Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy) by Green - Sally (2014) Hardcover

This series is terrible. I was excited to read it, because there are so few books with bisexual main characters, and I was bitterly disappointed.
The main character's life progresses from bad to terrible, his same gender partner dies horribly, and then the protagonist then goes insane and eventually turns himself into a tree. Just another of the many examples of the trope that same gender attracted people can never have happy endings, and a particularly egregious one at that.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review*

There are a lot of really cool concepts in this book. It takes place in a modern world where magic exists in a counter culture sort of way. It's similar to Harry Potter's world. There are White witches and Black witches. The protagonist is the son of the most feared Black witch, but his mother was a White witch. There's a prophecy. It's almost like a different take on the Harry Potter "Chosen One" story with the main character the son of the main villain. Don't get me wrong though, this book stands on its own. It is not just a rip off of Harry Potter. The magic system is completely different. When witches turn 17 they receive their Gift, a specific type of magic they excel at.

I was put off by the writing style in this book. It goes back and forth between first and second person. I found it off putting and never really felt immersed within the world.

There were some really interesting characters throughout the novel. I liked seeing how each character's personalities matched with their Gift. I also liked that White witches weren't always good and Black witches weren't all bad. There is a romantic element to the book, but it doesn't overpower. I was surprised by a same-sex love interest for the protagonist towards the end. That may be one of the reasons I read the second book. I want to see where that leads, if anywhere.

Overall, this book was underwhelming. There were many interesting elements, but it didn't come together for me. I found the writing off putting. I give this book a 3/5

There is just something about the writing style in Half Bad that really got on my nerves. There are a lot of short and halted sentences I just couldn’t grow used to, although I admit the writing style as a whole sadly just didn’t work for me. I struggled to keep reading as some parts of the story dragged, and I have to say that for a story this promising the plot kind of lacked action and more filling out in general. And then I’m not even talking about the main character, who is very very hard to like. I like the idea behind this book, the fact that there are two kinds of witches and the main character being mixed turns him into an outcast. The worldbuilding itself has potential as well, but lacked fleshing out for me. The whole star-crossed lovers angle bothered me as well… And unfortunately I wasn’t able to enjoy my experience with Half Bad.

4.5 stars, actually

So that was different.

I'm trying to decide if I should give in to the impulse to recommend this to my 12 year old Harry Potter/Lemony Snicket/Sherlock/Amulet loving daughter.

Because, wow. Nathan, the half black/half white witch is entirely engaging. Boy is it easy to fall in love with this character and want ...so badly...for him to get his 3 gifts and become a witch.

On one hand, Nathan gets tortured. Repeatedly, in many different ways by both "bad" and "good guys". I basically spent the entire book on the edge of my seat waiting for the next blow to fall.

On the other hand, to a citizen of the U.S. currently facing hate, racism, and ignorance in a presidential election, the grey areas of moral treatment of potentially "dangerous" kinds of people in this book are a fecund, rich loam of questions about these important issues.

I felt emotionally bruised after reading this first in a series, but couldn't put the book down. I had to know what happened to Nathan.

Not to say the book was entirely golden. The first part tries to "hook" you in by doing that thing where Nathan is in a cage, and you don't know why, an then there are a series of flashbacks explaining. It wasn't always done well. That's where half a point was lost. About halfway through the book, the author gets over that, and we get pure unadulterated adrenaline generated by Nathan being hunted, Nathan trying to escape, Nathan getting tortured, etc.

I had to go and read review of the other two books to find out whether my poor heart could take reading more about Nathan. The first book ends nicely, setting up the next step in his quest, but the reviews of the other two books make it seem like Green is not going to stop putting Nathan, and us, through the emotional wringer at all. I may have to recover a bit before attempting to read the other books.a

Excellent older-YA (violence, kissing skin "all over", but mostly the torture stuff) for Harry Potter fanboys and girls ready for a full-on dark, anti-establishment tale revved up from the get-go.

Half Bad imagines an alternate world where witches live secretly alongside regular people. There are white witches (good) and black witches (evil), and the black witches are super duper evil. So much so that Nathan, half white and half black, is seen as an abomination by the white witches and a threat by most black witches. The novel starts with Nathan held captive in a mysterious prison in the woods, desperate to escape at all costs. He recounts his childhood and what led to his current state--trapped, being used for nefarious purposes. Nathan struggles with what makes him good versus bad, and the decisions he makes about which part of heritage to embrace have long-lasting consequences for his own future, and that of all white and black witches.

Half Bad is dark and bold and it certainly surprises, both on story and craft levels. The structure is unusual--nearly the first half of the book is a major flashback with lots of scenes from Nathan's childhood and summarizing. Normally, this would be a big no from me, and incredibly difficult to pull off, but it's all very well-written and engaging. Through recounting Nathan's childhood, Green skillfully build his world, the complicated politics and culture of the witches, and the impossibility of the choices facing Nathan. The white witches treat Nathan terribly while black witches and his black heritage remain largely a mystery to Nathan, further compounding his conflicting thoughts and feelings on white witches being inherently good and black witches being inherently bad.

Nathan's desire to define himself, his teenage impulse defy the oppressive white witches, and need to learn more about his legendary black witch father lead him to flee the White Witches as a criminal, and encounter Gabriel, a mysterious guy his own age who shelters him from the white witches and can perhaps lead him to what he's looking for. It should be noted here that I ship Nathan and Gabriel. Thanks to Kristin for providing me with their celebrity couple name, #Natriel.

The books leads to a tense climax, where Nathan finds himself backed in a corner. He has to decide who he's going to trust and who he's going to fight for, even if it means burning a lot of bridges. His choice might not be all that surprising to many readers, but it'll certainly make you clamor for the second book, Half Wild.

The premise of this book sounds fantastic! Good witches vs. bad witches, dark magic vs. light magic, and a boy who’s stuck in the middle. Unfortunately, the concept fell a little flat in the actual writing.

We start out in second-person point of view. I don’t like second-person point of view. I don’t want to feel like I’m getting the crap beat out of me or that I’m stuck in a cage outside. Now my characters can feel this—and of course I’ll feel empathetic towards them—but I read books to get away from my life and my own problems, not to add even worse problems to my head that seriously mess with my mind. Thankfully though, the book switched to first person pretty early in. Then somehow we go from experiencing Nathan’s situation being abused by his captor, to getting the backstory of why he was there in the first place.

This was a very odd way of telling the story, simply because a lot of the scenes were told from his childhood perspective and those scenes ended up taking up almost half of the book, thus there was very little actually happening in the story that furthered the plotline that was mentioned in the first few chapters, the ones that were in second person pov.

This writing style was also rather confusing. At times it was hard to tell exactly what age Nathan was and where he was in time. At one point I thought he was about 14 or so, but he was only 10. That really needs some clarification.

I’ve heard people say this is a character-driven book. I totally disagree. While it is true that we spend a lot of time in Nathan’s head, I just didn’t feel that Nathan developed as a character. I also never felt connected to him at all. Sure, like I mentioned earlier, I empathized with his situation, but I didn’t enjoy his character. And because we’re stuck in Nathan’s head so much, we don’t get a lot of character development for the rest of the characters either.

The plot of the story was just boring. There were pages upon pages where nothing significant would happen, then, when something would happen, it wasn’t all that exciting. I also had to reread some parts simply to figure out what exactly was going on.

Now, the major reason I read this story, besides the fact that it’s a paranormal book and those are my favorite kind, was because I heard there was an LGBT element. Paranormal books with good LGBT plots are rare. (Okay, so they might not be as rare as I make them out to be, I’m just a picky reader.) So I was waiting…and waiting…and waiting for this male love-interest to show up. And when he finally did, I was underwhelmed. He made his appearance in the last 20% of the book and he was a not very well drawn out character. Boo.

All in all, if you’re looking for a good paranormal book, I’d suggest looking elsewhere. This book may have an interesting synopsis, but it just didn’t work well in the actual story.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book for myself.

A digital copy was given to me, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.
*Disclaimer: I only finished about 90% of the book. *

I typically try to finish books I've received for review in their entirety. You never know when an ending is going to redeem a book. But, I just couldn't finish this one-despite the fact that I was really looking forward to reading this book.

The entire book you're waiting for something major to happen and that's it. You are constantly waiting. Nathing needs his powers, but in 345 pages he still doesn't have them. And you know what? I don't care. About anything or anyone. I don't care that he is overwhelmingly obsessed with Annalise (is that even her name?!) I don't care that he is completely separated from his brother and sister or that he's being manipulated by just about everyone. Also, I had trouble imagining anything in my head because everything was poorly described-except for people's eyes.

In short, I was very disappointed.

Review Originally Posted At: www.FictionForesight.com

Easily 4 Stars!

