Review: Half Lies by Sally Green

Half Lies (Half Bad, #0.5)
by Sally Green
Published by Penguin
Ebook (purchased)
YA, fantasy, novella

Set in the months before Half Bad, Half Lies takes the form of a diary written by Michele, the sister of Gabriel, Nathan’s Black witch friend. Having fled Europe for Florida, Michele falls in love with a local White witch boy. There, she finds that the divide between the Black and White witch communities is just as dangerous as it was in the life she's left behind.

If there's going to be Gabriel, I'm going to love it. Well, that's what I thought when I started reading this. I wasn't wrong, I did love Half Lies, but there was more reasons than just Gabriel being in it.

 

First I though Michéle was innocent, naive and a little bit dull. I mean, her brother is pure awesomeness, her father grief-ridden but still quirky artist and her grandmother sounded like kickass witch. So why Michéle was almost boring, resembling annoyingly any other normal, YA heroine? Don't get me wrong, I loved to see Gabriel through her eyes and she did get more interesting as the story involved. She had potential to be great, and she did show one valid point: that White or Black, it doesn't really define how you are. Michéle seemed like good, innocent girl, one that should be White instead of belonging Black witch family. It was great how she belonged and how no one pointed out that she was too nice, too naive or too innocent. She was what she was and they loved her for it, not making difference in the community. So, I grew to like Michéle and I loved her and Gabriel's interacting.

 

I loved the insight of Gabriel's past that Half Lies offered. And of course about the world itself. I like how it's pointed out how every country differs from each other - I mean, there was mentions of it in Half Bad and you could even see the difference between England and Switzerland, but the USA setting and talk about how it differs from France and England was so good.

 

Half Lies was really good novella. It gives wonderful insight on the Black community, on the ongoing fight between Black and White witches, as well as insight of Gabriel's past. It was so good and I'd be more than happy to read more novellas from Sally Green.

 

And now is perfect time to dive into Half Wild.

 

4 of 5 stars.

 

Half Lies on Goodreads.