132,568
edits
Changes
From TheBookbag
Jump to navigationJump to searchno edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Half Bad
|sort=
|date=March 2014
|isbn=0141350865
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>0141350865</amazonuk>|amazonusaznuk=<amazonus>B00GAL2R86</amazonus>0141350865|videoaznus=B00GAL2R86
}}
'''Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2015'''<br>
'''Shortlisted for the 2015 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize: Best Book for Teens'''
Before I start, I'll declare an uninterest. I'm not really into the paranormal genre, and I'm definitely not into paranormal romances. I like fantasy and I've nothing against the supernatural. It's just the predictability of the paranormal genre that puts me off. I prefer books that surprise me rather than books that comfort me by giving me what I expect. So, you realise, I'm coming at ''Half Bad'' from the perspective of an ''un''-fan. And I loved it!
Will Nathan mature as a white or a black witch? Will the Council send him for Retribution or use him as bait to catch his father? And will Nathan ever even meet this terrifying figure, let alone receive his three gifts?
A strong theme in much YA fiction is the treatment of the ''other''. And ''Half Bad'' is very strong on this. You could read it as a parable of racism, or homophobia or anti-Semitism. White witches are taught that black witches are everything that is bad and that any means must be employed to be rid of them. Any means, no matter how violent, how ruthless, how cruel. But Nathan wants to be good. He doesn't always behave well but this is mostly because he is treated so poorly and put in so many unjust situations that he has little choice. And for the Council, that's a self-fulfilling prophecy. So Nathan, as a character, is often quite unsympathetic. I liked this subversion of the standard tropes of good and evil found in paranormal stories. In fact, ''Half Bad'' employs and subverts a great many of the usual motifs and plot devices from the genre. I really appreciated the romance taking a back seat to the quest, too. It's not an original story by any means but it is an original treatment.
And this is why I thoroughly enjoyed ''Half Bad''. The writing is great - precise, elegant, to the point. And it was unexpected. Just how I like my stories!
{{amazontext|amazon=0141350865}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=B00GAL2R86}}
{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Paranormal]]