A Quick Summary:

Half Bad begins as most tales do, with you trapped in a cage. That’s right, I said you! Sally Green begins her epic trilogy by utilizing the 2nd person point of view in order to put you directly into the story. You become the main character Nathan, and as such, you are stuck in cage. It is from this point of view that you begin to learn the story of Nathan, how he came to such a place and how he hopes, dreams, and schemes to one day leave and be free.

Through a series of flashbacks, you discover that Nathan is quite special...or maybe rather not special but unique. And in this world, that is not a good thing. As it turns out, Nathan is a half-blood witch. His mother was a great White witch, and his father is the most notorious Black witch. While these terms are rather subjective, they do paint quite the picture. According to White witches, they are essentially good and Black witches are pure evil. As such, White witches hunt down and kill or capture every Black witch they find. Interaction between the two is otherwise strictly forbidden; hence Nathan’s uniqueness, and subsequently his problem.

All witches, whether White or Black must receive three gifts and drink the blood of a relative before their 17th birthday in order to receive their magical ability (or gift). However this isn’t as easy for Nathan. Through a series of proclamations by the White witch's ruling council, all half bloods must abide by an ever-growing list of rules that would make anyone scream in utter frustration. Combine this overwhelming oppression with that of the pure horrific treatment he receives from those around him, his family mostly excluded, and you get the beginning of this epic tale.

Throughout the rest of the story Nathan experiences a veritable smorgasbord (I've always wanted to use this word!) of emotional rollercoasters stemming from his romantic interests, his personal uniqueness, and of course his issues with the ever-helpful council. To say this is a memorable tale would be an understatement.

The Good:

Where to begin? Well, lets start with the characters. I hated some of them, and loved others, and yet still there were some that I felt no connection with at all. I’ve said it before in other reviews and I’ll say it again, I love that. It’s nice to be able to relate to a character, it shows that the author isn’t out of touch with their readers. I also love that I hate some of them. To be invested enough in a character to hate them, shows that I cared to some extent. I loved the fact that these characters were wildly imperfect. They all had visible flaws, unsolvable problems, and even the “heroes” made mistakes. To an extent, making them imperfect helps to make them real.

I love how intense this book was. A lot of books and such tend to shy away from really intense scenes. You know what I mean, that scene in a television show where you know something really bad is about to happen, the screen goes black and when it comes back the deed is already done. You definitely don’t have to worry about that when it comes to this book. If anything, some scenes proved to be almost too intense. They were horrible, heart-wrenching and deeply emotional and yet amazing at the same time. It's part of what makes this book such a fast read.

Although it’s rather minor in the scheme of things, I love that the book is divided up into sections as well as chapters. This is definitely a personal preference, but then again, this is a personal review. I’m not even quite sure why I love this, but I do. Perhaps it’s because it makes it easier to know where in the storyline we are; or maybe it's just because it makes it feel more organized? Is that the word? Not sure, but still.

Finally, I never review a book that has magic without actually talking about the magic, whether it's good or bad. In this case, it's pretty good. Will I say that this book has an amazing magical system, no, but it's decent. I liked the delivery, the fact that you cannot access your ability without receiving 3 gifts and drinking blood is different (at least to me). It makes magic that much more unique. As far as the abilities themselves go, they seem relatively typical of most magic systems. For example, some can transform their look into other people, some can change into animals, some can control the weather, etc. I think, and desperately hope, that this aspect will be much more consequential in the next book. While we do see quite a few people with abilities, I want to see them use them more. I understand the point of this book was to show Nathan’s pursuit of his abilities and to introduce us to his world, so for that reason this book gets a pass in this area.

The Bad

When I first picked up this book, I absolutely despised the point of view from which the story was told. I seriously thought of not finishing this book, which is something I never do. I just couldn’t stand that “I” was in the story. Which sounds really stupid in that most readers hope to find themselves immersed in the story; and while that is true in my case as well, I found myself hating the fact that I was forced into this role. To me it seemed so awkward, and just plain wrong. The funny thing is...it started to grow on me. This absolutely horrid way of writing became less and less annoying, and more and more interesting. While the point of view does change throughout the book, I can't believe that I ended up liking it as much as I did. To those that want to stop reading this book because of the POV (point of view), I say give it a shot. It may seem painful at first, but trust me it gets better.

It's probably no shocker, but I hate cliffhangers. While this book isn’t massive in that area, it still annoys me a bit. Admittedly I know the reason behind these is valid, but it makes them no less frustrating.

I feel like this story could have been told in a much shorter version. It almost has that prequel feel to it, rather than the first book in a trilogy. Well, maybe that’s not exactly what I mean to say. It just feels a bit drawn out in the background information. I feel like a bit more action, and less passive storytelling would have made this book even better. Who knows, the second book in the series may very well make up for this.

Finally, I feel a bit irked at the amount of devotion Nathan feels to his father, without ever meeting him. Maybe this is a result of the constant trash talk that others do about him, or maybe it's the result of Nathan desperately wanting to believe there is good in the man who helped to bring into the world. I’m not sure. It just seems like undying faith is a bit much to have in his situation.

Overall:

This book was quite good. You have to take it for what it is, the beginning of an awesome trilogy. Sure it has a lot of background information, and yes the point of view is a bit interesting, but it works. All the elements come together and form a fast-paced emotional thrill ride that will keep you turning the page until the end. Its unique, and in this case, unique is a good thing. Miss Green is definitely an author to watch!

(www.FictionForesight.com)

Sally Green’s debut novel Half Bad seems poised to be one of the most talked about YA books of the year. Unbeknownst to me when I signed up with Penguin’s First to Read program for early access to the book, Half Bad is its own media machine. Green, a latecomer to writing, is being compared to J.K. Rowling. The novel is slated for publication in myriad languages worldwide, and has been optioned for a film by Fox 2000, who won the rights in a heated bidding war. Karen Rosenfelt, producer of Twilight and The Book Thief, will take the helm.

For Half Bad, Ms. Green has created a remarkable opening sequence that pulls you inextricably into its clutches. The early part of the novel is suitably disorienting — you’ll be a little perplexed as to what exactly is happening and how the protagonist, Nathan, came to be in his situation. But you’ll find the tale positively riveting. This world of White and Black witches feels so much its own habitation, its own time and place, that when a reference to a pair of red Nikes was made, I was surprised to find it was actually a modern, contemporary setting.

The backdrop of conflict between the two factions of witches has interesting parallels (unintended according to the author) to historical race relations. The Whites are a powerful, “pure” ruling class whose Council sets ever-changing regulations and policies called “Notifications” that make it dangerous to be of anything but pure blood. It’s deadly to be a witch of mixed birth like Nathan, part white and part black, a “half-code”. The Council’s Notifications, at times eerily reminiscent of US Census classifications of race, lend a realism to this other-worldly realm where witches live among humans or “fains”.

The story moves along nicely with few hiccups. However, this is a debut novel, and there are times when that shows. But Green largely manages to avoid common pitfalls of new writers, like plot contrivances. There was one instance where I groaned aloud because I thought, “Oh, no, she’s done it. She’s made Nathan make a careless mistake just to get him in a bind.” He did get in a spot of trouble, but luckily it wasn’t a big deal in terms of having major consequences in shaping the overall plot. Late in the novel, there is an instance you could argue is a contrivance, but I feel there’s enough justification to make it a likely occurrence.

Nathan has just enough complexity to make you want to learn more about him. Happily, Nathan’s world isn’t a simplified setting like the old cinematic Westerns where the good guys wear white hats and the bad men wear black. Through its depictions of Nathan and several other major characters, Half Bad reminds us how much Hamlet’s words (which Ms. Green quotes before beginning the narrative) ring true: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” The inherent goodness of a person should not be measured in absolutes, for things are not always black and white. Each of us has the potential to be good or bad. We are all blends of darkness and light.

Verdict

4 of 5 stars. A Strong Debut. A suspenseful coming-of-age fantasy with elements of a heroic quest. An interesting world rooted in enough realism to make it feel all the more plausible. Dark and, at times, unflinchingly violent, but never gratuitously so. Recommended for ages 13 and up.

If you enjoyed book 1, you’ll be pleased to know that book 2, Half Wild, is coming in 2015

I said ‘yes’ to Half Bad for three reasons: (1) English setting, (2) male main character, and (3) witches. Naturally, I was pretty happy to be offered the ARC to review.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the English setting. In fact, I was surprised to find out author Sally Green is British because the text reads more like an American writing about an English location. At times Nathan deals with people of other cultures and the language differences are mentioned, but otherwise they might as well be average American characters. When I read a book with an international setting, I expect the depiction of that setting in the plot, shown in the dialogue and not just told that aspect exists. The text should bleed with the nuances of that culture.

Although things about Nathan seem inexplicable, like his serious ass-kicking abilities, he's likeable, and you want to root for him. Basically, he's a kid stuck in a screwed up position by no fault of his own, trying to stay alive based on the tidbits of information he's been able to glean over time. Life couldn’t even see fit to give him sour lemons. He’s constantly being kicked when he's down, sometimes literally, and he keeps fighting. This is a boy with the courage of his convictions, very refreshing with all the wishy-washy characters in literature today doing flip-flops over themselves.

