Half Bad by Sally Green

Half Bad by Sally Green

PUBLISHER SUMMARY: Coming of age in a modern England where good and bad witches live among humans, the son of a powerful black witch father and a dead white witch mother struggles to escape a violent incarceration and claim three magical gifts in order to survive. A first novel

Book #2 - "Half Wild" published March 24, 2015

REVIEW: This book wasn’t half bad!! Ok, sorry for the cheesy response but its true, I thought it was pretty good story.

There are parts that seemed to fall into the “kinda close to other famous plotlines” category. For example, “Half Bad’s” setting occurs in present time England but, similar to Harry Potter, there is another subculture of white witches and black witches. Nathan’s parentage comes from a white witch mother (who is dead) but the most infamous of black witches for a father (who is absent). Nathan’s life has never been easy because of his father’s notoriety; there’s the fact that he is the spitting image of his father, and then there is the prophecy…   in it Nathan is destined to kill his father. Nathan, although he has never met his father, has no desire to kill his father or anyone for that matter. 

Almost all of this book is taken up with Nathan’s journey from “whet” or young witch-to-be up to his seventeenth birthday when he will be given three gifts and drink the blood of an ancestor to gain his “Gift” and a witch designation. Let's just say that it is a hard journey with most against him and only a few in his corner. 

 On the negative side: the characters weren’t as well developed as I’d like and one book seemed to be completely about the “set-up” for the real action in book two: “Half Wild” I’m willing to overlook both of those issues though. I liked Nathan’s attitude and thought process through the story. I could relate to his struggle to be accepted and his need to not be judged by the actions of his father; he just wanted to be free to live his life.

 This was an interesting and engaging story that will appeal to all those upper middle school to high school students looking for the next, “magic” series.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

Summary:
One morning before school, some girl tells Piddy Sanchez that Yaqui Delgado hates her and wants to kick her ass. Piddy doesn’t even know who Yaqui is, never mind what she’s done to piss her off. Word is that Yaqui thinks Piddy is stuck-up, shakes her stuff when she walks, and isn’t Latin enough with her white skin, good grades, and no accent. And Yaqui isn’t kidding around, so Piddy better watch her back. At first Piddy is more concerned with trying to find out more about the father she’s never met and how to balance honors courses with her weekend job at the neighborhood hair salon. But as the harassment escalates, avoiding Yaqui and her gang starts to take over Piddy’s life. Is there any way for Piddy to survive without closing herself off or running away? In an all-too-realistic novel, Meg Medina portrays a sympathetic heroine who is forced to decide who she really is.

Review:
Moving to a new apartment and enrolling in a new school is the last thing Piedad "Piddy" Sanchez wants to do. She's leaving her neighbors, her friends and the school where she was a strong, well-liked student to start a new life in Queens, New York. Little did she realize that from the first day of school her expectations would change from trying to fit in to trying to survive. She receives a note from someone she hasn't even met, Yaqui Delgado, who wants to kick her ass. From that moment we see Piddy's personality start to change to protect herself from her tormentors as she is repeatedly threatened then videotaped getting savagely attacked.

Author, Meg Medina, writes a poignant story of the emotional trauma and isolation that occurs in extreme bullying situations. With her inner strength and the support of her family and friends she finds the courage to face her bully on her own terms. I can definitely see young adults relating to Piddy's story and would highly recommend this book to upper middle school to high school students.

Review: Four Secrets

Four Secrets
by Margaret Willey

Book Description:
"I don't know if all schools are like mine, but at North Holmes they have this thing that can happen, from out of the blue, and there is even a code word for it it's called getting stung."

Katie, Nate, and Renata had no farther to fall.

"They become like scorpions; they sting you till you die."

But when they hit the bottom of the social ladder, they found each other. Together, they might be able to change things. To stop the torment.

"We were united. We were going to take a stand."

So they made a plan. One person seemed to have everyone's secrets and all the power. If they could stop him...

"We needed first of all to get Chase alone. Away from his friends."

But secrets are complicated, powerful things. They are hard to keep. And even a noble plan can go horribly wrong. 

"What a dark and terrible place this school is."

Review: 

This one will suck you right in. It starts with Katie, Nate, and Renata being in juvenile detention for having kidnapped Chase and keeping him hostage for almost a week. Told in alternating chapters from each of their perspectives, you slowly learn what happened. Why they ever thought this idea might work and how they got caught.  You find out that they each had a secret...a secret that they'd do almost anything to keep everyone else from finding out... I couldn't put this one down. 

