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kkoerth613's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely not what I expected.
I really liked it, even though it kind of had a slow start. I definitely saw Annalise and Nathan as a ship, and well they stuck it through to the end, mostly. What I didn't expect was how fantasy it seemed to be. I didn't even realize that there would even be like Witches and stuff in it, yea I know, it's like the entire series.
I was really cool and I liked it a lot. Can't to get Half Wild!
I really liked it, even though it kind of had a slow start. I definitely saw Annalise and Nathan as a ship, and well they stuck it through to the end, mostly. What I didn't expect was how fantasy it seemed to be. I didn't even realize that there would even be like Witches and stuff in it, yea I know, it's like the entire series.
I was really cool and I liked it a lot. Can't to get Half Wild!
akookieforyou's review against another edition
3.0
Overall I enjoyed this book, it was a quick read for me. I must say that I was a bit disappointed by the lack of magic though. I would've loved some more whimsicality, and otherworldly stuff in it. Some of the best parts of the story, in my opinion, were at the last 70 or so pages. That part of the story felt the most majestic and magical, it kind of reminded me of the feeling I had when reading Howl's Moving Castle. I hope that book two brings some more of that to the table, and I hope to see my favorite character, Gabriel, again.
Edit:
I will not be continuing this series, as I found out a spoiler that completely ruined everything that I liked about it :/
Edit:
I will not be continuing this series, as I found out a spoiler that completely ruined everything that I liked about it :/
betwixt_the_pages's review against another edition
4.0
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.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: unique world; intriguing ideas/new twists to the "good vs evil" cliche; endearing, lovable character; mystery, thrills; hard-hitting themes of social justice/abuse
First and foremost, the writing of this book is a little bit...strange. For one, it's written entirely in second-person POV (I/me/you). This is a hard thing to maintain consistently over even a short amount of pages; writing a novel using it had to have been pretty difficult. It also makes it a little bit harder to read.
There are only a few momets where we read it as “you”; most of the book is told by Nathan, from his own perspective. I found it interesting, as we went along, and wonder if perhaps the choice to start out the book using “you” instead of “I” (and switching to it at least once more before the ending) has a deeper meaning than it appears. But that's a theory for a different day, not this review.
The characters—depending on which side they fall—are either easy to love or very, very easy to hate. As most of the world is either out to “get” Nathan...or to use him for their own designs...most of the characters we meet fall on the hate side of the line. To be honest, I only really loved Nathan, his Gran, Arran, Deborah, and Annalise; while it appears Gabriel is on Nathan's side (in fact, it's alluded that Gabriel has stronger feelings than friendship for Nathan), I can't say for certain this is the case. As it is, I didn't get a strong sense of connection with Gabriel in this book.
The rest of the characters are deplorable in their actions and treatments of Nathan. Being the only Half Code, the entire world is against him from the start; it becomes clear, early on, that most people would rather see him run over than given a chance. Which makes the title—and the entire premise of this novel—into a question of a different caliber.
The whole world seems adamant that because Nathan is “half bad,” he will be more prone to use his Black Witch powers...and become evil. But when you tell a person often enough, for a long enough period of time, that they're bound to turn out one way or another...they start believing it themselves. Is Nathan REALLY bound to be “bad”...or could he, with the right words and help, prove the rest of the world wrong? Can people really change their "fates," if they want to badly enough?
The writing of this book is interesting. The characters are well-developed, for the most part, and maintain themselves throughout. I didn't notice much character growth here; Nathan stays pretty much the same from page one to the end, which isn't such a good thing. I'd have expected a lot more change, in one regard or another, but even at the end, he still has a sort of childish naivete to him that I find hard to comprehend.
This world intrigued me; the fight between White and Black Witches maintains an expose on social justice that's well-done: hard-hitting and thoroughly disturbing in turn. I'm interested to see what happens in the next book(s). Will definitely be continuing this series later.
Half Bad is an international sensation and the start of a brilliant trilogy: a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: unique world; intriguing ideas/new twists to the "good vs evil" cliche; endearing, lovable character; mystery, thrills; hard-hitting themes of social justice/abuse
First and foremost, the writing of this book is a little bit...strange. For one, it's written entirely in second-person POV (I/me/you). This is a hard thing to maintain consistently over even a short amount of pages; writing a novel using it had to have been pretty difficult. It also makes it a little bit harder to read.
There are only a few momets where we read it as “you”; most of the book is told by Nathan, from his own perspective. I found it interesting, as we went along, and wonder if perhaps the choice to start out the book using “you” instead of “I” (and switching to it at least once more before the ending) has a deeper meaning than it appears. But that's a theory for a different day, not this review.