As for the witches, I'm looking forward to future books so we can see what Nathan is capable of, and as he interacts with the other witches, what they are capable of. From my perspective, most of the witches have tame powers, such as potion making. I'm willing to bet the author has some cool magic up her sleeve, if Marcus is any indication.

Before I go, I want to address the praise given to Half Bad by Kris Vreeland of Once Upon a Time Bookstore, Pasadena, CA. Specifically, my eyes honed in on "allegory of racism" in the comment. I'd say that's an elaborate stretch. The colors black and white are commonly used as symbols for opposites or good vs. bad, but that doesn't automatically classify a book as a racial allegory, or racial at all, in my opinion. An allegory is an extended metaphor where one thing stands for something else. The conflict in Half Bad is too benign and the use of "black and white" to symbolize race is too simple for such a complex matter. If I had never read the other reviews, I would say Half Bad is an encouraging story about taking control of your life in spite of elements completely outside of your control, and a lesson in self-trust. The true test, in this instance, is whether or not I would read the sequel, and I will.

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” --Hamlet, William Shakespeare

How do you know if someone is good or bad? Is a white witch good because she’s a white witch, or because she chooses to be good? Is a black witch evil because he’s a black witch, or because he chooses to be evil?

Those are the questions at root of HALF BAD. Born of a white witch and a black witch, Nathan is a Half Code. He won’t have his full powers until seventeen, but if the ruling council of witches has their way, he’ll never receive the three gifts necessary to unlock all of his abilities.

HALF BAD starts off oddly -- but in a good way. At first I was like, what the heck am I reading? What’s going on? Second-person narrative (You wake up in a cage, you wait for her to arrive, etc.) is tricky to pull off, and it was confusing at the start of the book. But it was a great way to get me into Nathan’s mind, and to see what he was like. So if you’re lost at first, keep going. HALF BAD is worth it.

I read the first half of the book before I knew it, and I didn’t want to stop reading. And after I finished HALF BAD, I kept thinking about it, and wanting to pick it up again. I cannot wait to see what will happen in book two.

Marcus, Nathan’s father, has killed over 200 witches. Killing is just what black witches do. Almost everyone, except for a few members of his family, is sure that Nathan will turn out just like Marcus. But what makes someone bad or good? Is it in their genes or in the way they’re brought up? It turns out to be a little bit of both for Nathan.

I really enjoyed the experience of reading HALF BAD. It’s a book that’s told slowly, a little too slowly in some places, but I didn’t really mind. I was so caught up in Nathan’s development and journey that I didn’t care there wasn’t always a lot going on. I rather enjoyed Nathan’s time in the cage, and while I’m not sure what that says about me, I do like that the author went there. Nathan goes through a lot, so be prepared for some emotional and physical torment.

I’d recommend HALF BAD if you’re looking for a good witch book, or a book with a realistic male main character. I don’t like a lot of guys in books, but I’m pulling for him.

PJV Quickie: If you are looking for your next Young Adult read, look no further than Sally Green’s debut, HALF BAD. Pardon the pun, but the novel ain’t half bad…in fact it was pretty damn good.

Review: The first 5 star of the year for me, I was sucked in and spit out with no time in-between to take a breath. Green’s novel was fast-paced and dark, so very dark and different. Don’t let the dumb Harry Pottery marketing hype turn you off. This is no Harry Potter. The novel is about witches, good witches and bad witches but that is the only Harry Potter correlation that I could find. The novel is crafted with a male POV, a boy, who is born Half Bad. Half black witch, which makes him one of a kind and hated by all, even his own half-sibling. He is watched by the council of white witches, his every move dissected and reviewed, all wondering if he will one day become black.

Nathan, himself doesn’t even know who he will become, especially as he grows older and the pressure of the hatred toward him and the torture he is put through becomes worse and worse. It is quite an emotional roller-coaster. The novel makes you question right and wrong, good and bad and it is told in a very compelling voice that is both engaging and disconcerting. This is a young adult fantasy novel you do not want to miss.

Recommendations: The novel has very mature undertones, the boy Nathan, is tortured and there is a lot of violence. His capture and captivity has almost a slave/master feel to it, which was very hard to read at times. Adult readers of YA will love it, if you are giving it to a teen make sure they can handle violence and mild sexual discussions.

These white witches are crazy. I have never seen a protagonist get such a short end of a stick. Here’s hoping that the rest of the trilogy is just a very elaborate and satisfying revenge plot. Nathan needs to go Count of Monte Cristo on those jerks. They had it coming.

The problem with Nathan is that he’s the product of a half white witch, half black witch union. He could, theoretically, land on either side. Unfortunately, he’s the son of one of the most powerful black witches currently in existance. Despite the fact that Nathan could end up on either side of their little war, the white witches feel they need to attempt to force his hand. Nathan can only be a white witch if he murders his father. Until then, they’ll torture him and treat him like scum. They are really only driving him over to the other side. The other side lacks torture, and might possibly have punch and pie.

I can’t wait for him to drop the mic and walk out, possibly while not looking at an explosion.

The initial writing in the book is in second person. While that is quite jarring and puts one in mind of a choose your own adventure novel, it doesn’t last long. Third person point of view makes up the majority of the writing, thank heavens. I didn’t think I was going to make it through a 300+ page book in second person.

The story is exciting. Nathan is charming and steadfast despite all the horrors done to him. Everything moves at a fast pace and the book doesn’t lag. Overall, I enjoyed it. Hopefully the author can maintain or surpass with the next book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this opening book of a proposed trilogy by Sally Green. Other reviewers have already given thorough plot overviews so I won't beat a dead horse there, but I will add that I thought it was very, very well written. It is marketed as a Young Adult novel and I must admit I was a little taken aback by that, for if so it is a very adult YA book. (To clarify, I'll just say that there are many Young Adult novels that can also be classified as Middle Readers. This book is NOT one of them.) There are some very dark themes in the book and that is what makes the story so wonderful. Our protagonist, Nathan, is grappling with his own identity (is he good or bad by nature? It certainly isn't a foregone conclusion here); his mother committed suicide due to her own son; his father is a murderer....these things are quite dark and not at all presented in a GOOD v EVIL manner.

Personally, I would have no problem with my teens or pre-teens reading this novel, but that is my own decision as a parent and I realize that not all parents are as open as I am with books and their kids. But I would encourage all parents to read it with an open mind. The world is full of shades of gray and this is something we all are confronted with as we mature into our teen years (what a shocker that is to find out that that not everything is about the Good Guys Winning the Day). Green does a marvelous job reflecting this in Nathan's world and he is suddenly faced with having to use his own common sense to discern what is right and what is wrong amid all these shades of gray. The story may be a fantasy, but the problems Nathan face are universal.

Half Bad takes place in our world in England, only there are witches. Good witches, bad witches, and fains (which are humans) and the world of witches is governed by The Council of White Witches who pretty much decide whether or not a witch is Black or White. Black witches are Evil and hunted when they fall out of line and White witches are Good and never to be questioned. You get the gist. Nathan is a halfcode which means he’s half Black and half White. His mother was a powerful White witch and his father is the most evil and terrifying Black witch of all time. So things don’t go so well for Nathan with the Council because they don’t know which way he’s going to go and they pretty much make his life a living hell. They want to train him to kill his father which is the last straw. He determines that he needs to escape from the Council, meet his father and come into his gift, and try and figure out how to survive in this world that’s so incredibly not on his side.

The world building is chilling. I almost believe there are witches among us and a shadowy organization who claims to maintain the checks and balances of good and evil. The idea, while not a new concept, is explored deftly and brings to light issues that have far reaching and relevant real world applications. Is anyone truly just one thing? How do you define good and evil and how do we become who we are? It’s a thoughtful book about the nature of people as a whole and the role an individual can play in the grand scheme of things. It’s also very compelling; I read this book in once sitting and didn’t even stop to break for food. The pacing was strong, but I did feel a bit of a lull around the middle of the book where I felt the story wasn’t progressing, but I pushed through and the last quarter of the novel really ramped up so if you start feeling frustrated, keep with it. It gets so good.

