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    Half Bad
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    Half Bad
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    Half Bad
    Audiobook8 hours

    Half Bad

    Written by Sally Green

    Narrated by Carl Prekopp

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and sixteen-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 seventeenth 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 minute.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 4, 2014
    ISBN9780698146730
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Half Bad

    3.5/5

    308 ratings33 reviews

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    • 2/5
      It is modern day England, but the world is full of witches, both good and bad (white and black), unbeknownst to the Muggles - that is, Fains. The white witches are deeply prejudiced against the black, and issue a series of decrees constraining their freedoms reminiscent of the restrictions on Jews when the Nazis came to power. The rationale for these edicts is that the whites are trying to rid the world of the malevolent blacks, but needless to say, it’s difficult to find anyone of any designation who isn’t very nasty. As it happens, in the name of eradicating the world of black witches, the whites seem to be expert in torture and murder.Nathan is the progeny of a white witch mother and black witch father, and as such is called a “Half Blood” or “Half Code.” Nathan is the only known Half Code, but since his father Marcus is allegedly the most evil of all the black witches, the whites direct most of their proclamations against Half Codes, presumably to lure Marcus and his magic knife out of hiding. When the book begins, Nathan, 16, is in a cage, where the white witches have put him in order to keep him under constant surveillance as well as to beat and torture him. Much of what led up to this time is told by Nathan in flashbacks.When Nathan is 17, he, like other witch children, can become a full witch only if he receives - on his birthday - three gifts and a drink of blood from someone in his bloodline. If this doesn’t happen, rumor has it that a black witch child will die instead. Anticipating that Marcus may show up for Nathan’s big day, Nathan is taken by his captors to the headquarters of the white witches and given painful tattoos in preparation for controlling him to make him kill his dad. Nathan manages to escape, and sets out to achieve his goals: to become a full witch; to meet his dad but not kill him; and to have a girlfriend like a Real Boy.But the whole white witch world is after him, his birthday gets closer and closer, and he hasn’t heard a word from Marcus.Evaluation: Neither the plot line nor the writing impressed me as very sophisticated. The characters were too much black or white (regardless of whether they were black or white witches), and the romantic subplots far too sketchy to be believable or compelling. Moreover, the female characters are either “witchy,” or giggly and silly (except for the briefly appearing Grandma), and the supporting male characters are either total evil or unconditionally loving and sensitive. The "messages" in the story are "anvilicious." [As described by tvtropes. org, “anvilicious” describes the use of dialogue or plot points to convey a particular message in such an obvious or unsubtle way that the author may as well etch it onto an anvil and drop it on your head.] The book seems to me like a messy hodgepodge of ideas. Note: This is only Book One of an eventual trilogy.
    • 3/5
      I dunno. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. I didn't so much enjoy the second person point of view that it started with and sometimes switched to. The book itself was a bit slow for my liking. It picked up closer to the end, like the last 100 pages. I wish there had been some more exciting bits, that the beginning had moved a little faster. But like I said, it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either.
    • 3/5
      I was looking for some young adult page turning fun with a warm heart, and this book is a good effort. The story of Nathan, just trying to survive while the Council brands him a dangerous Half Code (Half black witch, half white witch) and wants him locked in a cage has a huge amount of potential. He falls in love, he's horrifically attacked by bullies, he seeks the magical Gifts that will make him an adult, he tries to work out how he feels about his absent father (a murderous Black Witch) and his White Witch family who raised him.
    • 3/5
      Pretty good. i liked the use of 1st and 2nd person narration.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. You are pulled right into Nathan's world and the torture he goes through. While it is a familiar theme (Harry potter) this book is much darker and set in more realistic settings. I can't wait for the sequel.
    • 4/5
      An intriguing start to what will be a trilogy - I hope the next one comes out soon. It started really well but I felt the end (last 2 chapters)dragged a little but then sped up in the last 2 pages for the set up with the next book. Can't wait to see how this develops. It's good to see a fantasy (witch) book that has a male protagonist.
    • 4/5
      A solid story that is incredibly well executed.

