Nightmare visions, resilient spirits, a Magic 8 Ball that asks, "What your enemies inflict upon you, will you inflict in return?" -- these are not the trappings of the usual teen fantasy book.  If you enjoy shockingly original, morally complex, and imagery-rich tales like Neil Gaiman's, step into Half World by Hiromi Goto.

The book's fascinating heroine, Melanie, is also not like most teen fantasy protagonists: she is not particularly smart, talented, or beautiful. She is just a bullied, lonely 14-year-old with an alcoholic mother.  But destiny kicks in when mysterious and sinister Mr. Glueskin (an extremely creepy villain!) kidnaps her mother to fulfill part of a bargain made before Melanie was born. Melanie dares to venture into Mr. Glueskin's nightmare realm, Half World.  It is a world where souls are stuck between Flesh and Spirit, doomed to relive their worst traumas over and over, but eking out a twisted half-life existence-- gambling in their own casinos, working random jobs, and attending raucous fear-filled parties at Mr. Glueskin's penthouse. It's like Las Vegas crossed with a fever dream, with set design by Heironymus Bosch and M. C. Escher.

Hope and doom, fascination and terror, determination and desperation all play their part in Melanie's quest.  Goto's stunning descriptions and dream-like scenarios make this surreal novel linger in the imagination. ~Tegan