Half Bad Characters

Half Bad by Sally Green is a fantasy and adventure novel that follows the life of Nathan. He is a troublesome, stubborn, and some might say dumb teen ager in modern England. Oh he is also a witch. To be more accurate, he is a Half Code, a witch who is half Black and half White. To top it all off, his dad is, "the world's most terrifying and violent witch." Nathan lives with his grandmother, because his father is being hunted and his mother committed suicide. Gran is a understanding and loving grandmother who cares very much for her grandchild. Later on we meet Celia, a retired hunter, a White witch who hunts Black witches. She cares for Nathan and wants the best for him, but she has a more than tough love attitude towards it. we also meet Mercury, a nasty old witch who only does things for her own benefit.

Witches go through a ceremony called the Gifting where they receive the Gift, their powers. If a Black witch does not receive his Gift, they will die. In order to survive, Nathan must find his dad so that he can become a full witch. However, because of circumstances, Nathan tries to find another way. He tries to find Mercury and ask if she can help, but will she and if she does, what will she want from him? I really enjoied this book. Fantasy and adventure are my favorite genres to read and this book did not let up. The only problem I had with this book was the author’s writing style. Green often jumped from past and present on a whim, making it hard to track what in going on at which part of Nathan’s life. She also changes perspectives a lot from first person to second person a lot. These two constant changes makes the story confusing. I spent a bit too much time trying to figure everything out instead of enjoying the story