Kim CurranCritiques

Shift is the story of Scott Tyler, a British teenager who accidentally discovers that he has the power to “shift” between possible realities by changing his past decisions. Along with this discovery comes his entry into a secret world of shifters and a dawning understanding of the terrible powers at play in a world where reality can be changed at will.

One on side there is a clandestine government organization called ARES that focuses on training young shifters to use their powers for good, and on the other there is a rebel faction of shifters called the SLF, who believe that shifters should be allowed to use their powers without regulation. Scott’s first contact with the world of shifters, Aubrey Jones, is also, conveniently enough, the girl of his dreams. Aubrey is a pixieish blonde with a chip on her shoulder and conflicted loyalties between ARES, who took her away from her family, and SLF, who seem bent on anarchy and destruction for the sake of it. At first it seems like the book might be about a clash between ARES and SLF, but then we meet the true villain, a morbidly fat man wants to eat Scott’s brains.

The villain, Benjo, is easily most original thing Shift has going for it. However, he is so vile and over-the-top that he seems slightly out of place in the story. I actually would have liked the author to delve more deeply into the darkness that might result from people with the power to reset their decisions controlling the world. As it was, the book felt like it flipped back and forth between a fairly by-the-numbers secret world adventure and a squick-inducing serial killer tale.

I did also appreciate that the book retained its inherent Britishness, using uniquely British phrasings and colloquialisms that seemed slightly exotic to this American reader. I suppose it’s possible that when the book is eventually published in America, that regional flavor will be stripped out, but I certainly hope not.

However, my main problem with Shift is that the underground world of the shifters never seems particularly exciting. The scenes in the school for shifters feel fairly dull and a bit cliché when compared to other similar entries in the genre. In fact, the author ends up quickly summarizing Scott’s time at school after a few scenes, and promotes him to junior agent status as if impatient to get past all that training. The end results is that we never really understand why Scott feels an allegiance to ARES, and it seems like he only really dislikes SLF because they’re the snotty popular rebels.

Also, after one of Scott’s early shifts goes terribly wrong, he never really experiences any further consequences from his new-found shifting ability. Although he uses his ability to save himself from death at one point, it never feels like we get to see him exploring his shifting powers. Additionally, the author establishes early on that shifters can only control conscious decisions, so whenever there is a passage where Scott agonizes over a decision, it openly telegraphs that he will need to shift a few pages later, which immediately lowers the stakes. The only real stakes that come into play are when the villain, Benjo, lumbers onto the scene, simply because he is so outrageous that it feels like anything could happen when he is around.

Overall, Shift is a bit of mixed bag. The storyline follows familiar contours, as a “normal” kid discovers that he is actually very special and then proceeds to save the day. The cast of supporting characters are all fairly two-dimensional, and several characters established early on barely get more than a few lines before being shuffled off-stage for the rest of the book.

Although the villain is a uniquely twisted touch in an otherwise familiar-feeling story, he never completely meshes with the rest of book around him, and the end result is a story that only hints at something darker and more compelling.

Tiptree shortlist 2014.The Tiptree Shortlist story "A Woman Out of Time" by Kim Curran was OK but most of the rest were do dull I didn't finish.

Delete by Kim Curran is the final volume in her Shifter trilogy. I have previously reviewed the first two books, Shift and Control, and have also interviewed the author in the past. Delete was one of the books orphaned when Strange Chemistry went under and I am very glad to see it and the series being given new life now. Before I get into this review, I need to warn you, this entire review from the blurb onwards contains spoilers for the end of Control. Really big spoilers.

The country is at war. Beset by enemies within and without. And all because of the decisions changed by one boy, Scott Tyler. In this ravaged alternative reality, Scott hardly recognises himself. He's a war hero, a leader of a unit of Shifters and maybe the only one who can prevent the country's frail defences from crumbling.

But all Scott wants to do is find a way back to the world he knew, without losing the girl he loves. With every Shift he makes, Scott edges closer towards oblivion. With no one to trust – not even himself – how much is he willing to risk to get home?