      It is a shame it has received so much slagging on Goodreads because of how it was marketed.
    • 5/5
      Un libro diferente, acción y violence a en su punto así que me imagino pronto lo podremos ver en una película ... voy por la segunda parte
    • 3/5
      3.5 stars

      Not overly spectacular. but I appreciated it enough to buy the sequel.
    • 2/5
      Man, this book was fucking grim. Gave up at 50%. Started reading "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson to cheer myself up.

      And I mean, the writing's good. But this kid just cannot catch a break. Persecuted, tortured, ignored. I quit when there were needles being shoved in fingers. Just...nope. Time to be done.
    • 5/5
      I suppose it's a good sign when the book ends and I can't believe I don't have anymore pages to turn! The story is left with a nice big cliffhanger, in fact right in the middle of a battle. Aside from the abrupt end I was captivated by this book and am looking forward to the next. The storyline dealt with the theme of mistreating people who are different. Nathan is a half black witch, half white witch and no one can see the white side. He is simply part black witch and assumed to be evil. He has a few people that see behind the labels that have been thrown at him, but too few to actually let him live his life free of torment. Nathan was a character I wanted to see progress, I wanted to see him become stronger and prove everyone wrong.The plot was a little disjointed, skipping around at first until the author finally decided to stick with a linear flow. It wasn't hard to follow though, as Sally Green labeled the points in time she was going to talk about; I think if it had been written any other way it wouldn't have been as interesting. Green made sure to lay out the events in a way that built my sympathy for Nathan and allowed the reader to begin connecting with him. Let's face it, who hasn't been bullied in their life? My heart broke for Nathan as the punishments grew worse and no one bothered to listen to him. In a way I hope he strikes back at those who hurt him in the next novel, even though it means Nathan will become a different person.
    • 3/5
      Being a huge Harry Potter fan, I was more than delighted to stumble across Half Bad by Sally Green. It's a tale that resembles the wizarding world in the popular fantasy series but is also very different in every possible ways. I agree with the hype around this book that it is an impressive debut from Green, but it needs a miracle to even come close to the amazing works by J. K. Rowling.Summary:Sets in modern England, the story chronicles the coming-of-age journey of teen protagonist Nathan Byrn, a Half Blood (Half Code) with a White Witch mother and a Black Witch father. Since birth, Nathan has been labeled an abomination because Black Witch is viewed as evil and wicked. They are meant to be hunted and killed, especially for Nathan's father Marcus Edge, the most powerful and notorious Black Witch of all time.After the death of his mother Cora, Nathan and his step-siblings are placed under the guardianship of his Gran. While struggles to live a secluded life under constant scrutiny from the Council of White Witches (governing organization for the White Witch community), Nathan entangles in a forbidden romance with Annalise O'Brien, a beautiful young Whet (underage witch) from a pure White Witch bloodline. And soon after the exposure of this taboo relationship and increasing restrictions adopted by the Council, Nathan abandons home and embarks on a perilous adventure to seek his true heritage and to explore the real meanings of good and bad.My Thoughts:The premise itself is brilliant and extremely intriguing. Although mostly narrated in first-person perspective, the book commences with second person tense, which is uncommon and instantly grabs the reader's attention. It's the perfect setting and tone to be immersed into the depressing and horrible reality of Nathan's confinement in a cage.The author's compelling and alluring writing style is an excellent complement to the gripping storyline. Character development is decent, and I quickly got attached to Nathan, which isn't usually the case for me when it comes to a male protagonist. His life is full of unfair treatments, discouraging hardships, and heartbreaking circumstances, yet Nathan is determined to overcome these obstacles and prejudice. How can I not like and root for such a strong, uplifting character.I loved the characters and plot in this story but not the magical world that the author created. Unlike the fascinating world that I came to adore in Harry Potter, the setting is plain, boring, and unappealing in Half Bad. There are not much details or back-stories provided, and everything is pretty vague when it comes to witchcraft and magic. I would love to learn more about the Council, the history of the feud between the two groups of witches, and the significance of Marcus and the Fairborn.And what disappointed me the most is the lack of actual magic. It's a book full of witches, hunters, potions, and healing powers, yet there is hardly any magic used or talked about in the story. Even for the elite group of Hunters, employed by the Council to catch Black Witch, they use guns as weapons instead of magic and wands (or some special voodoo spells).The pacing in this book can get very strange at times. The beginning is fast-paced, interesting, and engaging, then it drags out for pretty much the rest of the story and eventually ends with an anti-climactic finish.As a YA novel, this may not be appropriate for very young readers as there are quite a lot of tortures, beatings, and brutalities. From time to time, Nathan's world crumbles into a dark desolation that was painful and uncomfortable to read. But the author does bring up some bigger issues such as nature vs nurture, and I really appreciate that. Overall, I think this is a great novel and sets a very promising start for the Half Life trilogy.
