White Cat (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010) by Holly Black is the first book in a fascinating world of magic and mobsters.
17-year-old Cassell is living at Wallingford Preparatory to try to live a normal life. He’s the only nonmagic member in a family of workers. Dad is dead, Mom in jail and his brothers Philip and Barron exclude him, although they did protect him 3 years ago when . . . But I can’t tell you that!
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Here are the great opening lines:
“I wake up barefoot, standing on cold slate tiles. Looking dizzily down. I suck in a breath of icy air.”
As you read on you discover those tiles are on a roof and there is no way for him to get down. *shudder* Talk about a nightmare! Humiliating for a teen boy to not only have to be rescued but for it to happen publicly in front of his peers? That’s worse.
In August 2009, I heard Holly Black speak at the LA SCBWI conference about how readers must be able to believe the fantastical world. As she said “the real stuff has to be really real” and she’s done this with this book.
Book Two, Red Glove, came out in 2011 and you’ll want to read it, too. The Curse Worker series has its own website where you can read about the books, watch a great trailer, and check out extras.
On Holly’s regular site, she’s got a “cover to be unveiled” picture of the third book, Black Heart. It’ll be exciting to see the reveal.
Tag: magic
Savvy
A 2009 Newbery honor book…
The first sentence of Savvy (Dial, 2008) by Ingrid Law is a grabber and immediately lets you know you’re in for an interesting ride. “When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he’d caused it.” The book doesn’t disappoint.
The main character, Mibs, short for Mississippi, is about to turn 13, the birthday when Beaumont kids get their savvy. She’s sure it will be a good one. But that especially becomes important when Poppa is injured in a car accident and won’t wake up.
This is one of those books I know I’ll be rereading! (And I’ve heard she’s writing a sequel and they’re making a movie…woo whoo!)
Read more about the author at her website. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer
In Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer, author Laini Taylor has created a world of faeries, imps, devils, djinns that is as believable as it is complex. Magpie Windwitch, a hundred-year-old faerie sprout, along with her band of faithful crows, has the job of recapturing the devils that humans have freed. She’s seen all kinds, but this newest snag isn’t like the others; it gives Mags the shivers. The seal on its bottle bears the mark of the Magruwen, the Djinn King, who dreamed the world into existence. Plus, this creature didn’t leave behind any of they typical devil signs. Her search for this new threat takes Magpie to new and dangerous places where she finds out who she really is. On Laini’s website: www.lainitaylor.com she posts a quote by Albert Einstein: “If you want your children to be bright, read them fairy tales. If you want your children to be brilliant, read them even more fairy tales.” I’m suspecting Laini’s parents must have read her a lot of fairy tales!
Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer is Laini Taylor’s first book, and will be released in June. You won’t want to pass up this book, nor the full-of-magic sequels I’m hoping will follow.