At the end of Control, Scott made a massive shift to undo the events caused by Frankie, the main "bad guy" of that book. Well, actually, Scott forces her to undo her choices, so that he can save his girlfriend. Delete opens just as that shift has been made and Scott finds himself in a worse reality, one where world war three (although they don't call it that) is ravaging the UK. All shifter children are recruited to the army to fight, Scott is in charge of the whole fighting shifter department, and Project Ganymede, the programme cutting up kids' brains which Scott stopped in the previous reality, is in full swing on a greater scale. Turns out Frankie's manipulations of world political events, while self-serving, were at least holding war at bay.

It's immediately clear to Scott that the reality he finds himself in now is pretty crappy, but he resists shifting back immediately because he doesn't want Aubrey to be dead. Instead, with slight confusion since he doesn't have any memories of the war world, Scott tries to slip into the role he finds himself in until he can work out what's going on. It was established in the earlier books that Scott is special for being able to remember other realities for more than a few minutes. In the past, he eventually slots the new reality memories into his mind but this time the shift is so big (or something) that he spends the entire book not fully remembering everything. And also not undoing it until the very end.

However, new reality Scott does leak through, providing us with some character contrast. Old Scott didn't grow up on rations or during a war, while new Scott did. Old Scott never had to learn to make human sacrifices for the greater good while army-trained new Scott did. Actually that last one is something our Scott picks up worryingly quickly and I can't say I was happy to watch him let people die that he probably could have saved.

Delete is a fast-paced action story and if there wasn't so much going on in it, I'm sure some of the people around Scott would have had more time to worry about his psychological well being — or at least to stop him being so involved in everything. As it is, they weren't even overly concerned about him running around on a gun-shot leg, so I suppose they're all used to putting the war first. I don't want to go into spoilers, but I found the end a little bit frustrating. I don't think it was a bad ending — it resolved everything and lived up to what we've come to expect from the series — but emotionally it was a bit distressing, possibly because of, well, reality whiplash. (Haha.)

Each book in this series has upped the stakes and Delete certainly continues that trend, this time putting the whole world on the line. I'd say that if you liked the first book but didn't think the stakes were high enough, keep reading!

If you enjoy fast-paced action books then I definitely recommend this series. And if you read Shift and Control, then forgot about Delete because of the delayed publication, then definitely pick up a copy of Delete. The re-released covers have been updated but still use the same art as the original set, so they won't even clash much if you bought the first two books from Strange Chemistry. Win! If you haven't read the earlier books but still read this review, I strongly recommend starting at the start of the series. I don't think it would make much sense otherwise.

4 / 5 stars

Read more reviews on my blog.

If you take a look at her blog, Kim explains that she had the idea for Glaze some time ago, but with her other book deal, it had to wait. This means that the ideas were there before we were finding out about google glass. Kim takes this kind of idea, and pushes it to it's darkest extremes - paths we could well find ourselves walking if we're not careful.

For me, it was the concept behind the technology which fascinated me, alongside Kim's insights into just how much the internet is shaping us and our lives.

In this future, everyone is fitted with a chip at 16, with allows them to access Glaze.. a filtered internet which appears in front of your eyes. Communication is obviously reduced, as messages, photos etc are simply sent from one chip to another. As Petri is the youngest in the class, and still 15, you can imagine how shut out she feels, and how desperate to be connected. It's only a small step away from how I see many youngsters when their friends are allowed on facebook, but they aren't yet!

When Petri is banned from Glaze for 5 years, she turns to more desperate measures to get an illegal chip.. but this one comes without the filter. The actual filter isn't mentioned earlier, but when Petri is bombarded with everything, you begin to realise that others must have restricted access - and if so, just who is controlling it, and what are their reasons for doing so?

Glaze develops into a well paced thriller, with some good ideas. I have to admit the concepts and ideas caught my interest a little more than the thriller aspect, but that means there is something to appeal to many. It should definitely appeal to it's intended YA audience, but also anyone interested in technology, social networks, and where we could possibly end up!

NOTE: I received this book to review from NetGalley.