The characters—depending on which side they fall—are either easy to love or very, very easy to hate. As most of the world is either out to “get” Nathan...or to use him for their own designs...most of the characters we meet fall on the hate side of the line. To be honest, I only really loved Nathan, his Gran, Arran, Deborah, and Annalise; while it appears Gabriel is on Nathan's side (in fact, it's alluded that Gabriel has stronger feelings than friendship for Nathan), I can't say for certain this is the case. As it is, I didn't get a strong sense of connection with Gabriel in this book.
The rest of the characters are deplorable in their actions and treatments of Nathan. Being the only Half Code, the entire world is against him from the start; it becomes clear, early on, that most people would rather see him run over than given a chance. Which makes the title—and the entire premise of this novel—into a question of a different caliber.
The whole world seems adamant that because Nathan is “half bad,” he will be more prone to use his Black Witch powers...and become evil. But when you tell a person often enough, for a long enough period of time, that they're bound to turn out one way or another...they start believing it themselves. Is Nathan REALLY bound to be “bad”...or could he, with the right words and help, prove the rest of the world wrong? Can people really change their "fates," if they want to badly enough?
The writing of this book is interesting. The characters are well-developed, for the most part, and maintain themselves throughout. I didn't notice much character growth here; Nathan stays pretty much the same from page one to the end, which isn't such a good thing. I'd have expected a lot more change, in one regard or another, but even at the end, he still has a sort of childish naivete to him that I find hard to comprehend.
This world intrigued me; the fight between White and Black Witches maintains an expose on social justice that's well-done: hard-hitting and thoroughly disturbing in turn. I'm interested to see what happens in the next book(s). Will definitely be continuing this series later.
cassandrabee's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. I think the strongest aspect is the world-building, and that is one of the most important aspects of stories like this. I need a good understanding of where we are and how things work. I think my biggest problem is that I don't love stories where the main character suffers unending physical trauma. I very quickly start to doubt that they should even still be alive. (Rambo should really have died in First Blood: Part 2. Just statistically.) Then in order to suspend disbelief and prove that the danger is real, everyone but the main character starts to die and get injured. It makes stories seem hokey. It wasn't that bad in this story, but it did bug me.
Nathan is a strong character, and I like the way he develops. It's difficult to get into the book in the beginning between his helplessness at school and in the cage. He's trapped, and I feel trapped for too long. Otherwise, I love the variety of characters, and I find them all to be different and interesting. They all feel solid and animated. Annalise is the only dud. I will now call her Stanley, because she is so flat. Her story seems cliche, and she's just there to get stuck and wait to be saved. It's a really boring Romeo and Juliet situation, and it doesn't fit with the rest of the book. Otherwise it is unique and compelling. Gran and the siblings are especially compelling characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the setting and the adventure, and I will definitely read the next one.
Nathan is a strong character, and I like the way he develops. It's difficult to get into the book in the beginning between his helplessness at school and in the cage. He's trapped, and I feel trapped for too long. Otherwise, I love the variety of characters, and I find them all to be different and interesting. They all feel solid and animated. Annalise is the only dud. I will now call her Stanley, because she is so flat. Her story seems cliche, and she's just there to get stuck and wait to be saved. It's a really boring Romeo and Juliet situation, and it doesn't fit with the rest of the book. Otherwise it is unique and compelling. Gran and the siblings are especially compelling characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the setting and the adventure, and I will definitely read the next one.
amandalyn's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. The audiobook was really well performed. The world building was interesting and I couldn’t help but love the main character. He was a bit of a sullen shit, but He just wanted to be like the rest of his family. Even when he was annoying, I understood where it was coming from. The minor characters were well rounded and interesting as well. I’ll definitely continue the series.
hiysle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sassblaster's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
harleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
I had a few issues with this book, I really enjoyed the first 50-75 pages, but after that it just went downhill for me. It started out feeling very cryptic and confusing, but it really worked for the story, but the farther along the story went, the less it fit with the story. I started to get bored, and kept hoping that it would pick up speed again. By the time I got to the end, I began to skim read, I wanted to know what was going to happen, but I didn't really care who it would come about.
All in all I'm a little disappointed in this book, I felt it had real potential but was just unable to meet the expectations I had. I'm unsure as to whether i'm going to continue on, but if I do decide to it will not be soon.
All in all I'm a little disappointed in this book, I felt it had real potential but was just unable to meet the expectations I had. I'm unsure as to whether i'm going to continue on, but if I do decide to it will not be soon.