    • 4/5
      I was so excited to have been chosen to read this book early. There was so much hype over it and I could not wait, a book about witches, good vs. evil, and a kid in a cage?! Come on, that has awesome written all over it (no pun intended) and I flew through the beginning of the story. Nathan, our main character, is telling the story of ostracized witches through his own story of survival. We are told the story from Nathan's POV and also in 2nd person POV, which was a very interesting choice, but a very cool experience. At times this was a difficult read, there are a lot of overtones of racism and cruelty. The plot was beautifully done though, Green really builds this world of segregation and makes you really think about who is good and evil, there really isn't a clear line. Those that are dubbed evil have redeeming qualities, while those who are expected to do good are scheming and mean. Nathan is such a resourceful character, and it is refreshing that we have a male lead in a Young Adult book. Other characters are just as strong as well. Although some were maddening when it came to the plot, you cannot help but have a love/hate relationship with them. Added to the intense plot themes this book was wonderful. However, due to the amount of backstory and world building required to explain this world of witches and their idiosyncrasies put a bit of a damper on the plot here and there. The book is divided into six sections, the first two, as I mentioned, I flew through, after that though it was hard to read quickly. Sections three through about five were a little slow moving; important to the overall plot but running, hiding, and surviving can only be so exciting for so long. About half way through part five and through the end, I again flew through the pages. AND THEN it leaves the reader on the edge of their seat to wait for the following book! Arg! I cannot wait to read the next installment of this world. So here are the overall pros and cons of this book. I loved the characters, the world, and the overall plot theme. I did not always like the pacing of the book - sometimes it was just too slow, but I cannot be too picky about that because it does lend a hand to that awesome world building that I loved! Oh the mixed feelings, so this is why it only got 4 stars. I really wanted to give it 5...
    • 4/5
      I listened to the audio and very much recommend the narration, it added nicely to Nathan's character and was just delightful to listen to. Half Bad is hard at times, but in the end not as depressing as I feared. I really enjoy unique and refreshing fantasy and Half Bad is very much that!
    • 5/5
      This is a ridiculously good debut novel. It's a ridiculously good novel, period. Nathan is a Half Code -- half White Witch, half Black. And the Council of White Witches has it in for Half Codes, especially the one who happens to be the son of the most notorious Black Witch of all. With sparse, elegant wording, this book captures Nathan's life from his relatively innocent childhood growing up with his mostly loving White Witch family to ever more turbulent times as he wrestles with who he might be, who he should be, and who everyone around him is. It is fitting that author Sally Green chose to write about witches, because HALF BAD is spellbinding, and all good.
    • 5/5
      Wow! This is one of the best YA fantasies I've read in a while. The story was unique and I was captivated from the beginning. At times the imagery was so horrifically real it was difficult to read on, but the writing was so good I had to keep reading. The ending was definitely too soon for me but hinted at more good things to come. Impressive debut by Ms. Green. I would recommend to anyone who likes a great story with a little magic and I look forward to reading the sequel.
    • 2/5
      That was.... quite boring.
    • 2/5
      I honestly have no idea what to say about this book. There were times I liked it, times I didn't. I just finished it and I'm still not sure what to think about it. I am confused about Nathan. I don't quite understand why he is so willing to believe that his father loves him even though he had never met him in his 17 years of life and knowing all of the bad things that he has done. I really just am at a loss. I don't think I will be reading any farther into this series. Just not for me.
    • 3/5
      I'm almost tempted to say that the title of this book is a great match to its contents, but that wouldn't exactly be true. It wasn't that half of it was bad, but it's only half a story. I think “Half Finished” would be a better title. I'd give it 2.5 stars for a half interesting story.

