A Reading Group Guide to

White Cat and Red Glove of The Curse Workers Series

by Holly Black

About White Cat

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers—people who have the power to change a person’s emotions, memories, or luck with the slightest touch of the hand. And since curse work is illegal, they’re all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists, but not Cassel. He hasn’t got magic, 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. Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat. He’s noticed other disturbing things too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel must outcon the conmen.

Prereading Activity

The starting point for White Cat was the fairy tale of that name, written by Madame d’Aulnoy. Ask readers to read the fairy tale and then see what they can find in it that relates to what happens with Cassel and Lila. Or ask them to read the fairy tale and analyze what it says about see more