Brad About Books: Half Bad by Sally Green

Read from October 22 to 23, 2013

HALF BAD
Published: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (Penguin)
Format: ARC
Page Count: 416 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Series: Half Life, #1

A stunning, magical debut. An international sensation.

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?

In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page.

BEGIN THE HUNT.

Half Bad is a stunning, captivating tale that caught my attention from page one and held onto me until the epic finale. It's unlike anything I've ever read, and I couldn't have asked for a more action-packed, engrossing tale from this book. Loved it!

I haven't read too many witch stories, but out of all of the ones I have read, Half Bad truly stands out. Nathan's character was fantastic. With the internal struggle of leaning towards his pure side or his dark, twisted side, the reader gets to discover all sides of Nathan in this novel, both good and bad. He transforms so much from the beginning to the end, and to see his character morph and change was awesome. He starts off weak and lonely in the beginning, but Green builds him up in Half Bad and definitely isn't afraid to tear him back down. Nathan is a hero worth rooting for. He goes through so many trials in Half Bad, and I absolutely loved how Sally Green handled his character development.

World-building is so important to me in a novel, and the world of Half Bad is marvelous. The views society has on witches - and the views witches have on society - blends into the storyline perfectly, and it alters the vision that the reader sees of our modern day world. I wasn't ever sure whether I should be rooting for the witches or hating them, and I loved how Green managed to capture that sense in this novel. Half Bad is all about finding your place in the world and figuring out yourself in the loneliness of times, and it truly is a brutal, phenomenal gem that was still on my mind long after I turned the final page. Masterfully plotted and intoxicating, Half Bad is an absolute must-read.

The paranormal genre could be a tad overdone at times, but Half Bad is something unlike anything that's ever been done before, and it will capture you until the very end. From heavy action scenes of daring escapes and finding the people who have abandoned you to scenes of discovering yourself within the darkest of places, Half Bad is everything you could want in a book. I still haven't gotten over this book.

Overall, Half Bad is one of a kind, and it will have you entangled with Nathan's world with its intrigue, mystical beauty, and world of lies and betrayal. Half Bad is astonishingly fantastic!

M Y    R A T I N G