Jude-broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness-has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents.

14 & up)īlack is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy. Urban fantasy, con story, coming of age-whatever you call it, read it. Cassel’s discovery of his own talents and his realization that everyone he trusts has lied to or betrayed him propels the narrative the larger machinations surrounding him and some unfinished romantic business mean the sequels should be equally compelling. The world is casually revealed through Cassel’s engaging, genuinely teenage voice, and what a world: Just like ours, except magic is common and conveyed through touch (everyone wears gloves), and instead of debating healthcare, there’s a growing political movement to legalize “cursework” so that magic-based crime can be prosecuted more effectively. He’s also a murderer, although he can’t recall some critical details of killing his best friend-Zacharov’s daughter-three years ago. Cassel is the only non-worker (magic user) in a family full of them, all tightly connected to the Zacharov crime family. The first in Black’s new series is a dark, complex Chinese puzzle box, full of cons, criminals and curses-a denigrating term for magic in a world where it’s outlawed.

White Cat by Holly Black