When I read the title of this book, I thought I'd be reading just another animal type of shifter story. Guess how surprised I was when it turned out that this wasn't the case at all. Which was good actually, since animal shifting can't really offer much of a unique plot lately.

Anyways, so Shift was the story of a underground society of kids who can literally change their choices in time. The plot was original and the story telling was intriguing. So much that I could hardly put the book down. I was engrossed to the very last page.

There were moments of humor and moments where I wanted to just scream, and both of these are certain traits of an awesome read.

Another thing I liked was that it seemed like this was a single volume book. So yay! No series! :)

Now let me say a bit about the characters, and how the many twists and turns made me love or hate them in different stages of the story.

*Scott was pretty much your average (or below average) kid. He had no idea that at the blink of an eye he could be someone totally different. Then he shifted and things changed and nothing was ever the same. Of course there was the thing of the main character being the most special somehow. I won't say how exactly, so you'd get curious and go buy the book :D

*Aubrey was a character who came out of nowhere in Scott's world and introduced him to the world where he actually belonged. She was obstinate and adventurous and brave. She was protective of her beliefs, and she had a head on her shoulders. That's the type of heroine I like and feel for.

*Benjo was the character I'd never forget, and if you read the book you'll know why. He was such a well developed person, even if he totally grossed me out.

There were a bunch of characters from the ARES (Shifter control) organization that had me fooled of their real personalities. Which makes the story and suspense really good.

So all I can say is this: I recommend the book to all YA readers, and then some. :)

The book surprised me, I rarely read boy’s POV young adult books but this is really not that bad and its way better than a lot of contemporary YA novels that I’ve read these days.

Truthfully, when I saw the description, I was expecting a rip-off version of The Butterfly Effect and Jumper which I didn’t like at all despite one of them became a cult movie and another have Director Nick Fury in it. I was finishing this book before my usual Saturday afternoon’s Fringe and frankly I saw some subtle similarities, oh well.. science fiction all plagiarize from one another which we all happily obliged.

Shift started with a prologue by the main character, Scott, asking the reader about making the bad decisions in life and a chance to redo all of them. He then proceed to telling his story of how he come to have such powers and regretted it. Well, from the prologue, you’ll expect several things : archetypal character, superpowers, secret governmental agencies, brain eating psychopath and a girl. Which was the perfect recipes for a male-centric YA novels everywhere. I was very sceptical at this point but I’m pleasantly surprised that the storytelling was at a constant pace without redundancies of obvious fillers (my painful reading moment here) and after several chapters, I’m actually enjoying the book.

The book didn’t actually tell the audience where the setting was so, I was around a quarter of the book and realized that it was set in England which explained some of the words and the colloquialism that I don’t get at all.

So, after escaping his family for a night out with his friend, Hugo, Scott pulled a dare involving him climbing on a pylon (which I have to google to know what the heck that was) despite the urban legend of a boy getting one of his testicles ripped off (yes, I cringed too..) and when Scott did climb over, he slipped and fell………… until he opened his eyes and found himself lying on the ground unhurt but with his ‘friends’ disappointed that he failed his dare. Which of course, he was confused since he did climb on the tower but before he could say anything, he was ‘under-arrested’ by a female teenager who had saw what happened and claimed he shifted to show off to his friends. Scott remained in confusion when the girl, Aubrey, insisted that they need to get away before the Regulators come and catch him for shifting illegally.

Frankly some of the earlier chapters are simply info-dumping that even I had my eyes crossed (I hate physics) but I would know that Dr Walter Bishop will squeal in glee.


“Peter, he’s like our Olivia!”

and then the story goes along in full speed towards the climax and the ending.

Personally, I don’t expect much from the book except that I really thought the book is going to be like Percy Jackson-Darren Shan stories of doing the beginning of the book series in cliffhangers, just to make it worth to get the sequel.

But no…



… it started with a big scary man licking the face of Scott… the saliva.. the awful smell coming from the stranger’s mouth…



and then…. around 58%….

