Red Glove

Following the revelation that Cassel Sharp is able to transform anyone into something else, living or dead, both the FBI and the mafia-like Worker Families are interested in utilizing his special talents. While secondary characters could be slightly better distinguished, Jesse Eisenberg is a perfect match for the troubled teen Cassel. Unsure where to turn, afraid that he has a black heart and cannot choose to do good, Cassel wavers from confidence in his conning abilities to fear of the lengths his family will go to use him. His good heart is revealed in his refusal to be with the girl he loves because she has been forced to love him. Eisenberg keeps listeners engaged with Cassel's emotional journey. J.M. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Starred review from February 14, 2011
In this smart and well-executed sequel to White Cat, 17-year-old Cassel Sharpe is still getting used to the idea that he's a transformation worker, the rarest and most powerful type of curse worker, able to transmute people and objects into whatever he wishes. Growing up in a crime family, he's always been on the wrong side of the law, but now everyone wants a piece of Cassel, including a mob boss, who sees him as an untraceable hit man, and U.S. agents, who want him to replace his recently murdered brother as an informant. Also, Cassel's mother has put a love curse on Lila, the mob boss's daughter, and Cassel's plan to avoid her until it wears off ("Lila's desire for me is a perversion of love. A mockery") dissolves when Lila enrolls at his prep school. As Cassel's grandfather warns him, "Magic gives you a lot of choices.... Most of them are bad." Black again delivers complex characters and a nicely developed alternate universe where magic workers are social pariahs. This powerful, edgy dark fantasy won't disappoint Black's fans. Ages 14–up.