An exclusive, signed hardback edition of Half Bad by Sally Green: the breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.
Meet Nathan Byrn . . .
He's half White Witch, half Black Witch.
His mother was a healer, his father is a killer.
He's been kept in a cage since he was fourteen.
But if White Witches are good and Black Witches are evil, what happens if you are both?
'A book about witches with no owls and not a pair of round spectacles in sight. The new Hunger Games,I suspect... Brilliant and utterly compelling - I loved it.' Kate Atkinson, author of Life after Life and Behind the Scenes of the Museum
'Teens rejoice: the inheritor to Stephenie Meyer's crown has arrived.' Fiona Wilson, The Times
'Edgy, arresting and brilliantly written, Half Bad grips you from the first page and doesn't let go.' Michael Grant, author of Gone
'A brilliant debut that is both deeply unique and unsettling, one that chilled me to the bone and broke my heart even as I sped through its pages. This will haunt you.' Marie Lu, author of Legend
'Take our word for it, this book is going to be huge.' Stylist
'Brilliantly paced with more than a few nasty surprises, Half Bad is a wickedly addictive read that will capture the imagination of any fan of YA fiction.' Starburst
'Not since the Harry Potter books - yes, I said it! - have I felt so fully immersed in an author's creation... I couldn't be more stoked over Half Bad, and this launch novel of a trilogy truly deserves all the hype surrounding it - and much more...' Amanda Hurley, Inkwood Books
SALLY GREEN lives in north-west England. She has had jobs (paid and unpaid) and even a profession but at last has found the time to write down the stories she used to only be able to daydream about. She likes to read, walk in the country and would like to drink less coffee. Half Bad is her first novel.
Disappointed. That's all that comes to my mind after reading Half Bad. I'm disappointed in the writing, in Nathan's (the main character) voice throughout this novel, but mostly, I'm disappointed with the ending.
I feel like absolutely nothing got resolved, and no matter how intriguing a concept for a novel is, if the story isn't written well enough for the concept, it's not going to keep me coming back for more.
I really thought I was going to love Half Bad. As I've said in other reviews, I don't actually need much to want to read a novel. So when I found out that this was about a witch, a male witch, dealing with the persecution of his society being both a black and white witch, I was instantly intrigued and excited to read it. And while Nathan does have to deal with a lot of crap throughout this novel, and I wanted to feel for him, I just couldn't muster up those feelings for the majority of the book.
I blame Sally Green for that. It shouldn't have taken over 200 pages to get me to feel something for the main character, and it shouldn't take a second book to resolve issues from the first one. I feel like I've read 1/2 a book. It ended awkwardly to me, and there was so little resolution in this novel.
I'm not going to continue this series, and I don't think I can really recommend it either. I guess if you like male adolescent main characters, cliff hangers, and all build-up but nothing to show for it, then this may be the novel for you.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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6 August, 2014:
Finished reading
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6 August, 2014:
Reviewed