“The cat jumped off the body and proceeded to nibble at its owner’s brain.”



and then… a couple chapters later…

“…and I thought, ‘What if?’ There had always been tell of tribes possessing some of the strength of their enemies by consuming their bodies. So what if I could possess the power of a Shifter?”



…

“Fried it up with some sliced onion,” he said, “A bit chewy, if I’m honest.”



…

To be perfect honest, at that point, I was reading the book just because I had a bit horror-fascination whenever the cannibalistic psycho come to the pages again. I had the tendency to think of Benjo as a version of D.Gray.Man’s Millennium Earl.



Okay, I will leave you to make up your mind if you want to get this book… but overall…

The writing is linear with terrific descriptions, the action is good and does not drag the story. The dialogues was not lengthy and quite brief enough that allowed every chapter to connect through. Some of the minor character’s are memorable enough with some back-stories that you can feel empathy to them which made them believable. The conflicts are fascinating, fast pace. I wouldn’t be surprise if someone decided to make a movie out of this since frankly, its way better than a lot of YA-book-based movies in the the theatres. Although, the book can be marketed for children, but there are elements (see above) that I doubt kids would want to read about so I would say older teens till mid 20′s like me would be a better audience.

Beside’s Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood and Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Nick Gautier series. This is a good equivalent of a female author doing a great male-centric novels. I do read a lot of YA books by male authors but somehow I almost never see a male author doing a great female-centric novels.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sold. Be sure to get a copy of it since it does not disappoint the readers and I do hope the author made a sequel.

The review copy by the courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley. The book will be out on 4th September 2012 by Angry Robot Books.

Goodreads Rating : 4 stars

*gif are from tumblr and the net. I don’t own them nor the tv shows it depicts*

We find ourselves with Shifter, Scott Tyler on the ride of his life in Control (Shift, #2) by Kim Curran. Control also plays with the "time travel" idea but on a very different level. Our main protagonist is a shifter which means that by the power of thought he can change the surrounding reality. This concept is really something very intriguing and something that Curran does an excellent job explaining. Also, as a side note, and more and more seemingly rare to the YA genre, this novel is told from the male POV which I really enjoyed.

Just by looking at the cover art for Control you can instantly tell this will be a high-def read! What a dynamic cover that really pulled me in from the get-go!

Control is another second in a series that can also act as a standalone but let me be honest when I say, that after you finish this book you will want both the first (Shift) and the third! This is a fast-paced, action-packed, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of book and boy, what a ride! Curran plays with similar ideas to the Butterfly Effect...eventually you need to stand by your decisions. What is the truth when you keep changing the past and the present alters? The outcome might not be all you wished for...You will not be disappointed as you join Scott and girlfriend, Aubrey on their grand adventure that will uncover a world filled with amazing as well as truly frightening and suspenseful moments!

Originally posted at Thinks Books: http://thinksbooks.blogspot.com/2013/07/review-control-shift-2-by-kim-curran.htm...

I requested Control from Netgalley and didn't even realize it was a sequel until I went to add it to my Goodreads shelf. I had already started reading Control by this point and was worried I would be lost since I hadn't read Shift.

Not the case at all!

I never felt lost or confused reading Control. Kim Curran has a writing style that definitely holds your attention. She re-visited important plot points from Shift which kind of made me feel like I read two books in one!

I loved the characters in this book. Especially Aubrey because well...she's Aubrey. LoL Scott was awesome too with all his mind blowing powers but I'm for the girl power!

I really enjoyed this book. If I ever have time, I'll go back and read Shift. I know I will definitely be reading the next book in the series!

4 stars to Control.

Control by Kim Curran is the sequel to Shift which I reviewed last year. I also recently posted an interview with the author to celebrate the launch of this book. You can read it here. Incidentally, if you haven't read the first book, I suggest you do before reading Control, as it's really the kind of series that requires linearity. The blurb from Goodreads:

Scott Tyler is not like other teenagers. With a single thought he can alter reality around him. And he can stop anyone else from doing the same.

That's why he's so important to ARES, the secret government agency that regulates other kids like him: Shifters.