We don’t have real access to a lot of characters in this book. There are many secondary characters, but they don’t really contribute to the story other than to assist Nathan on his journey both physically and emotionally. Annalise, the girl Nathan loves, plays a notable part in the beginning as she’s the first to really accept him and as a White witch with a reputable family, it’s a big deal for him. Nathan obviously clings to her as she’s one of the few good things he’s had in his life and I understand his fixation on the first person outside of his family to want anything to do with him. I’d like to know more about her though and I hope we’ll find out more in the next book. Nathan’s family is present for the beginning of the book as well; his grandmother, his brother Arran, and his sisters Deborah and Jessica. While his grandmother, Arran, and Deborah are supportive and love him, Jessica pretty much wants the guy dead and tries to hurt him whenever she can. It makes for a complicated living arrangement. My favorite character from the novel aside from Nathan is Gabriel who is a Black witch Nathan comes in contact with during the latter half of the novel. Gabriel is mysterious and intriguing and does his best to help Nathan in his endeavors, but can only do so much due to his own circumstances. There are a bevy of other witches, both White and Black who are out to help or hurt Nathan, but the ones worth mentioning would be spoilery so I’ll just leave it at the characters I’ve already mentioned.

The writing style was unique in a way I think you’ll have to experience to understand. It’s first person perspective from Nathan’s point of view and we spend the entire novel in his mind, hearing his thoughts, and seeing what he sees. It felt a bit like Tahereh Mafi and her Shatter Me series only less romantic and more direct. His emotions are hard to understand at first because they’re so compartmentalized, but as you see what happens to him, you begin to understand this and it’ll break your heart. It’s oddly confessional and starkly intimate and I really enjoyed it. The chapters are also split up nicely with titles relating to the events in the novel and they go back and forth in time to explain different parts and memories from Nathan’s life. The structure really worked for me and kept things interesting.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Aside from the middle where I felt like we weren’t going anywhere, it was a really strong read. I loved the world and Nathan and I wanted to know more about the other characters and I will be picking up the second book in the series this weekend. It’s definitely a bit of a darker read, so make sure you aren’t expecting something light and fluffy and you’ll probably enjoy this a lot. I know I did.

Half Bad by Sally Green tells the story of Nathan who is the son of a white witch mother and a black witch father. In Nathan’s world, black witches are hated and feared and Nathan’s parentage makes him a pariah, someone to be caged and studied. To make matters worse, Nathan’s 17th birthday is approaching by which time he must receive three gifts and the blood of a family member – or die.

The story starts off with Nathan in a cage and trying to escape before flashing back to recount his earlier life. The story is told primarily in the first person present, almost stream-of-consciousness – with some diversions off to the second person when Nathan is trying to distance himself from what is going on, such as during torture. The narrative style is deliberately simplistic to reflect Nathan’s lack of book learning.

What I liked

The narration. I LOVED the audio narration of Half Bad, which was done by Carl Prekopp. Written as it is in the first person present, the narrator IS Nathan, and it’s as if the protagonist himself is speaking. This is emphasised by the simple, informal language. My heart rate did shoot up during certain sections because of the writing paired with the narration. This is a book I would definitely recommend enjoying as an audiobook rather than in written format.

The world. I found it interesting that those in the world try to separate witches into black or white, good or evil, when it’s obvious right from the beginning that this is not an realistic worldview. One character tries to claim that the difference is that white witches use their powers for good and black witches not so much. Clearly that is so simplistic as to be laughable. From all the second-hand reports we hear of attacks by black witches, it seems that these incidents were in reaction to white witch activities. Given that the first witches we meet are white witches who harshly curtail our protagonist’s freedoms with regulations reminiscent of Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter before imprisoning him in a cage, the reader is not exactly disposed to like them.

The pacing. Given that our hero is under a deadline – to receive his gifts before his 17th birthday or die – the pacing and narrative tension is kept high. It always helps the pacing when the protagonist has to chase down a McGuffin – in this case, someone who can grant him three gifts and the blood of a family member. Incidentally, it’s not made clear to me whether the consequences of meeting this deadline would be as severe as Nathan believes – the point is, he believes it. The action sequences are interesting being written in the first person present. This was the point at which my own heart rate increased notably.

The protagonist. I did like Nathan – despite his lack of book learning, he is pretty shrewd I look forward to seeing how he upsets the Council’s worldview in future books.

What I didn’t like

The romance. For me, it just didn’t gel – it felt forced. My issue was that Nathan didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Annalise before falling for her. OK, she is one of the few non- family members who is nice to him, but still, this subplot just didn’t work for me. (In all fairness, I should point out I rarely like the romance in YA.)

I would certainly recommend Half Bad – especially as an audiobook – and gave it four stars out of five.

Nathan has grown up knowing he is different. Raised in a world where White Witches rule and Black Witches are hunted, Nathan has been caught in the middle, having a White Witch for a mother and a Black Witch for a father. He is watched closely by the Council of White Witches who is convinced of the darkness of the Black Witches and its own superiority. Nathan is desperate to be designated a White Witch, but the older he gets and the harsher the prejudice against him becomes, the more Nathan wishes someone would rescue him, someone like his father. As the Council tightens its hold on Nathan, he must find a way to escape or risk losing his life under the thumb of the tyrannical leaders bent on riding the world of Black Witches.

From half-sisters to legal guardians, Nathan is put through an insane amount of abuse by people who believe that because of his lineage, he is inherently evil. The irony of this underscores the principle in Half Bad that it is not our genes that makes us evil but our choices. Despite the maltreatment Nathan endures, he is resilient and intelligent, though perhaps not in the most conventional way. Ostracized and mistreated, Nathan finds solace in his brother Arran and the secret friendship he forms with Annalise, a girl from a family of prominent White Witches. Both characters are juxtaposed with their siblings who are the epitome of rottenness, convinced that Nathan isn't worthy of any form of compassion.

Half Bad employs second-person POV for a limited time and though not my favorite POV, functions as a barrier between Nathan and the horrific situation he is put in. In a way I'm a little disappointed Sally Green didn't return to this unique narration because it is so compelling and I fell easily into Nathan's mindset. Where I felt Half Bad fell short was in its development of minor characters. I feel that I know Nathan, but lack a similar understanding of anyone else, even of those sympathetic to Nathan's situation. More than this is the lack of an adequate account of the history between White Witches and Black Witches, not necessarily the story of their origin but how this animosity could continue for so long without any sort of strong opposition. There seems to be too many characters who hate Nathan simply because that is the way the story goes which feels a little too easy.

Originally posted on happyindulgencebooks.com

Half Bad is a story that you wouldn’t expect. The blurb describes white witches and dark witches hinting at lots of magic and fantasy, which it is not. What this story is however, is the account of one boy who is different from others and abused by the superior race for being a half black and half white witch.

The book spans Nathan’s life from childhood to his teens. On his 17th birthday, he anticipates receive three gifts from a witch and the blood of his mother or father, in order to turn into a fully fledged witch with powers. Otherwise, due to the black in his blood, he will most likely die. The white witches have monitored Nathan for his whole life, and slowly but surely, they begin overstepping their boundaries and torturing this innocent boy. It is an incredibly raw, heart breaking account from Nathan who has been mistreated his whole life. From closely monitoring him, to removing his rights, to capturing him and keeping him under duress and killing his loved ones, the white witches know no boundaries as Nathan nears his 17th birthday.

There are some interesting moral dilemmas that are addressed when it comes to good and evil. The evil black witches, are the ones who go on a rampage and kill innocent people including their own family. But if the good guys, the white witches torture an innocent young boy from childhood, use and manipulate him as a tool and treat him like an animal, how is that any better? The most striking thing about Half Bad, is if you swap out the word witches, for any race, colour or culture, it sadly applies to human nature.

Half Bad starts off at a slow, staggering pace as it details Nathan’s accounts with his family, and then his life in a cage. A good 80% of the book talks about every detail during this time, but the latter half of the book is a jarring contrast as it moves really quickly, skipping on some major details. Soon Nathan meets a heap of accomplices in his journey to seek out his dad and it made this half difficult to follow.

The writing is also slow, stunted, detailed with a lot of irrelevant information, but is somehow fitting for Nathan’s voice. It communicates Nathan’s confusion, fear, and hopes for connecting with his father as he learns about the world . Very little time is devoted to anything other than what is happening to Nathan throughout the novel.

Half Bad tells a raw, confronting, heart-wrenching story of abuse and discrimination, with a glimmer of hope and belief for the victim. Unimaginable things happen to Nathan throughout his early life, but he finds a way to deal and pulls through without breaking. Throughout the story, you’ll be aching for a release and happily ever after for Nathan. With a unique voice and some interesting moral issues between good and evil, Half Bad wasn’t…well, Half Bad.

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” - Hamlet

This is a book I picked up because of all the buzz, and because I happened to walk in the library when they were putting the latest books on the shelf! The buzz was neither good nor bad, just buzz. Is it the next big thing? Is it any good? How much of an advance did Sally green receive? Are witches making a comeback? To be honest, by the time it came out I'd forgotten about the witches part. I opened the cover having no idea what I was getting into. I didn't even read the blurb. The only expectation I had was that the buzz was all hype.

