaten Rue's city, she realizes that she's the only one who can stop him. But is Rue a human or a faerie? Where does she fit? How does she know the difference between love and enchantment?

Borrowed:

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love--and face the hardest decision of his life.

Bought:

Can I Have and Do it All Please? by Christine Caine
More than ever before, women are navigating through increasing amounts of responsibility, activity, scheduling and multi-tasking...and we need some answers about how to have and do it all in life!

For years, we as women have been told we can have it all, be it all and do it all. Inevitably, we too have aggressively set out on a pursuit to achieve this utopian "all." We roll up our sleeves in true "Rosie the Riveter" style (to reveal our femininely chiseled arms of course) and belt out the lyrics to "I Am Woman Hear Me Roar" in our best Helen Reddy voice.

We get up one hour earlier to exercise, another hour earlier to get the kids ready and packed for school and yet another hour before that to pray. We are consummate organizers, jugglers and problem solvers as we manage husbands, children, church commitments, friendships, finances, groceries, mealtimes, child taxi service, quiet time with God and whatever else is on the agenda.

Then, we go to bed one hour later to ensure the house is tidy, or another hour later to read a chapter of the latest best seller and another hour later to have time with our husband. It almost gets to the point where we should forego sleep altogether because the moment our head touches the pillow, it's time to rise and shine.

Sound familiar? Well, this book is for every woman looking for answers on how to truly have (and do) it all!

Stop Acting Like A Christian and Be One by Christine Caine
Many of us make great efforts to ACT like a "Christian," but how many of us actually realize what it means to BE one? Too many times we see faith as an external behavior modification program. If we just stop [fill in the blank], then we ll be good Christians. Instead, we need to see faith and our witness to those around us stemming from an internal heart transformation, living from the inside out and not the outside in. In Stop Acting Like a Christian, Just Be One, Christine Caine shows how allowing God to change us from the core of our being gives us freedom to stop trying to ACT like a Christian and to just actively BE a Christian. Learn how allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work in us gives us the power to BE witnesses, not to do witnessing. This empowering book will make readers laugh and challenge them about what truly Being a Christian is all about.

Christine is from the amazing church Hillsong Church in Australia and my church (Newspring) is lucky enough to have her for not one, but two weeks speaking and rocking our worlds! Today's message was amazing and challenging and just what I needed. Check back later this week and I will link her message!

Follow Christine on Twitter here and visit her at Equip & Empower Ministries here.

Non-Book Related:
Oh yes... I am now the proud owner of these lovlies and they are worth every DANG penny!!
Lady Gaga Heartbeats by Monster... simply amazing!

Don't forget about my contest going on (click here for more info) and check out all the other ones going on via my sidebar!