      The book has a unique premise about white witches (the good ones) vs. black witches (the bad guys) and the grey areas we can all inhabit. For me, the book didn't live up to its promise or the hype surrounding it all. I understand that this book is the beginning of a trilogy, and that shows in the lack of story here. With 300 pages, I feel like I read around 100 or less because it went fast not much happened.

      Here were my main problems:

      -Again, it felt lacking in story.

      -For a book about witches there is not much magic. They're pretty boring witches. They might as well be thugs in rival gangs whose memberships are birthrights.

      -There are strange times throughout the book where Nathan's internal voice reverts to that of a young child on the verge of having a temper tantrum (he's 16 going on 17 for most of the book): "...and I hate them, hate them, hate them".

      -I don't buy that someone with so very little education and world experience, not to mention human interaction outside of family members, can be so quick-witted and resourceful.

      -The puppy love portion was too forced. All of those pages to build it up and apparently it happened in the blink of an eye, against all odds and reason.

      With all of that said, I didn't hate the story but I didn't love it. "Half Bad" does have its moments: some laugh-out-loud hilarious, some mildly touching, a little intrigue and action here and there. For much of the book I was waiting for something to happen, though. Initially I was really rooting for the main character but by the time I came to the end of the book I realized that I didn't care that much anymore. I doubt that I will continue on with the series when this first installment left me feeling lukewarm.
    • 2/5
      The writing irritated me. Maybe I'll give this a try again in the future, but not likely.
    • 3/5
      I'm not blown away and the book description was misleading. Well, it's not a first when the description does not do a good job at marketing and selling the story ingenuously. However, it's still startling to find no magic and bedazzling witchcraft despite reading book reviews that have warned me about the lack.
      I don't know how to describe Nathan. I suspect he might have dyslexia.It's weird to say it but after several hundred pages, I still don't have a good idea of his personality. I know he is quick and prone to anger, insecure about his body and visage, and smart even though he can't read. The world-building is still shoddy even though it's supposed to take place in modern-England. Yes, we are forced and emotionally manipulated to sympathize and root for Nathan and I feel terrible for all the torture, beatings and misdirected hatred at the hands of White Witches. Nevertheless, there is no clear line as to any ulterior motives besides revenge and hostility against Black Witches which cause White Witches to be ruthless Hunters. So the rift that divides Black Witches and White Witches is a centuries-old blood feud and irreconcilability of differences? Black Witches' killings of the Whites still sounds like a groundless excuse for White Witches to take up the mantle of righteousness and train Hunters to retaliate. I'm not on either side of the Black or Whites; I'm on Nathan's side and I think the author does a good job in showing the ambiguity of good and evil which I hope is what she intended. I still plan to read the sequel and see Nathan's journey through. This is ultimately a book about a boy's search for identity and I like that he learns from his mistakes. Nathan is lost throughout most of the book but he has a lot of potential.
    • 4/5
      I liked it, set in an alternative world where white and black witches battle for supremacy and neither really have the moral high ground, though both seem to believe that they do. The story opens with our narrator describing his everyday life, living in a cage, trying to push the limits of his captivity, then he explores what led to this and then the story gets twisted in love versus family honour and complicated politics that ask questions of good and bad and what it means. The Hamlet quote that opens the book "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so".It is the assumptions of the adults around him that force Nathan to do what he does and the cascade of issues made this an interesting read.I would like to read more by this author.
    • 4/5
      Nathan is the child of a white witch and a black witch, this makes him a half-code and an outcast in the society of white witches who live alongside regular people but have their own hierarchy. His mother, who was a white witch is dead and his black witch father is a fugitive the white witches would like to capture and execute. Nathan is despised and feared by all except his grandmother, half-sister Deborah and half-brother Arran. At 14 Nathan is taken from his family, kept under guard and trained. He escapes months before his 17 the birthday when he must have a giving ceremony which needs the blood of one of his parents to complete. All white witches have the ceremony to come into their powers but black witches are rumoured to die if the ceremony doesn't take place. The council of white witches has an ulterior motive of using Nathan and his powers in the capture and killing of his fugitive black witch father, a prophesy that has been predicted in a vision. Can Nathan have his giving ceremony and survive? Will his coming into his powers result in the demise of his father? I found this book initially hard to get into as Nathan's narrative didn't have a rhythm I could keep to, but after a few chapters the narrative flowed better