Half Bad

Did You Know?

• A feature film adaptation was announced by Fox 2000 in 2013 with Karen Rosenfelt attached, but went unproduced.
• Netflix announced a TV adaptation in 2020, to be helmed by Joe Barton, which was released on 28 October 2022 as The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself.

Plot

In a version of modern-day Europe, mostly Britain, witches coexist with non-magical humans called Fains. Witches are divided into two groups: Black witches, who are widely feared and oppressed, and White witches, who make up the majority. The story follows Nathan, a 17-year-old who is half White and half Black, a status known as Half Code. His mother is dead, and his father, Marcus, is the most feared and violent Black witch in history. Because of his mixed heritage, the Council of White Witches watches Nathan constantly. He must follow strict rules, but after breaking too many, he is removed from his grandmother’s home and placed with a White witch named Celia. Celia keeps Nathan locked in a cage and abuses him. He must escape before his seventeenth birthday to find his father and receive three gifts from him, along with his own Gift; otherwise, he will die.

Hunters are White witches who form an army to capture and kill Black witches. A Whet is a young witch who has not yet received their Gift. Nathan Byrn has straight black hair, olive skin, and black eyes, resembling his father. Raised among White witches, he is a Half Code and can heal himself with extraordinary speed. Jessica Byrn, Nathan’s oldest half-sister, despises him and later becomes a Hunter. Arran Byrn, his half-brother, shares a loving bond with Nathan. Deborah Byrn, another half-sister, also loves him. Marcus Edge, Nathan’s father, is the most feared Black witch ever. He killed the father of Nathan’s siblings, among many others. His own Gift allows him to transform into animals, but he has also stolen Gifts from other witches by killing them and eating their hearts. Cora Byrn, Nathan’s mother, was a White witch who died by suicide; her Gift was healing. Gabriel Boutin is a Black witch trapped in a Fain’s body. He helps Mercury bring Nathan to her in exchange for regaining his witch form, and later falls in love with Nathan. Annalise O’Brien is a White witch a few months older than Nathan. She runs away from her cruel family and was in love with Nathan when they were young teens. Soul O’Brien is her uncle and a White witch. Mercury is a powerful Black witch who has stolen blood from every witch family. Rose is a White witch and Mercury’s assistant, known for constantly blushing and giggling.

Development

Sally Green first sent the manuscript for Half Bad to a literary agent in January 2013. By March, Penguin’s Puffin imprint had won it in a six-figure bidding war, with editorial director Ben Horslen calling it “the book of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.” International rights sold quickly before the UK release on March 3, 2014. Within thirteen weeks of the acquisition, the book had been sold in twenty-five territories, and by November 2013 that number had reached thirty-six. On its publication day, Half Bad set a Guinness World Record for the most pre-publication translations by a debut author, with forty-five different language editions.

Reception

Before it was even released, Half Bad was being likened to blockbuster series like The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and Twilight, as well as George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. The book set two Guinness World Records before publication: it became the most translated book and the most translated children's book by a debut author. A starred review from Publishers Weekly praised the novel as a grim and thrilling start to a planned trilogy, noting its understated prose, well-developed witch culture, and unforgettable protagonist Nathan, a damaged survivor of horrific abuse caught between two hostile sides of his heritage. Kirkus Reviews observed that while secondary characters are often underdeveloped, the imaginary relationship Nathan builds with his father keeps both him and the reader moving forward. On Tor.com, Kat Kennedy called Half Bad the perfect book for making you despise humanity or weep pathetically, adding that it is excellent. The Guardian's Philip Womack remarked that although the book offers nothing new, its combination of themes will appeal to a large audience, though he questioned whether it would hold their imaginations. The Telegraph's Martin Chilton noted that Half Bad does not always feel original, with scenes set in mysterious alleys, but it is full of suspense. The novel won the 2015 Waterstones Teen Book Prize and was shortlisted for the 2015 Branford Boase Award, which honors outstanding debut novels for children and teenagers and is presented to both the author and editor.