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.
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Book Description
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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good quick read.,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
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
not your typical YA fantasy, hurrah!,
By
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.
5.0 out of 5 stars
a cost,
By JN (NYC) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Half World (Hardcover)
The unconventional protagonist and this skilled author are what drew me to this book. Goto's strange tale isn't something that's been told before although I would place it as a dark fairy tale. A coming of age story for a chubby, asian girl who seeks to rescue her mom, and must enter a frightening world of 'purgatory' where the inhabitants live in a cycle of trauma (like Sisyphus futiley pushing the rock up the hill). This is an empowering story that refuses to follow conventional ideas of what a hero or an acceptible girl is. A lovely story about sheer courage and a strong heart.
My only disappointment was that I was hoping to enter a world of Japanese fantasty, where there are demons and spirits and foxes galore (Spirited Away style). :) Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will be adding it to my physical book collection (I bought the kindle ver.) when it comes out in paperback. <3
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