Half Bad by Sally Green

Half Bad
by Sally Green

When I first read the publicity blurb for this title I incorrectly assumed a few things :
a) the main character was female;
b) it was set in America;
c) it was going to be a witch version of Twilight.

The story is actually set in various parts of Britain, and follows Nathan, whose father, Marcus, is a Black Witch but his mother was a White Witch. As you can surmise from the names, the Black Witches are bad through and through, think nothing of deceit and murder, whereas White Witches do nothing but good and perform good and helpful spells. So Nathan is half good, half bad. When Nathan's mother dies, his grandmother brings him up, along with his half brother Arran and his two half sisters Deborah and Jessica.  Because of the atrocious acts Nathan's father has carried out during his life, the Council of Witches and their Hunters are tracking down Nathan to try to 'turn' him, and give up the whereabouts of his father. He is taken from his grandmother, kept in a cage and trained to be a fighter, but he manages to escape. He is offered help by various characters, and in so doing, learns much about his mother and father and ultimately about his own character. However, not everyone gives favours freely, and there is one sacrifice he is not willing to make.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I finished it in just a couple of sittings. The pace is fast, there is plenty of action, the characters are exciting, and you never knew who to trust. I highly recommend it.