The opening pages didn't immediately alleviate my apprehension. Second person? Who writes in second person? And was the whole novel going to be like this? I think I can tell you without spoiling anything that there are only two short second person POV portions of the novel. I've heard a few of my fellow readers indicate they found these parts strange and hard to follow. While I didn't love it, after I got past the oddness, I was engaged. I believe Green's purpose was to bring the reader into the story on a more personal level during some traumatic periods, and for me it was effective.

HALF BAD was split into six sections with several chapters in each section. The chapter titles gave clear focus and direction, hinting to the reader what would happen without ruining the suspense. It focused on the lives of black and white witches living in Europe, never straying into Harry Potter territory. The world was both fully developed and realized, drawing the reader in so that you don't even think about those other witches at Hogwarts. In fact, HALF BAD was a dark, brooding, punishing read full of edgy content, intriguing characters and a plot that kept me riveted from beginning to end.

The MC, Nathan, was one of those characters who has had a rough life, yet there were some glimmers of good. I think it is essential to give a character who has suffered a lot some redeeming points in their story, or you wonder how they managed to come through all the trauma unscathed. Nathan is sarcastic, brooding, has a huge chip on his shoulders, and makes bad choices and pays for them, but you never find yourself wondering “Why did he do that?” You know why. Green does a fantastic job of putting us in Nathan's head, making us feel what he feels and think what he thinks. Even when he's being stupid, you root for him to get out alive. For some reason I picture him as a younger Sebastian Stan In Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Nathan's love interest, Annalise, is unfortunately pretty bland. She has very little character and only serves to show that there are some decent people among the white witches. I'm hopeful her character become more developed in sequels, or Nathan finds someone more worthy of his attentions. I saw Annalise as Elle Fanning, especially in her new role as Aurora in Maleficent.

My only other complaint is something I didn't really think about until after I'd read the book, started my review and talked to a few other readers online. Once the point was brought up, it did seem like a small drawback. The opening Hamlet line is carried through the novel and Green expertly portrays the idea that just because you are white or black (talking about witches, not skin color) doesn't predetermine if you are good or bad. It is your choices that make you who you are and doing bad things in the cause of good is still bad. The problem here is that Green made almost all of the white witches bad, and really bad. Like torture-kidnap-kill-mutilate bad. They're some scary people. Even though it was fiction, I was fearful for the characters and all they might suffer at the hands of these people. I think Green could have given us a few more good white witches, not just witches who think they're good but are really some of the most awful creatures on the planet. And she never really gives us a reason why the white witches are ruthlessly hunting down every black witch in existence, other than "they are just bad." I get the discrimination angle, but I could have used more of a back story as to why the with world is like this.

Overall I loved this book! The MC and a few supporting characters are well thought out, deep and intriguing with back stories I want to know more about. Many of the “bad guys” (white witches) were too bad for no reason, though it was still highly plausible. I can not wait to read the rest of the trilogy. The writing was very good, which I don't always find in every YA. This is an example of taking a great story with a great writer and marketing it to be successful. As opposed to some novels that have a great story with only okay writing that get the same marketing push. YA readers are as sophisticated as any other age group and deserve quality literature as much as their adult counterparts.

My review: 4/5 stars

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The story in Half Bad is one bursting with emotion and tension. The writing is thoughtful, and Nathan's character stayed with me long after I finished reading this book.

Reasons to Read:

1. A story that simmers (slowly):

The main character, Nathan, is absolutely filled with pent up emotions but the plot progression is fairly slow - don't expect action-packed excitement. Despite the external circumstances endangering Nathan, much of the story revolves around his internal struggles. I found that worked very well for the story in Half Bad, but you have to prepare yourself for a slow-moving plot.

2. Harry Potter (without Hogwarts):

Let me explain what I mean by this: Half Bad is not at all the same story as Harry Potter. However, it felt to me like it could very well be set in a similar type of world - but not Hogwarts. Think of the United Kingdom where there are social divides between witches, and the magic is subtly woven into the real world. More like the later books in Harry Potter where the Ministry of Magic takes a more prominent role in the story. The way the magic works is interesting as well, because it isn't exactly something that can be learned but more like a skill inherited or gifted to the witch.

The story isn't quite told in chronological order though, and I found it jarring at times to jump around in the book's timeline. There were some ways in which it was effective and kept my focus narrowed on certain aspects of the plot. But overall, it felt mostly jumbled to me as a reader.

I was most confused by the second person narration used briefly on occasion. Second person narration is so hard for me to connect with as a reader! And it didn't feel like it added anything to the story. I had no problem relating to Nathan's character or his circumstances otherwise and the second person narrative was just confusing. And the use of this technique was so minimal, it seemed out of place.

That being said, Half Bad is a remarkably emotive book. Sally Green's storytelling is beautiful, and she touches on a wide range of issues and feelings with it. I felt a complete connection to Nathan and I was fully invested in what happened to him. For that reason alone, I would recommend reading Half Bad along with the benefit of a curious magical world. This story is utterly heartbreaking and the events endured by Nathan are horrific and shocking - which is why his story has stuck with me.

ARC received from Penguin Canada for review; no other compensation was received.

For a book about witches, “Half Bad” went pretty light on magic and fantasy. This was more of a character study of a child that experiences horrific abuse because of his heritage. The protagonist, Nathan, was born under contentious circumstances (an affair between a White Witch and Black Witch) and abandoned early in his life (evil father, dead mother). He is relentlessly abused by peers (for being half White and half Black) and bullied by institutional discrimination (major restrictions on the rights of "Half Codes" by the governing council). So his life sucks.

A lot of the writing is stripped of the emotion and expressiveness of many YA novels. The paucity of plot details and character development is replaced by grisly (at times gratuitous) violence and suffering. But the bare, untreated writing felt deliberately parallel to Nathan’s own raw, impulsive nature and experiences. The focus was very “Let’s get this done!” with minimal exploration of “What is the meaning of all this?” And I’m okay with that.

I’m excited to get my hands on the second book, “Half Wild.” I have a TON of unanswered questions. And more importantly, I miss the heck out of Gabriel :)

cannot stop reading Half Bad. Brutal, hateful, but (that ending was) hopeful. Really good stuff.

The POV in Part I was very interesting. Using "you" instead of "I", it made my reading experience unpleasantly real. It's as if I was the one losing a hand because of some nasty acid, instead of Nathan. =) I easily adopted to Sally Green's cruel, magical world. A little subdued on the "magic" element, but it still worked for me.

Amidst persecution from the White Witches, Nathan persevered to live day by day. With the help of his brother Arran (I want a devoted sibling like him!), his sister Deborah, and his Gran, the Council's oppression for a wild card like him was a bit bearable. When Nathan's birthday draws near, and he awaits the Three Gifts that his bloodline will bestow upon him, the noose held by the Council grows tighter. Should he bear the unreasonable suffering, or should he run for his life?

I love, love Half Bad. It's so simple - you're different, so they fear you. But they will bully you into submission to disguise their fear into strength. But we all know that even good witches need to lose some damn steam.. like Nathan. :D Sally Green knows how to rile me up. I hated Kieran. I loathed Nathan's sister, Jessica. I did not think of Mercury as a threat, though. Celia was a surprise, but a good one. And high five to Rose!

The value of a family and the strength that comes from its members are encouraged in this book. Nathan never gave up hoping that his father wants him as a child, and for an orphan like him, it's all he has.

The ending was good enough, the meeting between two characters in the midst of the battle was so cool, and so heartwarming!

*whispers* I haven't read an absorbing magic-themed book like Half Bad in a while. The thrill of it!

P.S. Team Gabriel, anyone? :D

(Attention to Jessica, Kieran, Hunters, Members of the Council... here's me making a gesture of slashing your throat.)

In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?

Oh goody! A new YA read for me, the start of a series, one that has had a mixed reaction amongst my favourite reviewers and with a premise that immediately had me excited to read it. What did I think? I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I went in hopeful of a new addiction and I got exactly what I wished for…

The magical element of the story is actually quite low key which for me was perfect – learning about this strange new world, picking up on the nuances, knowing that there is more to come, understanding the realities that the characters face – this is all, for me as a reader, very important in order to engage me, and again, that is exactly what it did.

Then we have Nathan – our main protagonist. With a White Witch for a Mother and a Black Witch for a father he is looked at with suspicion, under a tremendous amount of scrutiny and faces these many issues head on – often in a totally unlikeable manner. His attitude can stink. Frankly mine would too with a sister like Jessica – but when we meet him he is locked in a cage. As we go back to his formative years and learn what has led up to this we realise that nothing in this world is black and white – the shades of grey are everywhere surrounding Nathan and who he will ultimately choose to be (and he will choose) is what I believe is at the very heart and soul of this adventure. And we have a ways to go..

From an Adult perspective I would say there is a lot to enjoy here – the analogy and subtlety in giving a point of view about how we sometimes look at each other based solely on appearance, background and other things that are totally out of our control is cleverly achieved. There are dystopian threads running through this – the “Council Directives” about the treatment of Non White Witches get steadily more terrifying and dark and often induced a real sense of anger in me as I was reading.

