****Will contain spoilers****
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I have to admit, going into Half Wild by Sally Green, I wasn't too enthusiastic about the book. I didn't dislike Half Bad, but I absolutely thought that there were things that could be improved. For example, I was infinitely more interested in Marcus than any of the other characters, so not seeing him except for the one scene made me crazy. It was like I was constantly waiting for a thinking about something that never happened.
That was, in my opinion, one of the reasons that Half Wild was so much better. Marcus' presence in this book, though not immediate, was a fantastic addition that livened up the plot, the character dynamic, and brought out the true colors in a lot of people, and I loved it. I loved the way people's alliances shifted, and the way that the Alliance began turning on Nathan in slight ways, just because he was being shaped by Marcus. And I loved the Marcus wasn't evil, but still wasn't painted as the good guy. I can't stand when authors write a character who has an evil reputation then turns out to be a softy. It's unrealistic; it's trite. That's why I was so glad that we did get some genuine, soft, loving moments between Marcus and Nathan, but we also saw that he wasn't the "good guy" by any means. He didn't show remorse for killing all the people that he did, and a lot of times he was entirely indifferent at the idea of how many lives he'd taken, and I needed that in a book.
Sometimes people aren't good people, and that's fine. It's refreshing to have a main character who has soft spots, but is overall the bad person they were made out to be.
I think the complexity of his character alone, and how his presence made absolute ripples in the plots and character developments is one of the main reasons that I found this book as good as I did. When I found myself asking questions about what it truly means to be a good person, and reflecting on conceit and on survival, I realized that was another reason I loved Marcus' presence in this book. He made me think. He wasn't one dimensional. He had a purpose larger than killing people, and that's important.
Now, all my gushing for how well Marcus was written aside, I generally liked all the characters better in this book than I did in the last one. Gabriel, who was always one of my favorites, didn't lose all the qualities that made me love him; his loyalty, his stupid jokes; his willingness to risk himself for others. These were all things that I really enjoyed, and I'm glad he kept them. I'm glad those qualities weren't entirely unwavering (as, in a war, they wouldn't be) but another thing I hate when authors do, is when they turn a character into a complete brick because of the circumstances, and that's not entirely realistic. I love that Green was able to keep him true to himself, while still developing as a person.
But, what really helped the characters in this book, were the new characters. Nesbitt and Van and Celia coming back were all hugely important for me enjoying the people we spent Half Wild with. In the last book, I found Rose boring, I found Mercury stereotypical, and Annalise got on my nerves like no one's business (more on Annalise later). So, when we had this new group of characters, who were more realistic, who were more enjoyable, I was pleased to find it really helped the experience.
Nathan and Nesbitt's banter was fantastic, and I loved how these new people helped not only the plot, but also Nathan develop.
Now, speaking of plot, I will say I was more impressed than the last book. In Half Bad, I felt like every time the plot built up to something, it happened as I expected, or it went as most books would. It wasn't a bad plot, it just wasn't incredible. In Half Wild, I still don't think it reached anything incredible, but I will say: I loved the development of the alliance, and I found Nathan killing Marcus genuinely surprising.
I feel like Marcus getting hit by that bullet seemed too easy, and Nathan has gotten hit by bullets and successfully and safely had them removed multiple times, so I do feel like him "already dying" was a bit of a cop out. BUT I truly didn't think that Nathan would kill his father, and NEVER did I think he would eat his heart.
That was the main point where I was honestly shocked at where the plot went, and also deeply saddened at Marcus' death.
The reason I only say the plot was better, is I still didn't feel like there were enough moments like this, but that one really stood out and made the book feel incredibly worthwhile.
In terms of style, I still think that Half Wild could have been a bit better. The prose was more enjoyable and less robotic at times than Half Bad, but I still wish Green would take more chances with her descriptions and her stage directions and her syntax. She's a good writer, but she hasn't shown anything great. She does a lot of telling, and she uses average descriptions to create her scenes and her stories. One of the only exceptions to this was the scene where Gabriel and Nathan went into that trance. That scene felt so raw, and so real, and I appreciated the prose she gave there.
But, unfortunately, it's wasn't as persistent as I hoped. That is the main thing that I'm hoping she can improve upon in the final book in the trilogy.
Lastly, I want to talk about Annalise. This is the one part of the book I cannot stand whatsoever. My problem with Green's prose aside, Annalise is the reason I would give this book a 4 or 3.5 out of 5 stars. Annalise is one of my least favorite characters I've ever read. She doesn't fit in with anyone in the book, all she does is create problems, she doesn't seem to have any greater purpose other than to serve as a love interest, and I don't buy her and Nathan's relationship for one second.
It doesn't make any sense. There is no reason for her and Nathan to be close or in love. They barely know anything about each other, and all Nathan dreams of is "holding her in his arms." Every time she walks on the page, I roll my eyes. Their relationship seems fabricated and forced, yet Green really wants us to believe that Nathan has nothing with Gabriel and truly loves Annalise. There's not one moment in this book—not when they have sex, not when Nathan rescues her, not when they have a conversation, and not when he fought so hard to keep Annalise from believing he's "bad"—when I truly believed that their relationship was real and that there was anything between them.
Once Annalise started protecting her brother and she shot Marcus, I was beyond glad that she was gone and Nathan finally hated her. My favorite part of the book was the ending, when he wanted to hunt her down, because honestly, if she was in these books for one more page I think I would have lost it.
Overall, Half Wild was more impressive to me than Half Bad, but still has a ways to go with prose, and I just couldn't stand Annalise.
This puts my ratings at:
Characters: 90%
Plot: 87%
Depth: 90%
Style: 70%
Intrigue: 93%
Overall Rating: 86%
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