Book Review: Half Bad by Sally Green

Half Bad
Half Bad Trilogy #1
Author: Sally Green
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal | Witches
Released: March 4th 2014
Review Source: Viking Juvenile

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

I said ‘yes’ to Half Bad for three reasons: (1) English setting, (2) male main character, and (3) witches. Naturally, I was pretty happy to be offered the ARC to review.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the English setting. In fact, I was surprised to find out author Sally Green is British because the text reads more like an American writing about an English location. At times Nathan deals with people of other cultures and the language differences are mentioned, but otherwise they might as well be average American characters. When I read a book with an international setting, I expect the depiction of that setting in the plot, shown in the dialogue and not just told that aspect exists. The text should bleed with the nuances of that culture.

Although things about Nathan seem inexplicable, like his serious ass-kicking abilities, he's likeable, and you want to root for him. Basically, he's a kid stuck in a screwed up position by no fault of his own, trying to stay alive based on the tidbits of information he's been able to glean over time. Life couldn’t even see fit to give him sour lemons. He’s constantly being kicked when he's down, sometimes literally, and he keeps fighting. This is a boy with the courage of his convictions, very refreshing with all the wishy-washy characters in literature today doing flip-flops over themselves.

As for the witches, I'm looking forward to future books so we can see what Nathan is capable of, and as he interacts with the other witches, what they are capable of. From my perspective, most of the witches have tame powers, such as potion making. I'm willing to bet the author has some cool magic up her sleeve, if Marcus is any indication.

Before I go, I want to address the praise given to Half Bad by Kris Vreeland of Once Upon a Time Bookstore, Pasadena, CA. Specifically, my eyes honed in on "allegory of racism" in the comment. I'd say that's an elaborate stretch. The colors black and white are commonly used as symbols for opposites or good vs. bad, but that doesn't automatically classify a book as a racial allegory, or racial at all, in my opinion. An allegory is an extended metaphor where one thing stands for something else. The conflict in Half Bad is too benign and the use of "black and white" to symbolize race is too simple for such a complex matter. If I had never read the other reviews, I would say Half Bad is an encouraging story about taking control of your life in spite of elements completely outside of your control, and a lesson in self-trust. The true test, in this instance, is whether or not I would read the sequel, and I will.