The author seems to have that special knack for delivering characters who do bad things and make the wrong decisions but still manage to get you on their side. I really liked all of the characters in this novel (and there were quite a few). I suppose that's because of the parallels that can easily be drawn between Nathan's story and that of anyone who has ever been given a label before they've even had a chance to work out who they are.
real this story felt, despite the strong fantasy element throughout. For the first, it is a coming-of-age story about a boy who must grow up in a difficult world and learn to survive the best way he can. Half Bad is two main things and both of them are good. As he grows up in a world that distrusts him, he realises that the good guys often do bad things and those who are evil might not be all they first seem. Unsurprisingly - and as every decent novel should remember, in my opinion - there is never really anything as simple as "good" or "evil", despite what Nathan has been told his whole life. Then there's half bloods (or half codes) like Nathan who are the product of both. This is a book set in an alternate universe version of England where witches live alongside humans (or Fains): the "good" white witches, and the "evil" black witches. Which I thought was wonderful, by the way. I only hope that the US publishers don't Americanize it for you readers across the pond because I think there's an eerie English/Scottish/Welsh countryside atmosphere that permeates this novel and adds to the overall experience. So, apparently there is some juice left in British YA after all, I'd begun to assume JKR had drained that one dry.
A story of nature vs nurture, outsiders, family and prophecy.
The story of a boy who was never given a chance. And no one will ever know if that kid was always his father's son or if the other people in his life made him that way. And people nod their heads and say "See! I told you so". It makes him exactly what everyone expected him to be. It makes him lash out and get into fights and become something of a delinquent.
And it makes him angry that people constantly expect the worst of him. Everyone has their eye on that kid his whole life, expecting him to become just like his father, watching for his first mistake. you know the kid I'm talking about? The one who has that dad? Well, everyone expects he'll turn out just the same. maybe he drank a lot, got into fights, ended up in prison. Then there's that one kid (or more) who had a dad who was known for causing trouble. Do you know a story that goes something like this > There's a poor family consisting of a mother and her bunch of kids, each one from a different father.
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