Synopsis:
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 follows the story of Nathan who lives in a world where white witches, who are good, and black witches, who are bad, exist. Nathan is a witch, however he is half good and half bad, his father is the most powerful black witch alive and his mother who was a white witch is dead. Nobody knows what to do with him or what to expect, he faces constant prejudice from everyone and at 14 he's put in a cage. He has to escape before his 17th birthday so he can receive his 3 gifts in order to become a full fledged witch.
I really enjoyed this book, it took me a while to get used to the writing style but once I had I loved it! The first half of the book focuses on Nathan's back story, which really helped set the world up so it wasn't confusing at all. Nathan narrates the story, he is a fascinating character and also the sort that you can't help but root for as he goes through a lot in the book. The plot isn't particularly fast paced but it doesn't need to be as it is a very intriguing story with several important events that happen along the way. The only problem I did have though was the romance in the book wasn't very believable but hopefully it will be developed in the next book.
Overall though I found this book very interesting and I'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy. Even though some people may be put off by the unique writing style it is an incredibly well written and compelling book that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a different, slightly dark YA read.
