SHIFTERS

by Halli Lilburn

The school was meant to advance kids towards their careers faster, but secretly the motivation is to weed out people with "corrupt" DNA. A group of friends finds out about the conspiracy and use reality shifting to their advantage as they fight for human justice.

216 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Halli was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She currently resides in Lethbridge, Alberta with her mountain man husband and three genius children. She is an art journal teacher who enjoys painting, singing, sewing and working at the local library.

http://www.hallililburn.blogspot.com

http://www.shifterssaga.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs Join the Penguin Resistance!]

I found this YA novel engrossing and immensely invigorating. There’s no wasted wordage, no dropped plot threads, just moment-to-moment excitement and adventure, with the romance, friendship, character integrity, and villainous “overlords” woven in intricately. Just as importantly, the story line is so very plausible: almost any contemporary society today is aware of how close it could come to a fascist “Big Brother” type society, without even realizing until too late.

The characters in this book are at first selectively chosen students of a new University, selected presumably for their higher capabilities. Yet they don’t understand, amid all the rigid rules and strictures, that their value is in their DNA. It is not until one of her former neighbourhood playmates, a boy she has known for years, disappears from the University that Halina realizes something terrible is afoot, and she, Yussef, and Jan begin to explore what it is-and discover the concept of “Shifters”-those who can pass among alternate dimensions.

[Lexie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to say upfront that I'm making a conscious effort to review this book without remarking on the grammar or spelling. I read an ARC edition (maybe even a galley) and that means granting leniency in terms of such things.

Shifters begins clumsily as Lilburn tries to get across that her characters are special-special kids, in a special elite school with dangerous secrets. No wait, I jumped ahead of myself a bit. The Prologue is our first taste of the book and its a confusing mass of innuendos, veiled threats and references that make no sense at all. In truth, even with more background as the novel goes on, the Prologue made little sense to me.

Back to the special-special characters. Lilburn makes the early mistake of telling the reader that her characters are gifted and are at a gifted school. We're not really shown any sort of giftedness--super-powered or otherwise--in the story. They do some interesting things, but nothing awe-inspiring or original enough to make me sit up and take notice.

And therein lay Shifters real problem. The story showed promise, as far as the conspiracy went, but Lilburn relied on convenience and hand-waving to explain a lot of the plot. For instance I found it rather suspect that a lot of Halina's close friends all ended up at the school with her--this elite, private school with limited admission. Some of this is explained away later, but it negated a chance for us to learn more about Halina organically. Her and her friends were by in large comfortable with each other, and anything mentioned felt forced and exposition filled since you know these kids have been together for a while.

As I said, this was an ARC (advanced reader's copy, or uncorrected proof) so the finished product (due out in March) may be tighter and edited in a way that it won't feel as if you are reading the author's outline. As far as I'm concerned though, Halina and her friends should have studied harder and looked for shadowy conspiracies less.

(please note, the review on Night Owl Reviews is labeled a '3' because the review breakdown is differently set.)

[Kimberly Gould · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shifters was a quick read. It is shorter than I'm used to, but that just maintained the fast pace of the story. The beginning threw me off. I had a harder time following the timing and the shifting locations in the first three chapters, when we're in one reality, than the second half, where Lina is hopping all over the place. There were other oddities toward the end that turned me off as well. It wouldn't stop me from recommending this book, but it does keep me from raving about it. I think it is best suited to girls aged 12-17, though I imagine some boys might like it too.

I was given a copy by Halli in exchange for a copy of my novel, Cargon: Honour and Privilege. I hope she enjoys mine as much as I did hers. :D

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. So many neat possibilities - it constantly had my mind reeling. Suspenseful as well as intriguing! You'll love it!

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! I think it's such a fun story. It's one of those books you can't put down, so it was a quick read for me. Plus, it's exciting and suspenseful all in one!

[Judith Graves]

In Halli Lilburn's sci-fi adventure, Shifters, a group of elite students traverse a minefield of alternate realities to discover there's one enduring thing worth fighting for - their freedom.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book! Really fast-paced novel that deals with my favourite subjects... alternate universes, and young people fighting against a large evil conglomeration.