Review: Liar and Spy

Liar and Spy

by Rebecca Stead

 

Book Description:

Seventh grader Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building and meets Safer, a twelve-year-old self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer's first spy recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: what is a lie, and what is a game? How far is too far to go for your only friend?

Review:

I love Rebecca Stead's books. Though this one is very different from When You Reach Me, it still has the same ability to slowly unfold a much deeper story than expected. Stead draws readers into a world where a boy is trying to adjust to a new home...but as you read, you realize a LOT more is going on than first showed on the surface. 

 

The layers that slowly peeled away to reveal the underlying issues were masterfully done. It wasn't until just before Georges would address or discover an issue that I would suspect the very thing about to happen. Scenes, word choices, character motivations were all carefully written so that none of these things were evident straight on. Amazing.

 

I also have to mention how wonderful each of the characters in this book are... not just the kids, but also the parents. They each have little quirks that bring them to life and the way that they interact with one another was wonderful. This is also a great book for modeling families that truly work and support one another. So nice to see in today's world.

 

A short, sweet, and satisfying read.

Review: Camo Girl

Camo Girl

by Kekla Magoon

Book Description:

Ella and Z have been friends forever, both of them middle-school outsiders in their Las Vegas suburb. Ella is the only black girl in her grade and gets teased for the mottled colors of her face. (Her deceased father was white.) Z is the classic “weird kid” who maintains an elaborate—and public—fantasy life, starring himself as a brave knight. Though Z is content with his imagined world, Ella wishes for a larger group of friends, so she’s thrilled when Bailey, another black kid, arrives at their school. He’s popular and wants to befriend Ella—but to join the cool crowd, Ella would have to ditch Z. Does she stay loyal to the boy who has been her best and only friend for years, or jump at the chance to realize her dream of popularity?

 

Review: 

This was an easy to read book.  In some ways some of the events seemed to wrap up a little too easily, but if you can suspend your disbelief, the points addressed in the book really do make for an enjoyable story.  The main characters of Ella and Z were really well fleshed out and the struggles they each face were intriuging to read about.  This was definitely not the best written book I've ever read, but it got its point across, which was important.

Review: Draw the Dark

Draw the Dark

by Ilsa J. Bick

Book Description:

There are things in Winter, Wisconsin, folks just don't talk about. The murder way back in '45 is one. The near-suicide of a first-grade teacher is another. And then there is 17-year old Christian Cage. Christian's parents disappeared when he was a little boy, and ever since he's drawn and painted obsessively, trying desperately to remember his mother. The problem is Christian doesn't just draw his own memories. He can draw the thoughts of those around him. Confronted with fears and nightmares they'd rather avoid, people have a bad habit of dying. So it's no surprise that Christian isn't exactly popular. What no one expects is for Christian to meet Winter's last surviving Jew and uncover one more thing best forgotten--the day the Nazis came to town.

 

Review:

This was an interesting book. It was creepy and dark and a great blend of realistic fiction with just a hint of dark fantasy. Yet again, it covered a piece of American history that I did not know about... did you know that the US took in German war prisoners after WWII to work in fields and factories? I had no idea! Overall I really enjoyed this book, though I thought the ending was wrapped up just a little too quickly... 

Review: Loss

Loss
by Jackie Morse Kessler
Riders of the Apocalypse, book three

Book Description:

Show Less

Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid that everyone picks on. But things change drastically when Death tells Billy he must stand in as Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse. Now armed with a Bow that allows him to strike with disease from a distance, Billy lashes out at his tormentors...and accidentally causes an outbreak of meningitis. Horrified by his actions, Billy begs Death to take back the Bow. For that to happen, says Death, Billy must track down the real White Rider, and stop him from unleashing something awful on humanity—something that could make the Black Plague look like a summer cold. Does one bullied teenager have the strength to stand his ground—and the courage to save the world?

 

 

Review:

This is such a great series. The author's idea is just amazing. They are short reads, but they are packed with SO much punch! Each book not only tackles a teen becoming a Rider...yes one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse(!!!), but also some kind of issue that teens can face.

This book did a GREAT job blending the concept of Pestilence (disease, ick!) and bullying. Kessler managed to write a phenomenal story about a boy who finally fights back for himself and stops a bully from destroying the world. We also got some more great hints about what's coming for Death...one of the coolest characters, ever!... and the Horsemen in the final book.

Though short, I get so much satisfaction reading each book in this series, and I cannot wait for the big finale!