Review - Red Glove

Red Glove, by Holly Black

Spoiler Warning: if you haven't read White Cat, you should probably stop here, go out to your local library or book store and immediately get a copy, then block off an afternoon and read it. But then you'll want to read Red Glove right away, so just go ahead and get both books while you're at it and block off an entire day.

As you can probably tell, I love White Cat and its sequel Red Glove. Black has created a world filled with shades of gray -- there is very little black and white in this book (except for the cat, of course. Sorry, couldn't help myself). But really, what do you expect from a book about magic, crime familes and con artists. I love the slightly noir feel to the books, the creative world-building (modern but with a touch of magic), and most of all the characters. Cassel (the main character) is complex, conflicted, and such a real teenage boy. But Black has also give us a cast of wonderful, fleshed-out characters from Cassel's crazy mother and horrible brothers, to his "normal" friends at school.

Bottom line, these are great books. Read them!