and I was drawn into the story at the point Annelise was introduced in the book. Annelise is a white witch who is kind to Nathan and whom he likes very much. Her introduction into the book reinforces how strong the feeling against black witches and half-codes are as her brothers exact a horrible revenge from Nathan for meeting their sister and ultimately infractions seen by the white witches council leads to Nathan being locked away. His gruesome jailor is a bizarre character who is cruel and hard to read but on some level does form a bond with her prisoner. Nathan is a very capable young boy, who with his powers of healing, is able to take a difficult journey to get away from the white witches and it is exciting to read him doing so. However, the fleeting appearances of some characters that have a small role, but are described enough in depth to make you think they will be back at some point in the story, forms the basis, you soon realise, of a series of books that will no doubt follow. This is not Harry Potter fan fiction, Half-Bad introduces you to a new world of witches and adventure. The story has a reasonable pace and although there is no profanity or scenes of an explicit nature some of the events Nathan endures is quite gory in places. He is supported by a number of other characters who are mysterious and helpful but you never know who he can actually trust. The magic in this book is subtle and not on the main stage as the plight of Nathan. The book ends to lead onto the sequel which is due for release next year. I did enjoy this YA paranormal fantasy thriller, and although not my usual genre I found the story surprisingly alluring and cannot wait to read what happens next to Nathan.
    • 3/5
      I was lucky enough to score a pretty, special silver-covered copy of this book from PTALive Melbourne. I don't know how to write this review, and I don't know how to rate this book. So I'm just going to start typing and hopefully I'll figure it out...Sally Green's writing style is very different. To start with, we have a second person perspective for the opening chapters of the book before switching to first. We have slow, meandering story of a boy named Nathan, who has gotten a rough ride in life. A half White Witch and half Black Witch, white being good and black being evil, he is constantly persecuted for what he is. He struggles with knowing who he is and whether he is good or bad. He is not just what they tell him he is, but they, they being The Council, won't let him be anything else. The plot picks up when Nathan escapes from being a prisoner of The Council (and personally it felt way, way too easy) and finds a witch who he hopes will help him get his three gifts and hence his magical ability when he turns seventeen. This is traditionally received from the closest living relative, but Nathan's mother is dead and his father just happens to be the evillest of the evil black Witches. Which is why everyone is keeping an eye on Nathan - or trying to.What irked me about this book was the fact that we got very little, if any, background to the Witches, why Black is bad (we know why Nathan's dad is bad, but what about the others?). Where did the distinction come from? The moral ambiguity is rampant in this book. What makes someone good or bad? It is, obviously, more complicated than black and white. But the answer I want is why?. Possibly also how.Nathan is an absolutely pitiful character, determined to find his father and answers I suppose, but not much else. He is wavering between what it means to be black or white, bad or good. He's got no idea what he's doing. He's different to your normal hero, he's not confident or self assured, he doesn't know what he wants, he's not on the path of righteousness for the greater good. I would like it, I think, if he wasn't so vague.This book also needs more magic. A book about witches, in England of course because that setting just seems fitting, but hardly any magic. So to sum it up, needs more magic and this poor kid needs some direction. And can I get some background with that too? Thanks.I have decided this book gets 3 stars. Isn't that a bit vague of me? Probably.
    • 4/5
      I struggled with this one. It was very difficult to get into, and it is BRUTAL. Part of my difficulty in getting into the book is it begins with a chapter written in 2nd person in which a young man, who sleeps in a cage, is beaten and treated like an animal being trained to fight. It's very unpleasant and, thanks to my dislike of 2nd person, hard to let oneself get carried into the story.Nathan is a half blood: half white witch (read: "good") and half black witch (read: "evil"). As such, Nathan's life is increasingly regulated (think the slow ramp-up of the treatment of Jews in Germany before WWII) by the white witch Council. He is an orphan, being raised with three siblings by their grandmother, and while his grandma and two closest siblings are sympathetic to Nathan's continued singling out (it seems like Nathan is the *only* half blood in England), his oldest sister is cruel and hateful, destined to be a Hunter - a white witch who hunts down and kills black witches - when she gets older.The story plays a lot with the idea of nature vs nurture, and "sins of the father" (Nathan's father is a Voldemort-type character, only very much alive). If you're the kind of person who wishes Harry Potter included more death, torture, despair, and dismemberment, than Half Bad is definitely for you!Recommended for those with strong stomachs for torture.
    • 2/5
      First off, I'd like to say that yes, I was quite reluctant to read this because it did sort of scream Potter spin off.

