REVIEW: Half Bad by Sally Green

Half Bad by Sally Green

RATING: ****

SERIES: Half Life Trilogy #1

GENRE: YA Fantasy

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Half Bad by Sally Green is a breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.
You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.
You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.
You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.
You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.
All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.
Easy.

MY THOUGHTS:
Half Bad follows the story of Nathan, a half code. Set in England, where white (good) and black (bad) witches live alongside humans (fains), Nathan was born to a white mother and a black father. He is brought up in a community of white witches but is an outcast due to is connections to his father – the most powerful black witch in the world. Following Nathan as he grows up, you experience his battle between good and evil and his quest to discover more about his past as he is hunted by the council.

I loved this book! It was really unique and extremely gripping. I am not a massive fantasy fan but this book had me hooked from the first page and I couldn’t put it down. I loved that it was set in the UK as there are not many books that are. This created a great atmosphere for the places he visits and the events that take place.

Throughout the book, there is a constant battle between good and evil in Nathan. The theme is prominent but not blatant and adds a great depth to the plot. There are also parts which I believe ran parallel to racism that occurs in our life. This creates a great thought provoking theme in the novel that again, adds depths.

The character development in the book was great. It is a very character driven story following the characters through around 15 years and showing their conflicts and changes. The protagonist Nathan is a very emotionally unstable person which makes the feelings in this book more powerful. I loved the beginning as it stars with the narrative being in 2nd person and relating to you in a case of torture. This creates an eerie feel but really gets you hooked.

The only thing that prevented me from rating this a 5 star instead of a 4 was the connectivity. Although the characters were very well built and the emotions present, I felt distant from the events. This in a way is a positive as it adds to the mysterious feel. However, I believe as the series goes on the books will get even better!

Overall, a fantastic piece of work that is going to be very big. A unique story that is presents a darker side to YA fantasy. I can’t wait for the next book (though it is a LONG wait) and possibly the film!