They've sent him on a mission. To track down the enigmatic Frank Anderson. An ex-Shifter who runs a project for unusual kids - as if the ability to change your every decision wasn't unusual enough. But Anderson and the kids have a dark secret. One that Scott is determined to discover.

As his obsession with discovering the truth takes him further away from anyone he cares about, his grip on reality starts to weaken. Scott realises if he can't control his choices, they'll control him.

Control opens with Scott and Aubrey cleaning up the mess they uncovered at the end of the first book, tracking down the people who had been involved in a dodgy operation they uncovered. In the course of events, they (well mostly Scott, since Aubrey can't remember past timelines) uncover bigger problems with the state of the world. And being super-powered teenagers, of course they try to fix them. And by-golly does this one have an excellent ending. (Consequences: they are things that exist.)

One of my major qualms with Shift was that it was not complex enough in terms of taking advantage of the crazy stuff that could be done with changing timelines. Control does a much better job of this. There is much more weird and slightly confusing (in a good way) stuff going on. In the first book a lot of the focus was on Scott's shifting abilities but in Control, because he can remember past timelines, other people's shifts come into play with much more significance. I appreciated the added complexity. (A possible trade-off is there were two small continuity errors which bugged me a little but which weren't important enough to ruin the story for me.)

The new villain was much better than the first book's villain, partly because being fat wasn't part of their evil ick factor and partly because there were (eventually) shades of grey to their choices. And I do like me some shades of grey. Also the nature of the villain allowed the author to introduce some interesting minor characters with unique shifting abilities or quirks, which helped to flesh out that aspect of the world-building.

One of these minor characters was trans and while their situation was definitely interesting, it was also problematic and might annoy some readers. I don't feel qualified to comment further, but you have been warned.

Overall, Control was a fun, action-packed read. I enjoyed it more than the first book and I would definitely recommend it to readers who enjoyed Shift. I am eagerly awaiting the final book in the series, which should be out next year.

4 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog.

Shift opens in a way that makes you think you need to cancel all plans, sit down and read until you get to the final page. Quickly you find yourself pulled into the book, the idea of being able to change a decision you’ve made and have reality alter as a result is an intriguing one and the idea that these changes could be disastrous as well as beneficial is well explored and left me thinking long after I’d finished reading. I already can’t wait for the follow up book, this is a world I want to visit for longer.

Shift opens in a way that makes you think you need to cancel all plans, sit down and read until you get to the final page. Quickly you find yourself pulled into the book, the idea of being able to change a decision you’ve made and have reality alter as a result is an intriguing one and the idea that these changes could be disastrous as well as beneficial is well explored and left me thinking long after I’d finished reading. I already can’t wait for the follow up book, this is a world I want to visit for longer.

Humph! I decided before writing this review that I would read what other goodreads members thought of this book. After doing so, my reaction to this novel is much the same as it was when I just finished it. Basically: "What?! Was that it?! Huh?!"
So Ms. Curran does not mince words, cuts to the chase, doesn't beat around the bush, etc, etc. and gets straight to the story. All in all not a bad idea, but that mentality exists throughout the book leaving one at the end wondering if they just ran headfirst at top speed into a concrete wall. Plot idea was very good, but was completely wasted. The power to shift (which by the way reminded me of a movie with a similar name, although I've never watched said movie) was never fully explored leaving me to wonder what exactly shifting was. Scott, occasionally got random powers and then also lost said random powers with very little explanation as to why he got them (and subsequently lost them). Another problem: only kids can be shifters and yet whenever any of them speak the age that came to my mind was 22-27 years of age. Now some might think I'm speaking off the ear or however that particular idiom goes, but I'm the eldest of five children, constantly taking care of cousins (yes, who are all younger than me), and often the impromptu volunteer for babysitting kids. I think this gives me license to say that in this book, the kids don't talk like kids.

Also one final point: the book's description is misleading.
To sum up, this book could have been so much better than mediocre, but a too fast-plot coupled with weak characters, and a poorly explained power that was the centre of this story made for a poor read. However the writing wasn't so bad that I threw the book away and so it becomes two stars instead of one.