For a Young Adult there is plenty to enjoy. A blossoming romance that is fated to be pretty impossible, an eclectic cast of supporting characters all with their own black and white and shades of grey, some to love, some to hate – and which ones are which is anybody’s guess. Add to that a healthy dose of action, a touch of angst, some thought provoking events and an ending that will have you desperate for more, and I’d say you were onto a pretty good thing.

This readers opinion: Bring on “Half Wild” as soon as is humanly possible and hope that a movie will be coming to a cinema near you quick smart. AFTER you have read it of course.

Happy Reading Folks!

**Copy received via Netgalley and UK Publisher Penguin***

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Very unique fast paced YA paranormal read. With a modern day England setting and intriguing plot this is sure to be a big hit with paranormal fans across the board.

Opening Sentence: There’s these two kids, boys, sitting close together, squished in by the big arm of an old chair.

The Review:

There are two different types of witches: White witches; who are considered the good guys, and the Black witches, who are considered the evil, but it really depends on who you are asking. Sixteen-year-old Nathan is the product of both a White witch and a Black witch. His mother was a very loving, wonderful woman, but she killed herself when Nathan was little. His father is one of the most feared and dangerous Black witches to ever exist. Nathan is an abomination and not to be trusted because of his dark origins or at least that is what the White witches have everyone believing.

Every witch is given three gifts and their ancestors’ blood on their seventeenth birthday, so they can find their magical gift whatever it may be. It is also said that if you are a Black witch and you don’t get your powers, you will die shortly after you birthday. Nathan will need his father to perform the ceremony for him, but there is one big problem: he has never met his father and has no idea where to find him. With the White witches hunting him and time running out, Nathan will have to do whatever it takes it find his father or risk losing everything, including his life.

Nathan was a fascinating character that was easy to like right away. He has the good side from his mother and the darker more sinister side from his father. Because of this you get a very torn character that has dark tendencies, with a very deeply ingrained sense of right and wrong. His body wants him to perform acts that are violent and hurtful, while his mind is telling him to not act on his bodily desires. This made Nathan so unique and interesting to me, because you get the sides of both worlds in one person. I found that he was fairly easy to connect with as well, and from the very beginning I was cheering him on. Throughout the story you grow up with Nathan and get to experience so much with him, because of this you really start to care about him. Honestly, I loved being inside his head and can’t wait to see what is in store for him next.

Half Bad was a very unique witch book that was pure entertainment. It is full of action, suspense, and subtle romance. Nathan is so engaging and interesting that it was hard not to get totally caught up in his world. The story started off in second person, which I really enjoyed because it made you feel like all these events were happening to you in a way, so I felt an instant connection to the story. Then it moves into first person and you are able to connect more fully with Nathan. My one complaint about this story was that for about half the book I felt that circumstances forced Nathan to do the things he did instead of him making his own choices. This was a very character driven book and for a portion of the story he felt like a stationary object moving through the pages. But about half way through the book this does change and I liked him better once he started really living his own life.

This book covers a lot of our modern day bullying and discrimination issues that we have in our society. Because of his birth origin, Nathan is treated very different than other witches. I liked that Green implemented something that is so realistic into a fantasy book flawlessly. Even though the story is totally make believe you can take something from it and use it in your real life. It made the story easier to relate to and connect with on a deeper level. I loved the modern day England setting with a slight historical feel to it. The plot was very intriguing and the pacing never dragged. I felt that the ending was slightly rushed, but it still left me feeling satisfied. This is Green’s debut novel and I am honestly stunned by her talent. Half Bad was an amazing start to what I’m sure is going to be an epic series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone that likes a dark action-packed paranormal read.

Notable Scene:

I shake my head. “It’s happening to me, Arran. I feel it, I’m a Black Witch.”

“No , you’re not. That’s your body, not you.. the real you is nothing to do with being a Black Witch. You have some of Marcus’s genes in you, and some of Saba’a. But that’s physical. And the physical stuff, the genes, your Gift, they are not what makes a Black Witch. You have to believe who you are. You aren’t evil, Nathan. Nothing about you is evil. You will have a powerful Gift—we can all see that—but it’s how you use it that will show you to be good or bad.”

I almost believe him. I don’t feel evil, but I’m afraid. My body is doing things that I don’t understand, and I don’t know what else it will do. It feels like it has a will of its own and it’s leading me down a path I have to follow. The night tremors are taking me outside, forcing me to move away from my old life. The noises in my head also seem to be driving me away from people.

Whenever Jessica used to say I was half Black, Gran would say “Half White too.” And I had always thought of my mother’s genes and my father’s mixing in my body, but now it occurs to me that my body is my father’s and my spirit is my mother’s. Perhaps Arran is right, my spirit is not evil, but I have to put up with a body that does weird things.

FTC Advisory: Viking Juvenile/Penguin provided me with a copy of Half Bad. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

There's so many aspects that got me interested in Half Bad. Firstly, it was the name and cover. Cover's brilliant, really, and with a name like that I'm pretty much sold. I was little guarded about the idea of witches mostly because I've read so many witchcraft books and mostly they haven't been good ones. Besides genious J.K. Rowling no one has written about witches the way it would have blew my mind. However, Sally Green did it. From the page one I was taken by the world Nathan lived and all that old school magic. Half Bad isn't good - it's expectional.

Main character is important part of the story and sadly many times main character isn't the force that keeps me reading. However, Nathan was wondrous main character. I loved that Green chose male main character for a book about witches because mostly there's all those witch stories with female leading characters. Nathan was right choice and he was truly interesting characters. The journey with him was heart wreching and captivating, and all I wanted was to hug him and kick White Witches asses for treating Nathan badly.

Green's all characters were well defined and while Nathan's character developement was biggest, there were so many characters that I loved. Even the one's I despised because of their actions were well written and real. I adored Gabriel (who wouldn't!), Arran and Ellen alongside Nathan. Marcus, Bob, Trev, Gran, Rose and countless others were intriguing and I want to know more about them. The sequel, Half Wild, couldn't be here soon enough and waiting for March 2015 is going to be tortureous.

Half Bad is stunning, captivating story which I devoured and yearned for more constantly. There was so many emotions running through me during the book and there still is - and I finished some days ago. For a debut novel Half Bad is expectional. I'm going to read every book Green ever writes, that's for sure. She became one of my favorite authors fast.

Read it. You won't regret it.

In modern day England there are White witches (good) and Black Witches (bad) that live alongside humans (fain). Nathan is half white, half black and therefore, considered by the council of witches to be guilty until proven innocent and is held in a cage, beaten and cuffed. Nathan's father is the most powerful and evil Black witch and Nathan must find him and receive his 3 gifts on his 17th birthday in order to not only come into his own powers as a witch, but also to live.

This book is really fantastic in it's simplicity of writing and Nathan's determination to survive at all costs. Ultimately, that's what this book is all about: survival. There isn't a whole lot of magic, which I was a bit disappointed in, but this is an origin story and Nathan isn't 17 yet, so his powers haven't even been ascertained. I'm sure there will be a lot more in the books to come especially since the ending left Nathan on a journey to find his friend and to save the girl he loves.

The brutality of the White witches who are supposedly the good ones is sometimes hard to read especially the scene in which Nathan gets the scars on his back and takes bullying to a whole other level. As to the Black witches, we only hear all the bad stories about them and it makes you wonder if they really are that evil or if the White witches, who make and enforce the ridiculous rules for witches, have exaggerated and lied about their brutality. We don't even meet a Black witch until almost the end, so there really isn't any proof. There might not even be anyone inherently good in this book except for Nathan since he holds both White and Black blood. It will be interesting to see the exploration of the good vs. evil and corrupt leadership themes in the next couple books.

I'd recommend this book for fans of The Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness and the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness.

Before one attacks that, however, the hype around this book really should be addressed...

I've heard this called "the next Hunger Games" in terms of its draw and the interest it will bring; however, as much as I liked this book on its own merits and for my own reasons, The Hunger Games it is not...

Unique approach to characterization and story-telling...

I was really into the way the book started. The combination of techniques used to frame the story was unique and drew me in as a reader. I needed to know what happened after the first section of the story.

But - This is the crux of the story (and the hype, I'd imagine)...

The main character, Nathan, isn't some gorgeous, perfectly intelligent, cunning and flawless upstanding member of the witch community. He is flawed...deeply flawed in a variety of ways, but he is sympathetic nonetheless. And while his morality may be questionable in some areas, Nathan has defined morality through his own experiences, and he seems intent to abide by the guidelines he has set for himself.

This appears to be where the majority of the conflict will arise in the continuation of the story: Will Nathan be able to maintain his own individualized grasp on morality?, or will the outside forces and events in his life affect his ability to distinguish right from wrong as he has identified them? I admit I'm excited to find out, and I will continue to read this series; I just don't think it will have nearly as wide a draw as The Hunger Games.

