the beauty of narration

I just read Half Bad by Sally Green. It is the first book in a three book series.

It's a book that a lot of young adult readers will love. Here's the jacket summary:

In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?

It was an exciting story, filled with action. But the part I found most fascinating was the narration. Part One of the story is told in second person narration (You), and Part Two of the story is told in first person. From there it alternates. Part One, in second person narration, was a great way to grab the reader. Very clever!

The story leads us down the path of fear and prejudice, showing us that violence does not always have a point. That even though the White witches believe themselves to be good, they are still capable of horrible acts.

Young adults will love the coming-of-age story of Nathan, a boy who must grow up as an outsider and learn to survive the best way he can. And despite what Nathan has been told his whole life, there is never anything as simple as "good" and "evil".