Book Review: Half Bad by Sally Green

"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."

****

Half Bad is the first book in the Half Life trilogy, and it's quite unlike any debut novel I've read before. 

I was in Waterstones with a friend of mine, looking for a new book to read but not quite sure what exactly I wanted to get. I was prepared to leave the shop with nothing until I saw a table of beautiful, silver and red hardback books. I immediately rushed over, and grabbed the copy of Half Bad, with the decision to buy it already half made just from its gorgeous cover. It also happened to be signed, which may have swayed my choice even more, and I am so glad I picked up this book. 

As much as I love the YA genre, it can feel like you sometimes read the same book over and over again. I'm not the first to admit this, and I certainly won't be the last, however, books like Half Bad make me stop and think : "Yes! You, dear book, are what I have been waiting for!"

The story is set in England, and among us regular folk (fains) there are two types of witches. There's the 'good' White Witches, and 'evil' the Black Witches. Black Witches are hunted down and killed by Whites, leaving only a few left in the country. Our protagonist, Nathan, is something entirely unheard of before: he is half White, half Black. 

For a first book, Sally Green has created a fantastic piece of work. The world-building is neither skimmed or too confusingly detailed, everything is introduced with clarity. This could be due to the fact that the world belonging to our characters coincides with our own, but even these types of stories can feel like information is being shoved down your throat (I'm looking at you, City of Bones. I love ya, but... wow). 

This book really doesn't hold back. It's painful and happy, funny and sad and everything in between. There's so many elements to it that have been fitted perfectly together. It's suspenseful and gritty and honest in a way that I haven't seen in YA books of late. 

Nathan is a very interesting character. Repressed and degraded his entire life, and with one of the most evil Black Witches in the country as a father, it isn't surprising to see where his moments of anger come from. Aside from this, I think it's interesting how Nathan can make people care about him, even when he's being sullen. Aside from Jessica, his whole family would have done anything for him, Celia and Gabriel are also people that have overlooked his darker moods and have grown to be compassionate and caring toward him. 
There is also something endearing the way Nathan feels toward Marcus. Even through everything Nathan has heard about his father, even though he doesn't really know anything about him, he is so sure his dad cares for him and will take him away from the awful life he's had. I can't help but hope that Nathan's will get what he wants. He's naive and idealistic at times but you can't blame him because of all he's had to go through, just because of who he was born to. It's so easy to root for Nathan because of all he's withstood. 

Of course, I have to mention Marcus. I found the snippets of his back story so intriguing, and I think his only being seen until the end of the book only makes him more of an enigma. I was always questioning: is Marcus going to be the father Nathan hopes he is? Or is he just as everyone says; selfish and uncaring? And even after he meets Nathan, I can't say I know the answer just yet. 

Gabriel was also a favourite of mine. And the ending just about killed me. Of all the characters in this book, Gabriel is one of the few people I think Nathan can trust. Green keeps us constantly questioning everyone's motives, and even still we aren't sure who's who and what's what. The paranoia stems from what Nathan must feel on a day to day basis. 

I honestly could not put this book down. It was wonderfully written and just an amazing first book in a series I cannot wait for. It's an amazing take on a genre that isn't heard too much from since the Harry Potter days, but don't let that make you draw comparisons, it really isn't anything like the boy wizard and his days at Hogwarts. I couldn't really compare this to anything, and in times like this when everything is compared to The Hunger Games or Twilight, that is surely a compliment. It's gripping, fast paced and at times haunting. I cannot praise this book enough, and I'm eagerly awaiting next spring for Half Wild. 

Congratulations on an amazing first book, Sally Green!