Within the current Young Adult market, there are few books that stand out.

Half Bad by Sally Green certainly does that and more.

First and foremost, the plot. Half Bad is a novel that takes its time telling a story. The first part of the novel is backstory, and introduces how Nathan wound up in a cage, his family life and relationship with the world around him. It isn't until the latter half of the novel that we get to the present-day Nathan and his escape. It certainly doesn't move very fast, but it doesn't drag, and I found it refreshing among the gamut of 'gotta go fast' YA novel plots. It gives the reader time to connect with the characters and understand the world they live in, why things work the way they do, and so on.

In my opinion, the second tense used in the first part of the novel and its switch to first person a few pages later is far from a hindrance. It gives a good insight into the protagonist's mental state, on how he's become so unstable and desperate to escape the cage and ever-present hatred that he faces from his captor. I didn't mind the switch in tenses at all, and I had no problem switching between the two.

Speaking of characterization, the characters are definitely a highlight of the novel. Nathan is a protagonist unlike any other - he is violent, nigh-illiterate, and borderline feral. But, at heart, he is kind boy that wants nothing more than to be reunited with the family he was ripped away from. Nathan is a strange one indeed, but I just couldn't help but root for him to escape and have a better life. The secondary characters are all vibrant and memorable in their own way. I especially loved Gabriel, a young black witch that assists Nathan later on in the novel. Each character has their purpose and there aren't any superfluous ones who do nothing to advance the plot. The only character I felt was somewhat useless was Nathan's love interest, Annalise, who pretty much existed to be pretty and perfect and provide conflict later on. She never really developed much of a personality and her relationship with Nathan felt cold and detached.

About the magic of the novel. It was definitely unique - these aren't Harry Potter-esque witches and wizards who have a wide range of powers and abilities. When a whet receives their three gifts they become a full witch in their own right and develop an ability - some have an affinity for potions, while others can change shape at will, and some can even fly. I felt it was a nice change from the norm. However, don't expect it to run rampant through the novel - magic, while ever present in the characters lives, does not appear in flashy and gaudy ways. It is a book about the life of a young whet (a witch that has not yet received their three gifts), not magic.

Nothing in this novel is black and white, strictly good versus strictly evil. There are massive shades of gray throughout. The white witch community likes to think itself perfect and good, but it is just as prone acts of violence and hatred as the black witch one. Black witches are violent, but can be genuinely good people at heart, such as Gabriel. Do not go into this story looking for right and wrong sides, because there aren't any.

A quick warning - Half Bad is not some nice book that treats its characters with care. The violence Nathan faces as a half code is a major part of the novel and it is not for the faint of heart.

Over all, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested.

Now as you might already know this book is written by an English author, and is about witches. When I tell you these things, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Harry Potter. As soon as those terms are used our minds go straight to the wonderful school of Hogwarts where our little orphan with the famous lightning-bolt scar had his magical adventurous. It’s in our nature to just assume. But let me tell you this; this is not Harry Potter in the slightest. Oh Hell no. In the best analogy I can use, this book is like Beautiful Creatures and Eminem had a love-child.

And, surprisingly, it worked with me. It wasn't half bad. Haha. Get it? 'Cause the title of the book is Half Bad... it's funny... yeah I've been waiting to use that joke for a while now. Please don't judge my desperation too harshly.

Set in an alternative England where white is good and black is evil, this story centres on a boy named Nathan. He is half White and Half Black Witch, nicknamed a Half-Code. It chronicles his life as he grows up in a White Witch community. He his branded an outsider – feared and hated by all, even by members of his family. Though they have right to; for Nathan is the illegitimate son of the world's most terrifying and violent witch in the world. Not only is he an abomination, but also is a threat to the balance of things. That is, until one day he is sent away to be tortured after finally learning some truths about his heritage and his supposed purpose in life. He must find himself and his father to fully become who he’s destined to be. All while this is happening to the poor guy;

'I scream and curse him and move my finger as much as I can but the ring tightens and the needle goes into me again.
As it comes out I’m sweating.
He moves on to the top of my finger, over the fingernail. The needle goes through again.'

Nathan is beaten, battered, bullied, and brutalized again and again and again. He's understandably not the happiest guy in the world. I certainly can't blame him. In the world he lives in, White Witches are ensured good lives while Black Witches are hunted down just to be killed brutally. If your half and half, then you are treated like a dog. He has so many restrictions against him they're starting to become a noose. He can’t talk to other witches without it being reported. Every year he goes to the council to be questioned on his abilities and about the father he has never met. He can't travel anywhere without first having permission. And there’s a large possibility he would not even have the ceremony which gives him his powers. He's misunderstood and mistreated by those around him every single day.

'"The way you go all… there’s an English word – mopey? Yes, I think that’s it. You are mopey sometimes."
Mopey!
"I think you’ve got the wrong word. Thoughtful is more like it."
"No, I think the right word is mopey."'

In a way he's like the infamous Carrie White from Stephan King’s first published novel. He pushes down all his emotions – his anger, his fear, his confusion – in the hope to make the pain go away.

'The trick is not to mind. Not to mind about it hurting, not to mind about anything.'

Only he just builds up these emotions until they eventually burst. He lashes out in a violent way. And when he does occasionally lash out, it's terrifying. That’s the one great thing about this book; Nathan doesn’t deny the side of him that’s evil (“black”). He embraces it. Of all the things in Young Adult literature, how many times have you seen this occur? How many times have you seen a character – the supposed protagonist – love his father unconditionally regardless of the fact he’s the most powerful and wicked man on earth? Love his father even though they’ve never met? I can’t say I have. Nope, Nathan sure isn’t any Gary Stu. He acknowledges he dark sides, his weaknesses with schooling, his rebellious and aggressive tendencies, and his hopefulness boarding on naiveté. It all comes together to create a rather complex character. He is no angel nor does he trick you into thinking otherwise.

Some of the stuff Sally Green writes in Half Bad will make you squirm, and will make you feel very uncomfortable. It sure as hell made me feel uncomfortable. This is far from a fluffy, everyday Young Adult novel. This is the cold, hard truth. But I like this. In a weird, messed up way, I like how Sally Green is bold enough to do something like this. Even though Nathan has gone from hell and back from the moment he was born, he never begs for you to pity him. He doesn't ask for your pity. He doesn’t cry, he doesn’t reject what he is. This is just how things are for him, and he accepts it. And you are not manipulated into feeling sorry. You just… do.

Half Bad reads like it's been split into several different stories. One handling a very moving coming-of-age tale of a young man discovering himself, another showing that nothing is strictly either good or bad, another dealing with abuse, another handling how a son grows up without ever seeing his father, and one delving into the ugly political world of witches who have an unquenchable thirst for power. It so powerful. So raw. So weirdly real, despite the heavy fantasy element. And might I add that the setting was much cherished? Because it was. The Welch countryside was an added bonus that suited the eerie atmosphere, as was the English urban landscape.

Yet at its very core, this book is about love. The love between a father and a son. The love between a grandmother and her grandchild. The love between two brothers. The love between a brother and his sisters. And the love between friends. Nathan views Marcus in a very optimistic light. Dads are meant to care and protect you. Surly even Marcus cannot deny the side of him that marks him as a father, can he?

'I know it like I know how to breathe.
I know he’ll come to me.
I wait and I wait.'

Arran, his brother and arguably the one family member he’s closest too, was an utter sweetheart. He and Nathan shared a bond that cannot be broken even after time, distance, or sorrow. Though we don’t see a lot of Deborah, a sister and the nicer one at that, we do see the venom his other sister, Jessica, projects to him. They do not see eye to eye as Jessica is hell-bent on rules, and thereby hates Black Witches. Though Nathan does not wish her any harm, she’d love to kill him. And she makes these messages loud and clear. Actually Nathan does not want anyone hurt. That’s what makes me love him only more. Even though he makes mistakes, and is forced to do certain things, it’s not out of distain for others. He does what he does to insure his loved ones much needed safety.

Along with his family members we see a colourful cast of secondary characters who act as allies to our young witch, such as Gabriel, Rose, Celia, Clay, Mary, Bob, Trev, and Nikita. Every character is different from the other – all having different personalities, motives, and speeches, yet none of them are strictly either good or evil. I have dearly missed this dexterity, having not seeing it in literacy since Harry Potter, Skulduggery Pleasant, Pride and Prejudice or Of Mice and Men. I could tell who’s who without even realizing it. And all of them were so memorable, even the ones Nathan interacted briefly.

