Staff Pick
Nathan has always known that White witches are civilized and good, like his dead mother. Black witches? Murderous and evil, like his father. With two warring sides within him, Nathan finds himself imprisoned, tortured, and on the run in a darkly brutal world of magic, questioning everything he thought he knew. Recommended By The Dot, Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and sixteen-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 seventeenth 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.
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
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 cant 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.