      Actually, I didn't enjoy it very much. It seemed to me that Sally Green has suffered with a bumped head and decided to write this, well, diary that reeks of emotional manipulation and with a storyline so thin you could mistake it for a tissue.

      Nathan is a Half Blood (sound familiar?) which means he's Half White Witch on his mother's side and Half Black Witch on his father's side. Black witches are like the terrorists of this paranormal reality. They maim, pillage and kill and are basically monsters. So it's no surprise that the Council (made up of solely White Witches) would put out a law that any Black Witch found should be arrested or killed.

      Being Half Black Witch, Nathan has been mocked and bullied his entire life. He can't read or write, can hardly defend himself and has spent the last two-and-a-bit years of his life locked up in a cage and guarded by a Big Bad Woman.

      He has to escape to find Mercury, 'the witch that eats children' if he wants to collect his three Gifts and become a full blown, scary witch.

      So here's what I did like: Sally Green drove the point home countless of times by showing us how terrible Nathan's life has been up to this point. He's been bullied, attacked and mocked, he's been cut up like a slice of bacon and chased, and all this because his dad is some scary guy who kills people and eats their hearts.

      It's honestly really sad because it reminds me so much of the society we live in now, where kids are constantly labelled because of their family. Your dad's in prison? You're going to turn out just like him then! Your mum's made mistakes? You're going to be a disappointment!

      You know?

      I also liked the

      I'm lying, that's the only part I liked.

      For crying out loud, it's a book about witches and there isn't a dribble of magic used. Black Witches are supposedly feared because they are strong and ruthless, but Nathan spends half of his time whining about how bloody unfair his life is. If you don't like it then do something about it. It doesn't matter how many obstacles you head butt on the way, the only thing that matters is that you DO something.

      But does he? Course not. He only manages to escape his weird cage because he's arrested. There is fuck-all world building and if it weren't for the fact that I LIVE in England and have read the HP books, I'd be as confused as the next guy. There's no description, no character building, nothing.

