[4] After her son began school, she took online English literature and creative writing courses at the Open University.
[4][7] She rewrote the novel, and told Publishers Weekly, "That first attempt was quite different from Half Bad, but it got me thinking about writing another story in that world.
"[7][4] She sent the revised manuscript to the one agent who had previously sent her encouragement, Claire Wilson, and they were soon handling offers that ultimately resulted in a 1 million pound advance for Half Bad.
Green has cited Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte as an influence on her development of the Half Bad story.
[17] In 2022, Netflix released one season of The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself series, a show based on the Half Bad books.