Half Bad Author: Visit Amazon's Sally Green Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0670016780 | Format: EPUB
Half Bad Description
Review
A Spring 2014 Kids' Indie Next List pick
"[A] grim and thrilling tale . . . an unforgettable protagonist" —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A horrifying, compelling trilogy that pushes the boundaries of what we believe to be good and evil. . . . Nathan's survival is tenuous and marvelous—and only just beginning." —Booklist, starred review
"Nathan’s harrowing quest to build a father-son relationship will compel readers to the sequel."--Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Sally Green lives in north-west England. She has had various jobs and even a profession but in 2010 she discovered a love of writing and now just can’t stop. She used to keep chickens, makes decent jam, doesn't mind ironing, loves to walk in Wales even when it's raining, and will probably never jog again. She really ought to drink less coffee. Half Bad is her first novel.
See all Editorial Reviews
- Age Range: 12 and up
- Grade Level: 7 and up
- Series: The Half Bad Trilogy (Book 1)
- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Viking Juvenile; First Edition/First Printing edition (March 4, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0670016780
- ISBN-13: 978-0670016785
- Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Twenty pages into Half Bad one notices "similarities" and "resemblances" to fantasy classics such as Pullman's These Dark Materials, Harry Potter books and even the Matrix. Another orphan outsider, more half bloods and lots of Good v Evil (White v. Black). Progress further for the deeply affecting first love or the standard issue "troublesome prophecy". By 50 pages in one wonders "does the world really need another three book series of this?". Happily, the answer is an emphatic yes.
A very good English professor once told me "there is nothing thematically new in literature since the ancient Greeks. Literary greatness lies in the story telling.". If that is so, then Sally Green's Half Bad is damn near great. Themes you think you know are subverted, and you feel a bit disconcerted; fallen down a rabbithole. Think Harry and Lyra visit a Brave New World. Black is (not necessarily) bad and white is about as far from good, pure and virtuous as one can get. Green's hero isn't merely a misfit--he's a juvenile delinquent, a thief and prone to violence. And oh yes, he is very, very appealing, with a story that is deeply moving for all its superficial familiarity.
Young Nathan Byrne suffers from more than just adolescent raging hormones. The kid is practically feral, and becomes more so with each passing year. A functional illiterate (yes, you read that right) who would rather be beaten and tortured than attempt to learn his ABCs, this is an anti-hero who will make some squirm but many more care deeply about his journey through adolescence. A journey made possible, in part by muggings and petty thievery. Imagine Ron and Hermione rolling a banker to finance their search for the deathly hallows.
The thing about HALF BAD is that it's not a bad book. It's well written, the characters are consistent and the story makes sense. The problem is that I did not get a seconds worth of enjoyment out of this book. There is not a single moment of happiness in Nathan's life. Even when he is doing something of his choosing that brings him pleasure, a cloud of tension and anxiety covers it. It gets monotonous, the fact that nothing good ever happens to this boy.
There's a strange sense of despair in this book. The strangeness is that the despair was not Nathan's, but mine. This book pulled this emotional resonance out of me that made me want to crawl inside the pages, into the story and just hold this character in my arms until everything is OK. To me that is power and it makes me understand the insane bidding war that came with this book getting published. It is different from anything else I have read, but I am not sure that makes HALF BAD a good book.
There is a very limited perspective in terms of story telling that I think many readers will find difficult. I know very little about this world. I know that white witches are supposed to be good, but are ruthless, without morals and unforgiving. They are in a secret and covert war with black witches who are solitary and seemingly evil.
As the story progresses we see why Nathan is different and why everyone wants him either dead or on their side, but that's all I know. Our view of the world is so limited. The audience is left in the dark about everything, but the sorrow that is Nathan's life. It would have been nice to know about the cruelty of white witches and the insanity of black witches. Which came first? Were the white witches cruel so the black witches went insane? Or is the other way around?
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