Half World [Hardcover]

Hiromi Goto (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Melanie Tamaki is human - but her parents aren't. They are from Half World, a Limbo between our world and the afterlife, and her father is still there. When her mother disappears, Melanie must follow her to Half World - and neither of them may return alive. Imagine Coraline as filmed by the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki (Howl's Moving Castle), or Neil Gaiman collaborating with Charles de Lint. Half World is vivid, visceral, unforgettable, a combination of prose and images that will haunt you.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—A prophecy tells that only a child born of the lifeless Half World can reunite the three worlds of Flesh, Spirit, and the Half World that have been split asunder. Enter Melanie Tamaki, fleeing from some school bullies. She arrives home to find that her mother, bedridden when she left for school, is mysteriously gone. Melanie receives a creepy phone call from someone demanding that she go to the "Half World" or else her mother will be hurt. She turns to elderly Mrs. Wei for help and, from her, hears of the prophecy. Mrs. Wei feeds her and gives her a pendant of a jade rat. So fortified, Melanie sets off on her quest. Her mother has collected the artwork of Escher and Bosch and, upon arrival in Half World, Melanie begins to understand why. In this world literally bereft of color every being is grotesque, most barely recognizable as human at all. Cast among these horrors, Melanie must remain hidden until she can rescue her mother and somehow save the three realms. Goto has created an unusual fantasy horror novel that's something like a Gaiman tale with a dash of Asian magic. Readers who want a different kind of fantasy and who like a villain who makes the skin crawl should enjoy this quick read. It's a rare treat and belongs in most YA collections.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Goto’s contemporary fantasy is set primarily in Half World, where souls go after leaving the Realm of Flesh for a cleansing experience before passage to the Realm of Spirit. Long ago, though, something happened to throw this order out of whack, and Half World has since been twisted into a Hieronymus Bosch–like purgatory, where inhabitants are terrorized by the perverted machinations of the evil Mr. Glueskin. The story sends 14-year-old Melanie into Half World to save her mother. There, she must almost literally wade through a sea of hideous creatures, propelled by prophetic hints about being the child who can realign the realms and bring peace to untold numbers of tortured souls. Although the nightmarish world is certainly memorable, Goto is prone to melodramatic overwriting, and the logic governing the realms is confusing. Most unusual, and interesting, is her heroine, who is often the exact opposite of plucky, burdened by paralyzing bouts of self-doubt, worry, and despair. Sporadic illustrations from Tamaki (Skim, 2008) add delicate nuance to the largely dark but ultimately cathartic journey. Grades 7-10. --Ian Chipman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 221 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1 edition (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670012203
• ISBN-13: 978-0670012206
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good quick read., November 24, 2009

By 

Donald A. Prentiss (minneapolis, mn United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Half World (Hardcover)

Half world was a good quick read, kid friendly and enjoyable. The book did have a Neil Gaiman feel to it, but I really wished it was longer and a little more involved with the characters and story backdrop. I found the environment in the book to be quite cool, but not detailed enough and also felt the same with some of the unique and fun characters within - the book just lacked a little depth. It brings forth this wonderful place and just kinda skims the surface of what's there and those that inhabit the land.

4.0 out of 5 stars a refreshing story, a believable heroine and an odd yet delightful world, January 30, 2012

By 

Fantasys Ink (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Half World (Hardcover)

Pros:

A fascinating mythology
Interesting cast of characters
A believable heroine
Teaches valuable lessons

Cons:

A few times the plot tended to be predictable
The introduction could have been done better

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with Half World but after reading the prologue I quickly got into the story. The prologue tells of the three realms: the Realm of Flesh, Half World and the Realm of Spirit. I was quickly captured by the idea of these three realms. Though the introduction after the prologue put me off a bit because the dialogue and the characters seemed two-dimensional and I believe the author could have done it better. It wasn't very consistent when you compare it to the later chapters which were written fairly well.

I sympathized with Melanie and thought her character was believable and well done. She wasn't a heroine right from the beginning but rather grew into the role, gaining courage later on. The other characters where just as interesting to read about. And it's interesting to note that Goto did quite a few female characters compared to the males. Haven't you noticed a lot of times, especially in fantasy, there is a wise and kind old man but never a woman. But in Half World, we had Ms. Wei, who I have to say is my favorite character and I really enjoyed how she spoke in third person all the time - very lovable!

Although a few times the plot was predictable, Half World was still a wonderful read. Half World was such a bizarre place and Goto described it so vividly. A delightfully original story and I'm excited to read the sequel, Darkest Light, to dive back into the world and see what's in store next. If you want a refreshing story, a believable heroine and an odd yet delightful world then make sure to check out Half World!

4.0 out of 5 stars not your typical YA fantasy, hurrah!, January 11, 2012

By 

Barbara Gordon "batgirl" (Victoria BC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Half World (Hardcover)

This book moves at a dead run. There are two prologues, one distant past and one recent past. The first is a pared-down legend-backstory, but the second is grab-reader-by-throat.
Then the story proper begins, as Melanie's mother goes missing, and she gets a phone call (on a disconnected phone) from the deeply-creepy Mr. Glueskin telling her what she has to do if she ever wants to see her mother again. Because the reader has already encountered Mr. Glueskin in the second prologue, this is even creepier than Melanie knows.
Melanie makes a believable young heroine, sometimes frustrated and overwhelmed, sometimes hasty and resentful, but always picking herself up and 'doing what's nearest'. She has no special powers, only determination and a loving heart--a refreshing change from the YA heroines who are billed as kickass tough girls but are passive and helpless when the crunch comes. (And hoorah, she is a chubby kid and does not become magically thin-and-pretty by the end of the story.)
The horrors she faces in Half World aren't cheap blood-splatter special effects, but subtler and weirder. I thought there was an influence both of the Japanese ghost scrolls and of the Buddhist hells, and maybe also Stephen King's Overlook Hotel, which is to say, pretty damn creepy.
So yeah, if you haven't read this book already, you should go and read it.