Series: Half Bad Trilogy
Release Date: March 4th, 2014
WANTED BY NO ONE. HUNTED BY EVERYONE.
Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan’s only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it’s too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?
Half Bad is an international sensation and the start of a brilliant trilogy: a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive
• Captivity
• Violence (Blood and gore)
• Physical abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Bullying
• Discussion of suicide
• Sexual fantasies
• Mild language
• Underage drinking
• Drug use in relation to poisoning and drugging of prisoners
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
“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, New York Times bestselling author of Legend
As you can tell from my rating, I very much liked Half Bad! I have to admit the beginning was a little bit slow, but after the first few pages, Nathan’s story captivated me. It wasn’t long until I was compelled to see how the first part of the Half Bad Trilogy ends.
The writing was to be admired, primarily since it was written in an incredibly realistic male narrative. I completely felt that I was right there with Nathan throughout his journey from young Whey to Witch. Also, another thing that I loved was how the author, Sally Green, kept me guessing where each of the characters’ loyalties lay. For all I knew, the person closest to Nathan could be working for the Council.
The dynamic in Nathan’s “family” was quite interesting, especially when the girl he loves comes into the picture. And on the topic of this mysterious girl, I have to say that their relationship was so cute. Green did an amazing job of capturing the pure and innocent journey as these two teenagers slowly but surely fell in love. The scenes straight from the start were heart-stopping as they built up and gut-wrenching when everything fell apart.
Both the plot development and pace really started straight from the beginning but as I mentioned earlier it took me a little bit longer to commit. However, once I did commit I finished Half Bad in just a few hours!
I’m so excited for the next book in the Half Bad Trilogy, Half Wild. And the ending! There’s a little bit of a fairy tale twist added there… I think. Much to look forward to, with the release of Half Wild being in 2015.
The author originally had Gabriel as the main love interest throughout the series but thought it would be “boring,” so she had the female love interest hang around for two whole books. As if a healthy, relationship between two men wouldn’t be engaging. *Eye roll*
Also, apparently Nathan repeatedly emotionally and physically abuses Gabriel (Nathan physically assaults him).
Note: I use ‘apparently’ because I have not read the 2nd or 3rd books in the series.