This book moved so quickly, and the characters were engaging. Anyone who enjoyed the movie LOOPER is sure to love it.

(Review copy provided by Strange Chemistry)

Scott Tyler discovers he is a shifter. He can shift his reality to change the way things are. Any decision he has ever made can be undone by shifting. But there are consequences to this...

Shift by Kim Curran is a fun, fast-moving, actiony sci-fi based novel that teens will most definitely find entertaining and interesting.

Uniquely, it is a concept I am sure many people have pondered but have not gone any further than just the thought. The concept is basically this: If you made a decision in your life and you wish you had taken an alternative path so that something would not have happened, what if you had the power to undo any decision you have ever made? In this novel, Curran brings out the idea and applies it to teens who have the power to undo their decisions or "shift" to switch to an alternate reality in which the alternative path has been taken. Although once someone shifts, they can only recall the previous reality for a few minutes before the old memory is replaced by the new memory. The story tells of a boy - the main character - named Scott who is a shifter and has the extra ability of remembering his past realities after he has shifted to new ones.

Packed with explosions, chases, hostage situations, and best of all, fighting, this novel receives 5 stars because of its unique, twisty storyline that would be difficult to find in any other book. Not only does it tell the story of a teen with a special power, but it displays the common emotions and thoughts of a 16-year-old teen. Kim Curran conveys the image of a teen who is simply trying to find his way into society after being a shy, quiet one for his previous years. If you take the time to observe young people and how they behave, you will see that many are like Scott.

That said, I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a story that absorbs your attention and makes you want to do nothing but read it. Every chapter leads your curiosity onto the next, therefore making it extremely difficult to set down the book. Through mystery and mind-boggling adventure, Kim Curran exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to reading sequels and other novels of hers.

Shift by Kim Curran is the author's debut novel and is not to be confused with the other book called Shift (by Em Bailey) that I read and reviewed this year.

The premise of Shift is fairly high-concept: some people have the ability to change decisions they've made in the past and "shift" the world on to the reality in which those decisions were the ones they really made. Of course there are caveats: only children between the ages of pre-teen and 18 or 19 can do it before they grow out of it, they can't influence events they weren't a part of, and they can only change decisions that were consciously made, not automatic, non-thinking reactions. Generally, they only remember the old reality for a few minutes before they assimilate fully into the new reality. The sixteen-year-old main character's — Scott's — extra-special power (apart from being rather powerful) is that he can remember other realities for longer.

And of course, there's a government agency regulating shifters and their training.

Shift was a fun, fast-paced read. There are a lot of explosions and surprisingly competent eleven year olds. The bad guy was truly horrifying (although, a warning for those that care, part of his ickiness is centred about his fatness and lack of personal hygiene) and reminded me a bit of Sylar in early Heroes (the TV show) when we still thought he was all-powerful and ate brains. Also, it's set mostly in London, which is quite refreshing, as was the slang and spelling.

I couldn't help but feel, when I got to the end, that Shift didn't quite deliver on what the blurb and prologue. I was expecting more shifting, more chaos, and more doom (admittedly, not more explosions; those were sufficient). I was reading carefully, noting each time Scott made a subtle conscious decision in the narrative, and the only time he actually shifted back to a point on the fly after learning about his powers was near the start (and, forgivably, pretty unsubtle). There were a few points during the thick of things when I wanted to shout at him to go back to that last decision point I'd noted to save whatever. I was also expecting it to end up being more complicated in terms of shifting between realities, Scott having old memories and what was real and what was really going on? A bit more like the movie Prime. Or, if not actually that insanely complicated, less linear than it was. Basically, I had higher expectations of the concept. But perhaps Curran will up the ante in the sequels.

That said, I did enjoy reading Shift and found it difficult to put down. I even set up my phone (for the first time in this way) so that it would read it aloud to me while I was driving. So it's definitely an addictive type of read (probably because of the explosions). I recommend it to anyone who's after a light, action-packed, quick read. It's mercifully not (very) dystopian, and has mystery and conspiracy to keep the reader interested.

