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Half Bad

I received my copy from the publisherhalf-bad

By: Sally Green

Nathan Byrne is a witch, but he is a witch no-one really wants anything to do with. His mother was a white witch, a healer, his father a black witch, a killer and a very notorious one at that. The time is coming for Nathan to come into his powers but those who are in control, the council of white witches are not about to let that happen. Nathan is persecuted his whole life, he can’t even date the girl he wants because she is a white witch and therefore off limits. Then he is taken from everything he knows and cares about. He is tortured, trained and doesn’t know why.

It appears as though the rules are being changed just for him as the council pull out all stops to try and use Nathan presumably to catch his father. Nathan is desperate to meet his father and get his powers and he will make whatever deals are necessary for this to happen.

The premise of this story is fairly solid. What happens when you don’t fit in because you’re not one thing or another? The story itself though is very slow moving. I enjoyed the last perhaps third but it took a bit of perseverance for me to get there. I’m also not sure how I feel about Nathan himself. I can see how he is pushed into making some choices, but on the whole I don’t think strongly about him in one way or another. He is troubled and has potential but he feels, in some ways, quite bland.

I may give the second book a read purely because the premise has so much potential, where do you go when people are pushing you to be something you’re not sure you want to be. If it remains so bland I may not finish it. Having said that though, if you like your books to meander through the story telling and you want something interesting with witches at the core, give this a go, it was a popular book by all accounts in its country of origin and we can’t all like the same thing.

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Published: 27 March 2014

Format: Paperback 400 pages

Categories: Fantasy

 

ISBN 13: 9780141350868

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of the page.

Category:

Young Adult Fiction

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The Devil’s Fire

I got my copy from the publisher.By: Stuart Daly

The Witch Hunter Chronicles Book 3

Jakob is one of the Hexenjager, an elite organisation of witch hunters. They are in the process of breaking into a jail in Rotterdam when things take a turn they didn’t expect and Jakob and his compatriots Armand, von Frankenthal and Francesca find themselves on a boat to England. There they are drafted to help fight the Sons of Cain and prevent a terrible prophecy from being fulfilled. The Sons of Cain have stolen The Codex Gigas also known as the Devil’s Bible and plan to use it to summon the Price of Darkness. Jakob and his friends will team up with the Angeli Mortis and British royalty to battle some of the most evil beings any of them have ever faced. Their lives and the fate of the country relies on their success, it will be a challenge for the best of them.

A ride through fantasy and history. Jakob is a likable central character, he is brave and trained but young and it shows in his actions and that makes him interesting. It is nice to see characters with flaws. He is the perfect centre to Armand, charismatic team leader and lethal fighter, determined Francesca and loyal von Frankenthal.

There are loyalties and tensions between the groups trying to work together and that makes the situation more believable and readable. Daly says he was inspired by the works of Dumas and you can see it in his tone and style. If you like a swashbuckling read with more than a dash of the supernatural then definitely give this a look. Sweeping from Rotterdam to London it is dark, gritty and engaging. I will say though some of it felt a little awkward but it wasn’t anything I could really put my finger on and ultimately didn’t stop me enjoying the story.

Publisher: Random House Australia

Published: 02 July 2012

Format: Paperback 432 pages

Categories: Historical, Fantasy, Witches,

ISBN 13: 9781742754802

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of page

Category:

Young Adult Fiction

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Room on the Broom

By: Julia Donaldson

Illustrated by: Axel Scheffler

The witch and her cat start out on a journey on the broom. Along the way she loses a few things and gains some companions. This turns out to be a wonderful thing because when a dragon decides he wants the witch for tea her new friends come to the rescue in the strangest way.

Another fun outing from the magical pairing of  Donaldson and Scheffler. A fun rhyming tale and an entertaining story of helping and friendship. Originally published 10 years ago it is still full of appeal. You can’t really make a mistake picking up a book written by this pair.

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books

Published: 20 September 2002

Format: Paperback 32 pages

Categories: Animals, Witches, Picture Books

ISBN 13: 9780333903384

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of the page

Category:

Picture Books

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The Kingdom of Fantasy

By: Geronimo Stilton

Geronimo is having a really bad day, the last thing he expects to find in his attic is a jeweled music box and a golden staircase. Despite being such a fraidy mouse Geronimo climbs the stairs and goes through the door he finds. Beyond that door lies the Kingdom of Fantasy. There he meets Scribblehopper, who mistakes him for a knight in shining armour. Despite his protests Geronimo is charged with the task of rescuing the Queen of the Fairies.

To get to her he must first get through six other kingdoms, those of the: Witches, Mermaids, Dragons, Pixies, Gnomes and Giants. Each of the kingdoms has it’s own challenges and Geronimo must face some things he truly fears – all while insisting he is no knight. Will Geronimo and his new friends be able to cross the strange and dangerous lands and get to the Queen in time.

This is a super-sized Geronimo, transplanted into a fantasy realm filled with all your favourite kind of fantasy characters: witches, mermaids, unicorns, dragons, monster bugs, trolls, giants, pixies, gnomes and even talking frogs. This is a fun introduction to the genre of fantasy. For those young readers that could do with a bit more of a challenge then these books could be a step in that direction. They continue to be presented in the same style as the original series, with some of the same characters and some fun new ones. The main difference is the size as this comes in at over 300 pages.

Quite an enjoyable read with the added challenge of coded messages throughout.

Publisher: Scholastic US

Published: 01 December 2009

Format: Hardback 314 pages

Categories: Adventure, Fantasy

ISBN 13: 9780545980258

Purchase: here or use Booktopia logo on side of page

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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