It was extremely hard not to read ahead in this book because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Little clues and pieces of info get scattered out like breadcrumbs, drawing you on, making you want to keep reading. I figured out some of the twists before they came, but not all, and not too much before they were revealed. The main character has different sides and is well-characterized, while other characters are less-so, mainly because we only see them through the eyes of Cassel. Definitely the first in a series, with enough resolved in the first one to satisfy the story, but more than enough questions left to make a reader anticipate and seek out the next.
Cassel is the only non "worker" in the family, but in this case "worker" doesn't just mean someone who works, it means someone who works...magic. Or something like magic, something that the whole world calls "curses", even if the results are good. Curse workers have a variety of abilities, with changing luck being the most common, and being able to change memories or to change things into other things among the most rare. Not everyone can do this - maybe 1% of the population, and many countries have made cursing illegal. Cassel's mom is currently in jail because she used her ability to influence emotions to make a rich man fall in love with her, his dad is dead, his oldest brother joined a crime family so he could use his ability to cause pain with just a touch, and his other brother, the one who can influence emotions like their mom, is supposed to be in law school. But just because Cassel doesn't have any cursing ability doesn't mean he's harmless. Just ask the girl he killed 3 years ago.
Edgy, original, compelling, high interest to readers of Melissa Marr, Cassandra Clare, Garth Nix or Anthony Horowitz.
SLJ rated for grades 9 and up.
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