      We see Nathan grow up, from the age of about 7 up until 17, and you really do feel bloody terrible for him, but at the same times I, anyway, was absolutely exasperated. He constantly victimises himself instead of standing up and doing something about it. His Gran sticks up for him, as do his brother and one of his sisters, but do something, boy! Don't let them coddle you forever!

      And the WRITING. Christ, a child could've done a better job. You're constantly slammed with short sentences, no adjectives, and the plot is just insane. If you're going to read this book in the hopes that you'll read about some great, life changing adventure, then put it back down because it's nothing like that at all.

      Imagine reading someone's journal, and you get Half Bad. WHOLE BAD. TERRIBLY BAD.

      It's 380 pages of boring, badly written sentences. I just could not engage myself and it took my longer to finish than usual. You can definitely call it an 'easy read', if you're looking for a book about someone's awful life story, because it's definitely easy.

      My reluctance to pick it up in the beginning has morphed into full blown annoyance that I didn't listen to that loud voice that screamed, "DO NOT READ. YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED."

      Throughout the book, we learn nothing about Nathan's father, nothing about his mother, we never find out why his father is so badly wanted by the Council. All we see is countless of beatings on Nathan and him running away.

      Seriously. That's it.

      However I gave it 2 stars for a reason. 1 star because I did honestly feel bad and sympathise with Nathan for his life at home and on the road and the 2 star because I'm sure it would have GREAT potential as a story of only Sally Green could untangle that mess of thoughts and tried to make some sense of what she was writing, so I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt in the hopes that in the next book in the series, the books improve.
    • 4/5
      I first saw the book Half Bad by Sally Green on offer from First to Read from Penguin books. I wasn't offered the chance to preview the novel but was very intrigued by the storyline. A male witch who seemed destined to be a Black Witch but was also Half White, which he strives to emulate the qualities of? I couldn't wait to get my hands on the book and jump in with both feet. The storyline confused me at first but once I caught on to the timeline I was hooked. I felt that we were given enough of the main character, Nathan's, personality to let us know who he is but not quite enough to determine which way Nathan would fall. He endures abuses beyond normal for a young adult but weathers through. We are left to decide if he perseveres because of the love and support of his family, the White witches he grew up with or the desire to please and make proud his absent Black Witch father; which makes me hope that there will be a second novel telling the choices Nathan determines.
    • 5/5
      I am in love with this book. Simple as that.
    • 4/5
      Witches are always interesting to read about, in my opinion. I really like the whole idea behind a magical world co-existing (even if in secret) with our normal world. Obviously, I love Harry Potter (like the majority of the world’s population), so I’ve been excited about this book/whole trilogy for months now.The writing. I liked the author’s style of writing, but the actual prose wasn’t overly impressive. To clarify, it wasn’t bad. It was just unimpressive. This book was specifically compared to The Hunger Games and the comparison to the Harry Potter series is an easy one. I don’t think Half Bad was really at the same level of writing for those particular comparisons.The character of Nathan was a bit confusing. At first I liked him, then I didn’t. It went back and forth like that for a while before I decided to like him at the end of Half Bad. Who knows where my head space will be during the second book. The author did a very good job of biasing the reader against the characters that you’re not “supposed” to like.Frankly, my expectations were high for Half Bad. They may have even been a bit unrealistic. Therefore, I was disappointed. Other reviewers showered Half Bad with so much praise that it influenced my opinion before even reading the book. Alas, that is the danger with reading book reviews on major sites though. Plus you have no idea where your reading taste lies in relation to the reviewer’s taste.When it comes down to it, I did end up liking Half Bad. I just think it had the potential to be much better. It did suffer from a slow start, but I really loved approximately the last half of Half Bad. The tone picked up and there was just much more action and it was exhilarating (as far as reading goes). Because of that, I would recommend Half Bad mainly to any young adult book lovers out there.For more reviews, go check out reviewsinapinch.wordpress.com now!
    • 4/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & 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.