It is not a secret that we are against whitewashing. “People are always coming up to me on trains and talking to me in different languages, like it’s obvious I’ll understand them.” (ARC page 43)

“‘Your grandfather told me that your family was descended from runaway slaves,'” she says. I bet mom for sure doesn’t either although Gramps always says that his father–her grandfather– was a maharajah from India…” (ARC page 43) (According to the commenter, “Many times throughout the book, we’re told that the Sharpe brother’s look a lot alike, so if Phillip has dark skin, it makes sense that Cassel does as well.”) “Phillip’s dark skin makes his teeth look whiter when he smiles.” (ARC pg 30). Here are some of the quotes from the commenter about the book: The commenter quotes directly from the ARC of White Cat that imply the protagonist, Cassel, is in fact a person of color, and that the cover is another instance of whitewashing.

McElderry, a Simon and Schuster imprint.Īn anonymous comment was left on our recent “Cover Matters: On Whitewashing” post. This time, the potentially whitewashed cover in question is the ARC of White Cat, the upcoming YA novel by Holly Black – and this time, the culprit is Margaret K. It has recently been brought to our attention that another big Young Adult release may be pulling for a three-peat of Bloomsbury’s Liar and Magic Under Glass fiascos.

White Cat by Holly Black