4 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog.

Scott Taylor is a pretty average teenage, who one evening decides to hang out in the park with the popular kids. He’s persuaded to climb a pylon, and finds himself the falling. The next thing he knows, he’s lying by the fence, and has apparently not tried to climb it at all.

He soon finds out that he is a Shifter – someone who has the ability to change their past decisions, and therefore ‘shift’. Immediately as a reader you start imagining what it would be like with this ability.. every time you make a bad decision in life, you could go back and make a different one.

Almost as if expecting this reaction, the author shows us early on what affect this can have, as Scott makes a shift with devastating consequences. We’re also introduced to an agency which wishes to teach and regulate shifters, and an organisation fighting against this regulation.

Scott is a brilliant main character, typical of an average teen thrust into a strange world. Instead of simply accepting it, and becoming a hero, he often questions the decisions and actions of others, and has a realistic response to events. Even with this though, you can see him grow and change.

There’s also a good cast of supporting characters, from the other shifters Scott meets, through the adults involved, right up to the rather gruesome baddie!

I loved the idea of shifting, and there is so much potential. It’s story in itself, but there is room for more. I believe there are two more books to come, watch out for my interview with the author to confirm this.

This is a book for older teens – there is a sprinkling of swear words, but they really don’t feel out of place, and some of the content when the baddie is involved is probably not for younger readers.

The male viewpoint is refreshing, and completely accessible to both genders. It’s action-packed, it makes you think, and it also has a touch of humour. I actually miss Scott now I’ve finished the book, and I still kinda wish shifting was possible!

You may read my review at SF Signal here: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2012/09/review-shift-by-kim-curran/

I opened up Shift intending to just read the prologue. Four chapters later I was still reading, completely hooked. It’s an explosive, addictive read that I couldn’t bear to put down. Scott Tyler finds out he’s a Shifter – a teenager who possesses the ability to undo any conscious decision he makes and alter realities – and a rip-roaring adventure ensues. Along side him is an unlikely ally – Aubrey Jones – a tough, sarcastic girl who takes no BS from anyone.

I think Kim Curran does an absolutely wonderful job of writing convincingly through a male perspective – Scott is neither absolutely perfect, snarky and attracted to every girl he meets, nor an arrogant, selfish bully – he’s a normal guy, who reacts in predictable ways to being told he has amazing powers. Although he begins as a lonely, sulky teenager with a difficult home life, the discovery of his powers gives Scott an inevitable sense of invincibility. In many ways Aubrey is his opposite – but they bond initially over their less than ideal family lives, and later because they are the only ones that realise that someone is Shifting realities to cover up grave crimes.

One of the things I loved is Scott’s attraction to Aubrey, because it makes sense that he falls for someone so exotic after his mediocre life. I think, however, that Scott become too embroiled in his secret life at ARES – he doesn’t interact with his family any more and doesn’t see his best friend anymore, even going as far as to avoid their calls. I would have liked to see him begin to patch up that aspect of his life too. So while the character development was good, I thought it wasn’t taken far enough.

I loved the world of the Shifters that we are slowly introduced to through Scott’s training. He is taken to the Agency for the Regulation and Evaluation of Shifters (ARES), and educated in self-defence, the use of his powers, and the rich and complicated history of the Shifters. Through these lessons we get a glimpse into the Shifter world – Mappers who map out the consequences of every decision and its permutations, Spotters who identify potential Shifters and Regulators who train and then keep track of them. We also learn about the Shifter Liberation Front (SLC), who oppose the regulation of Shifters, and their charismatic and handsome leader Zac. The world is beautifully created, with internal rules that I enjoyed learning about, and fascinating in its complexity.

Shift is a wonderful debut novel from Strange Chemistry: the exciting new YA imprint from Angry Robot. It’s a perfect book for fans of YA looking for something different, and I think it will be enjoyed equally by male and female readers. I, for one, am looking forward reading the sequels Control and Delete (that’s exclusive intel from Kim herself) and following Scott’s adventures as Shifter.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.

