Half World

March 8, 2010
Raised in impoverished circumstances by her single mother, overweight 14-year-old Melanie is the target of ridicule at school and leads a lonely, introverted life. Then an evil being named Mr. Glueskin kidnaps her mother, forcing Melanie to travel to Half World, a colorless land that has been sundered from the realms of flesh and spirit, its deceased inhabitants cursed to relive the most traumatic moments of their lives. In her attempts to save her mother, Melanie learns she is destined to reunite the realms. Goto writes the hellish Half World as miserably surreal yet horrifyingly believable. A woman jumps off a bridge only to reappear again and again, and there are numerous human/animal hybrids, several of whom suffer gruesome (if temporary) deaths at the hands of the grotesque and psychotic Mr. Glueskin. Even after learning the strength of her character (and the truth about her parents), Melanie has believable relapses, but never stops fighting. It's a fast-moving and provocative journey with cosmically high stakes, and one that should readily appeal to fans of dark, nightmarish fantasy. Ages 12–up.

April 1, 2010
Gr 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"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2010
Grades 7-10 Gotos 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 Boschlike 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2010
Promotional quotes from Neil Gaiman and Charles de Lint perfectly target the audience for this dark quest fantasy. Fourteen-year-old Melanie Tamaki-overweight, lacking self-confidence, bullied at school-arrives home one afternoon to find that her mother has been kidnapped and taken back to Half World, an intermediary sphere between our mortal realm and the afterlife. Half World was originally a transitional sphere, but since the Three Realms separated thousands of years ago, the spirits in Half World are doomed to recycle the misery of their earthly lives, and now the realm has devolved into a surreal nightmare inhabited by the likes of the nefarious (and aptly named) Mr. Glueskin. As Melanie seeks her mother in this strange new land, her friends and allies-neighbor Mrs. Wei, talisman/guide Jade Rat, scholar Gao Zhen Xi-help her realize that she is the child destined to reunite the Three Realms and alleviate the suffering of Half World. While the premise is fresh and intriguing, the execution vacillates between astonishingly good and ordinary. The finer points of the characterization and world-building are vague and unsatisfying, but the growth of the heroine and the clean narrative arc, which careens from one vivid, surreal scene to the next, should nevertheless captivate readers.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2010
In this dark quest fantasy, fourteen-year-old Melanie Tamaki's mother has been kidnapped and taken to Half World, a mid-point between our mortal realm and the afterlife. As Melanie navigates this nightmarish land, her allies help her realize her destiny. The growth of the heroine and the clean narrative arc, which careens from one vivid, surreal scene to the next, should captivate readers.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)