Half Bad

Title: Half Bad (Half Life #1)
Author: Sally Green
Genre: YA dystopia
Rating: 4.5/5
Cover: 7/10

I... wow. Okay. First off, can I just say how refreshing it was to have a male protagonist? Don't get me wrong, I love me some strong, badass female protagonist just as much as the next person, but I haven't come across a male one since Percy Jackson, and before that, only with Harry.


But moving on. Nathan was... different. I will say, this book gets a 4.5 rating simply because some of the indecision bored me a little. However, I want book 2. It's not a desperate desire for it, but I think there's loads of potential in it. The whole idea (which is really only explored in the epigraph from Shakespeare, but which, I think, is likely to be explored more in the next instalment) of there not being any good or bad, just people's pre-concieved notions of good and evil, really intrigued me, and I can definitely see how that would translate into Nathan's life.

As for the romance angle, I don't know. Annalise seems to me like the fantasy of a 14-year old boy. A lot can change in 3 years, though, and to be perfectly honest, I felt that Nikita (Ellen) was a better match for him than Annalise. Or, if he turns out to swing that way, I'm all for Gabriel, too.

Either way, a very good book - and an easy read, too. Despite the possibility for a deep, psychological search in book 2, Half Bad sticks quite nicely to the physical aspect of growing up without parents and having to deal with the doubts and questions about who you are and how, if at all, your thoughts and feelings during your teenage years will shape who you become in the future.