What would you do if you could jump back in time, or “shift”, and change something you’d done? If you could go back and correct every bad decision, would you?

Sixteen-year-old Scott Tyler recently developed this ability. As would be expected in this scenario, there’s a government agency that wants to help Scott and other shifters control their power and, once they graduate from the special school, employ the shifters to help correct some of the wrongs in the world. But, with every group with good intentions, there’s always a rogue group who wants these people for their own purposes. But which group is the right group? Will Scott make the right choice, and will his decision help him, and more importantly, will it help save the world?

I’m torn on this one. The premise made it sound like it was right up my alley. I love superheroes, and strange abilities and stories with lots of action. This book has all of that in spades. The villain is creepy, and the action top-notch. That being said, there were a few places where the overall book fell short.

First, the characters didn’t seem to have authentic teen voices. They all seemed (to me at least) to be more like early to mid-twenties, not early to mid-teens. Another issue I had was the pacing. It was fast — Ms. Curran throws you into the story and drags you along with her, leaving you out of breath. This can be great when you have time to catch your breath, but I never felt I was able to. I’m the type of reader that needs to slow down and process what’s going on — and then go again. I felt the quick pace hindered the story a bit. I wanted more of the how and why of shifting. Lastly, the end was only so-so for me. I felt it was rushed and it left me a little underwhelmed, and I still didn’t feel I truly understood the how and why of shifting. With that being said, I felt that Ms. Curran has developed a great sci-fi story, I just wish that it had been fleshed out a little more.

If you are a fan of lots of action, superheroes and a book with a (very) fast pace, strap on your seatbelt and give this one a try. Keep a bottle of water handy, though, and watch out for sharp turns.

Who wouldn't want to have the ability to go back in time and do something over. Like a mistake or a bad date. Maybe even a kiss.Who knows! But what if what you went back to fix, only made things worse. For instance....someone dying!

I was offered to review this book and the first thing that caught my attention was the cover. It kinda reminded me of the movie Jumper, but I don't know why but I knew I was going to love it.

The other thing was, the pov was in a guys perspective. Most of the time, I always read girl's pov...but this time was one of those lucky times. With me being a male, it always good to read a book from the same gender as me. Kind of different.

This book was one that was non stop, fast paced and always had me standing on my toes, wondering what might happen next. I loved all the characters, even though sometimes they weren't always in the best. So, anyway words cannot really describe how amazing this book was. I hope everyone will take this chance and add it to their TBR pile.

I give this book 5 souls!

I love these types of books. The chance to change something you want. To change something that went wrong or to makes something happen. Hmm, the things I would change...

Anywho, this book is awesome. The thrill of flashing back and changing things is awesome. Then again the fear of coming back to see if the change is real and how it effected your future is also spine chilling. I was nervous while reading the Scott going back and forth changing things. It's tempting to know you can do it but I am not sure that I can face consequences.

The characters are really well written! I enjoyed getting to know Scott and being in his shoes. He took everything with stride. He learned quickly. With shifting, Scott learns both side of it, the good and the bad. He makes friends as well as enemies. I like that Scott is an all around good guy. He doesn't use his power as an advantage, instead he uses it to help others.

There wasn't much of a love interest yet, but a nice friendship formed. I like that they counted on each other. Even though at times they forgot each other, (cause of the effects of shifting LOL) they always find there way back to each other. I adore that.

Shift rises to excellent sci-fi story. With each heart-pounding chapter, the reader is bombarded with premise of shifting with an unsure future. Fueled with great action and excellent characters, Shift is an great read!

This book has a great concept, nice details that makes me like I'm living in the story. It has a smooth flow to it as well since I finished this book in no time at all. However, the last third of the book feels rushed, it seems to take the easy way out, and it leaves an unsatisfying end, but its a conclusion nevertheless. The main character is likeable and very relatable, which makes the story even better and not as outlandish. It feels as if the story isn't finished. I do hope this isn't a oneshot novel.