EBOOK, 417 P.
PENGUIN, 2014
SOURCE: FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY


Having been positively surprised by Cinder, I decided to bite the bullet and read a second YA fantasy novel in a row. Half Bad is also Sally Green’s debut novel and the first part in the Half Life trilogy. This book has received a lot of praise both online and in the press, and I’ve also spotted the Finnish translation of the book prominently displayed in bookshops. The cover definitely draws in your attention invites you to pick it up and read the blurb. And according to the Guinness World Records, Half Bad is the “Most Translated Debut Book, pre-publication”. Hence you can probably guess why I was excited that Netgalley had a galley that you could request for review.

Half Bad is a story of Nathan, a young witch trapped in a cage. At least that’s what where we encounter him first, listening in on his thoughts as he goes through the motions of his prisoned life, watching and plotting for escape. You don’t really know why he is in there or who is keeping him, but slowly you get more glimpses of his life before the cage. Nathan lives in a society where there are white witches and black witches, and the latter are evil. The white witches run the secret witch society, organise their training, and supervise the Half Codes, who are half black and half white. Nathan is a Half Code, which means that instead of leading a nice and comfortable childhood like his other siblings, he has to go through yearly examinations, and his freedom is limited. And it’s all because of his notorious father who he has never met.

I had relatively high expectations for Half Bad, simply because I’d heard so much praise for it. From the first page, I realised that Sally Green’s debut novel isn’t a straight-forward one and that it employs some very clever and interesting storytelling techniques. As a reader you experience the pain and trouble that Nathan has to go through, which means that simultaneously you begin to feel for him as a character. However, Nathan is not the most likeable character out there and as the story progresses, you begin to question whether Nathan is good or bad – white or black. Similarly, Green subtly makes you question the order held by the white witches – in hunting down the black witches, the whites take no hostages. The world of Half Bad is not just black and white, but mostly grey.

The beginning part of Half Bad had me first confused and then interested, but as I read on, my interest levels started to slowly drop. The story seemed to be flitting around too much and towards the end, I could clearly see that the book was a first part of a trilogy from the way it seemed to be stalling at the end. There’s much promise in Sally Green’s writing and the ideas behind the story are fascinating, but I just didn’t click with the story. The story is at times quite gritty and gory, which I personally didn’t mind, but I wouldn’t recommend it to younger readers. However, I do recommend Half Bad to everyone who enjoys a bit more experimental young adult books and books that make you to doubt what the characters are telling you. In that Sally Green is world-class.

3.5/5

I thought that exile meant you had to leave your country and you could go anywhere–somewhere in the sun, a tropical island, say, or America. But exile doesn’t mean that; it means you are banished to a specific place, and guess what, that place isn’t in the sun and is no paradise, it’s not even America. It’s some cold, miserable place like Siberia, where you don’t know anyone and you can barely survive. It’s another prison.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an . honest review.

3.5 stars for me
This was really intriguing to me. Differences between white and black witches and what happens when one is half and half. Almost reminded me of the persecution of Jews. A bit.
I liked this story but felt like it dragged a bit and then ended on a cliffhanger.
Great characters and I enjoyed the magical powers of the witches.
Again, another book I'm not sure I'll continue on with... maybe if it fits another reading challenge.

A gritty take on the 'magical childhood' storyline made so famous by Rowling's Harry Potter books. Nathan lives in a world where witchs, both good and evil, live alongside non-magical people but he has always been treated as something different and dangerous. He discovers that he is the child of a white witch mother and a murderous black witch father and neither he, nor anybody else, knows what sort of witch he will be. Even though he is a child he is treated like an animal...

Half Bad tells the story of Nathan, a young boy born to a White Witch mother and a Black Witch father. It’s set in an alternate UK where most Fains (non-Witches) don’t know that Witches exist, but within their own communities Witches are governed by a Council who are increasingly putting pressure on Black Witches and ‘Half Codes’, people like Nathan. At heart it’s a traditional ‘sins of the Father’ narrative that explores how Nathan’s formative years are shaped by his surroundings but conflicted by the genes from his Father.

The first thing you’ll notice when you start reading is the fragmented style of writing; broken chapters and short sentences perfectly portray Nathan’s struggling voice- it’s submerged and compelling, teased through an a-linear timeline. There’s a barbarity and savagery in the description. Physical and mental abuse are apparent right from the beginning and it’s not for the faint hearted. It’s written in present tense and the use of “you” early on in the book makes the writing feel immediate and it’s hard to tear yourself away. Nathan’s character develops quickly but deeply, reflected by his life with his half brother and sisters.

Nathan’s relationship with his half siblings is so interesting. His older brother, Arran, is beautiful and the love portrayed between the brothers is the most tender and sincere I’ve ever read. Green doesn’t simply go for the traditional ‘macho’ roles, instead they have moving exchanges that seem truly heartfelt. Even though the story solely follows Nathan, I wanted to know what was happening with his family while he was away.

There are plenty of moments where you’ll want to put the book down or look away but you simply can’t. It moves forward with such pace and you can’t help but think Nathan deserves so much more than the life he has, and how persecution can rob you of a normal life. With this review I’ve aimed to convey how much more this book offers without giving away too much of the plot. It moves so quickly and deftly that you need to experience it yourself. But it’s not really about the plot, it’s about Nathan, and his ultimate survival at all costs.

There is defiantly a lot of potential in the plot idea and the characters. But the writing is not the best, and sometimes quiet hard to read through since it is a strange mixture of over simplicity and clearly trying hard to "sound cool".

Because of the writing style the actual book does suffer a good amount, but it does get a little better towards the end of the book so it could be possible that the next book in this series/triology will be a lot better. There are a lot of series that i read where the first book lacked especially compared to later books, since the author clearly was still trying to find their footing just as the reader in the first book. I am guessing that this is what might be happening in this book.

I am interested to see where this series is going, since the idea behind "white witches" that are supposed to be good but behave horrendously towards anyone that they seem fit too and "black witches" that are supposed to be the bad ones but in comparison don't seem that horrible at all! I also am interested to see where Nathan's character and plot line will be going.
I also think that some aspects of this book are very unique and show so much potential for something great, that i want to know more about and see where the author is going with it!

I do however really, really hope that the writing will get a lot better since it was a struggle at some sections to actually want to continue one for me personally!

I guess i have to see if it gets better and how the plot continues if/when i get to the second book.

I do think that it is a very nice start, and if you don't mind a bit of underdeveloped writing, really interesting and different plot ideas and a good amount of violence, defiantly give it a try!

This book is one of my favorites! I think everyone should read it at least once!