But what about that romantic love hinted in the blurb? The one with that girl – the White Witch, Annalise? Throughout the novel Nathan both exclaims and proves his unwavering devotion for her, I don’t particularly buy it. Why? Simply because I felt she didn’t have much of a personality. Her sole purpose is to be a weakness to Nathan while being very weak-willed herself. I could believe all the relationships presented to me by Mrs Green except this one. It just doesn’t make sense. It feels like a serious case of Stockholm syndrome to me. That, and... hehe... *looks to Gabriel*

Even though Half Bad had my attention from start to end, making me read it in one sitting, I won’t pretend to see why others do not like it. It isn’t perfect. It isn't. Your enjoyment on this book will competently depend on whether you can adapt to Sally Green's inconsistent writing style. She likes to switch from second-person to first-person on a regular biases. And if you are expecting a full-on action based book then you'll be sorely disappointed. But I beg of you to at least give it a try if you’re looking for something original – something different that stands out from the sea of YA in front of you, them come hither and enjoy.

' "You are half White and the perfect bait, just the sort of thing the Council or Hunters would use."
"But I’m not sent by them."
"And you’re not likely to admit it if you are."
"So how do I prove to her that I’m not?"
"That’s the problem. It’s impossible to prove." He dabs at his mouth with his fingertips. "Someone once said that the best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." '

Now if you excuse me I will be crying in the corner until I finally get the sequel I so crave.

pooled ink Reviews:
3.5 Stars

Moving at a pace that was informative, developed, and not in any rush for the sole purpose of dazzling its readers, HALF BAD manages to spin together an alluring and dark tale of witches and what makes a witch good or bad. Gritty characters and a plot constantly on the move with no one to trust, you’ll find yourself lured in by the magic and shocked at the methods for control.

**Read FULL review on Wordpress: Pooled Ink

I was pleasantly surprised by this wonderful book. The protagonist, Nathan, was such an interesting, likable character. Likable isn't even the right word but I really cannot come up with a better one. He grows into you. Like you have known him all you life, like he is a part of your family, like he is you. You want him to succeed, you wonder what he's going to do at each turn, you ache when he realizes that the things he has always wanted in life may not be attainable. The magical element to this book was subtle but well explained and believable. The world building is a slow-burn but makes sense as you, the reader, basically learn at the same pace Nathan does. I really enjoyed the characters, the magic and the feeling of this book and definitely would continue reading this series.

Final recommendation: if you like magic, endearing-moody boys, for fans of both the Harry Potter series and Mortal Instruments, stories where the "good guys" may not be all that good and the "bad guys" may just be a little better

4.5 Stars

After seeing so much hype about this book I decided why not pick it up and give it a go. I'm really glad I did and I really enjoyed Half Bad. I loved the premise and I loved how everything played out. I will say that some of the scenes were fairly graphic but otherwise I loved it. I liked that it's from a males point of view, I enjoyed the little bit of LGBT involved and I hope we get to see more of that later on. I even liked the somewhat insta- love that we had going on. Mind you the characters had known each other for years and I guess were secret friends lol.
Nathan is a super amazing character, he is hated just for being born and he doesn't let it get him down. I'm sure others would have given up and chosen to end things, but he found a silver lining in Annalise. I'm excited to see where that goes or doesn't go. I want more Marcus, like what's his deal. I will be continuing this series and I would recommend it to witch lovers.

In anticipation for the release of its sequel, Half Wild, I will be reviewing the criminally under-read Half Bad today.

Released just under a year ago, Half Bad created an enormous stir before it was even published. There was a mad dash from publishers around the world to snap up the rights to it. In fact, the book was sold to FORTY-TWO countries before it was even released, setting a new world record. Oh yeah, and the movie rights were sold prior to the publication as well, to FOX 2000. The book was being heralded as the new Harry Potter, the new Hunger Games!

And then, the book kind of, sort of... flopped.

What happened?! I'm not sure that I know. Maybe not enough people were informed that they were supposed to read this book. Maybe readers legitimately were indifferent to it, and word-of-mouth failed to launch. Whatever the case, it's a shame, because Half Bad deserves to be discussed, in my opinion.

The story follows Nathan, a teenage witch, who has been imprisoned because of his parentage. In modern-day England, two races of witches loathe and despise each other, and Nathan happens to be a half-breed, with a Black Witch father and a White Witch mother.

It's been a year since I read the book, and I don't have a copy on me right now, so I'll have to write this review without going into specifics. What I do remember from my first read-through, is that I couldn't put the book down, once it got rolling.

The story starts out in with second person narration ("you") which is an interesting stylistic choice. Eventually, the second person ceases, but unusual opening language lets the reader know that this book explores self-perception and identity.

The book's a bildungsroman, in fact. (With a supernatural setting and a dash of action and adventure.) When we meet Nathan, he is locked in a cage like an animal. He's been reduced, beaten down. It is our pleasure, as readers, to see how Nathan rises from the ashes and creates his own identity, in spite of everyone in his world who has decided it for him. Will he be good? Will he be bad? Or something in between? Some readers have called Nathan an iteration of Severus Snape, and the comparison is not off-target.

There is a great cast of supporting characters as well, who have impressive complexity, and aloof identities of their own. There is Nathan's keeper, a fierce, militaristic woman who is much more than she seems. A young man, with an elusive talent, who is much more than he seems. A mysterious villain, (or is he a villain?) who is much more than he seems.

The world building has a lot of potential for growth. By this, I mean that the groundwork is there, but actual settings and details are sparse. This is my main complaint with the book. It was hard to get a good visual in my mind's eye. Many people have drawn comparisons between this book and Harry Potter; a detailed setting is something that Sally Green could take away from J. K. Rowling's masterwork. Hopefully, the sequel, Half Wild, will improve in this respect.

All in all, Half Bad is a YA book to pay attention to. Green makes bold stylistic choices. The book is readable, while still engaging complex concepts and themes. Characterizations are strong, with a compelling cast of nuanced players. The setting could use some work, but has plentiful room for development. You can be sure that I'll be reading Half Wild as soon as I get my hands on a copy.

4.5/5 north stars.

Summary:
Nathan has been persecuted all of his life because his father is the world's most powerful Black witch. In order to survive, he must escape and find his father before his seventeenth birthday. Unfortunately, everything that he does is tracked and he doesn't know who to trust. Will he be able to receive his gifts from his father or will he be doomed to perish?

My thoughts:
There was a lot of hype around this book before I picked it up. I usually read thing before they get t the point where everyone is talking about them and the movie deal is already in place. I tried very hard to go in with no expectations. I was intrigued with the story. Nathan is a well drawn out character. He is relateable and you really root for him to achieve. The second half of the book is paced really well with a good amount of action. The first half is a little slow, but it is good to build up the characters and the world building, which is England.

Okay the first half of this novel was utter crap. Like, oh my god, I'm falling asleep, sort of crappy. It was written well, the structure was varied, and the story wasn't told in a traditional way. But...unless you're satisfied reading about the muses and the woes of an eleven-year-old, you'll fall asleep. The beginning half was so BORING. I felt like giving up, but I wanted to write an honest review so I trudged through. The second half was better. The plot line picked up. The story got more interesting. More chaos started happening. But overall, even though I enjoyed the end of the novel, I have to give this a three star review. Because the beginning, the supposed attention grabber, was utter trash. Two stars for effort, and because it was told in such a different, unconventional way. But the second half of the novel (and no, none of these puns are intended) the pace of the story picked up and my attention was finally caught. Perhaps even enough to try the sequel.

With all the hype surrounding this book, I was expecting to be blown away. But I wasn't. All in all, I thought the story was ok. Nathan is the teenage son of two very powerful witches, one good witch and one bad one. The story is mostly told from his POV and we get to know him as the flawed character that he is. He has his issues, but he deals with them the best he can. I like Nathan, he's a good kid who was dealt a bad hand in life. But he manages. The main problem I have with this book is the style of writing. It is choppy and ragged and feels like something a 10 year old would write. The author seems to grapple with her control of the language and this book was painful, at times, to read. It seems to me that this book was primarily to set up the story for the second book, but I'm still not sure I'm going to bother reading that one.....

This was definitely one of the best YA/Paranormal books I've read in awhile! To protect the White Witches, their Council has decided to begin "coding" and tracking all witches in England, Scotland and Wales. Unfortunately, for Nathan, being half White Witch and Half Black, this also entails yearly "assessments" in which the Council tries to determine if he will be designated White or Black. And being the son of one of the most powerful and evil Black Witches living, he is under constant surveillance, and rejected by most of the White Witch society in which he lives. All while he is still a young boy. As he grows, he is met with many challenges in which he must find his own way, and must develop a fierce will to survive, in order to become the witch he is meant to be.

Totally engaging, you'll be rooting for Nathan and his few friends, and eagerly awaiting the next book, after the cliffhanger ending!

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mostly I like hard sci-fi- fantasy has usually bored me. The main character in this book, Nathan, is a totally captivating persona, and the book moves quickly with a kind of magical control of time. I only read it because my wife bought it, and I figured I would get ten pages in and then drop it. Instead I am. Going to read the next in the series.