Tithe by Holly Black

Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black (Editor) & Justine Larbalestier (Editor)

Synopsis:
It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

My Review:
I was looking forward to reading this book because I love Cassandra Clare and I have heard of others involved with this book but am always looking for new YA authors and I thought this was a great way to get a taste of various author’s writing styles. Well I have to say this is the most random, bizarre, and unusual book I have read in awhile. Who would have thought there would be such a hot debate between what’s better: zombies vs. unicorns. I mean while these creatures are both mammals I would never place these two creatures together because in my mind zombies are paranormal and unicorns are mythological. But I thought, what the heck, let’s find out if I am Team Zombie or Team Unicorn.
I had a system where I would read each story and rate them out of 5 stars and then add up the zombie story stars and add up the unicorn story stars and which ever had the most stars would determine which team I was on. Here were the results of my ratings:
“The Highest Justice” by Garth Nix (2/5 stars)
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Ayala Dawn Johnson (3/5 stars)
“Purity Test” by Naomi Novik (5/5 stars)
“Bougainvillea” by Carrie Ryan (3/5 stars)
“A Thousand Flowers” by Margo Lanagan (3/5 stars)
“The Children of the Revolution” by Maureen Johnson (5/5 stars)
“The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn” by Diana Peterfreund (5/5 stars)
“Innoculata” by Scott Westerfeld (3/5 stars)
“Princess Prettypants” by Meg Cabot (5/5 stars)
“Cold Hands” by Cassandra Clare (5/5 stars)
“The Third Virgin” by Kathleen Duey (2/5 stars)
"Prom Night” by Libba Bray (5/5 stars)

Total Unicorns= 22/60
Total Zombies= 22/60

Well, since it is a tie I could be either Zombicorns or Unicobies. Either way this was a fun book and I think fans of these authors will find this book entertaining and allow people to discover new authors.

White Cat by Holly Black

Synopsis:
Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, 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.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

My Review:
I am not sure how to feel about this book. On the one hand it was entertaining enough to keep me reading until the end. This was because I thought Holly Black had created an interesting plot that could twist and turn many different ways. I was also introduced to a world I knew nothing about so I felt I was being educated about what “workers” were, how they perceive themselves and others, and what it means to be a worker. Cassel came from a family of workers who used their powers to manipulate and con other people into what they wanted.

Like I said, this was all very fascinating but I did not feel invested in the characters which made me feel something was missing when I finished the book. I did not feel like I knew them well enough to form a relationship and that left me emotionally unattached to the story. I almost did not care in what happened to Cassel or any of the other characters because there was nothing personality or experience wise I could relate to. I had read the synopsis and knew what the book was about but for some reason I expected it to be different. I really did like the book even though I know this review has been mostly bashing but I liked it enough to want to read the sequel if there is one just to find out what happens next.