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Shifting Is for the Goyim
Emerald Love aka Amy Greenstein is a nice Jewish girl, a rising country music star, and a shapeshifter. She must use her paranormal skills to solve the mystery of the death of someone she loves. By the author of the Bruce Kohler mystery series and the Diego Mendoza and Admiral Columbus historical series.
- GenresShort StoriesParanormal
41 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 17, 2012
7 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Zelvin
54 books21 followersElizabeth Zelvin is the author/editor of the groundbreaking 2019 anthology ME TOO SHORT STORIES. Liz is the author of the Bruce Kohler Mysteries and the Mendoza Family Saga. Her short stories have been nominated three times each for the Agatha and Derringer Awards. Liz's short stories are mostly mystery & crime, historical, or both, but sometimes have an urban fantasy element. In her "other hats," Liz is a New York City psychotherapist who practices online and a singer-songwriter whose album of original songs is OUTRAGEOUS OLDER WOMAN. Besides her fiction, she's published two books of poetry and a professional book on gender and addictions.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 15, 2012
I got this book for free, from Making Connections,in exchange of an honest review. Get your copy here.
What I liked:
the story was fast paced and a quick read
that Amy gave as much importance to her family, as she did to her career
What was confusing:
all the references to the terms used in Jewish religion made it hard for me to get the story.
What I didn't like:
that we weren't told Amy was a shapeshifter and it was sprung upon us.
What I liked:
the story was fast paced and a quick read
that Amy gave as much importance to her family, as she did to her career
What was confusing:
all the references to the terms used in Jewish religion made it hard for me to get the story.
What I didn't like:
that we weren't told Amy was a shapeshifter and it was sprung upon us.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2012
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Vicki.
Amy Greenstein aka Emerald Love is finishing up a tour performance with her band in Atlanta, she kisses her fiancé, and lead guitarist, goodbye and sets off for a three day break in Pumpkin Falls, New York.
Amy is going home for Passover and into the lukewarm arms of her traditional Jewish family. Her mother is clucking away in the kitchen, her father is an apathetic match-maker, her aunt is judgemental and bitter and her sister is meddlesome. The Passover dinner turns out to be an awkward family affair, much the same as all institutionalized family occasions tend to be.
Amy’s family don’t particularly appreciate her gift of singing, mostly because her voice truly is a gift. Her vocal chords have been enhanced to ‘unearthly’ levels by her shifter powers, coincidentally, also something that Amy’s family would not appreciate if they had any knowledge about it.
It turns out that Amy is the youngest in attendance and therefore is required to ask the Four Questions, except when she gets up to sing she has mysteriously lost her voice. The fiancé, Michael, tells her to visit a witch to cure what is quite clearly a spell of some kind. Little does she know; she has spoken to Michael for the last time…
Elizabeth Zelvin’s novelette, Shifting for the Goyim, is a satirical, supernatural, gloomy, whodunit! Zelvin’s strength lies in the mystery-building. It becomes apparent that the novelette structure is the aspect that contributes to the mystery-building the most as the reader is only afforded glimpses into the life of the protagonist and her pursuit of the truth.
Consequently, it is the novelette structure that leaves the world-building slightly lacking. But perhaps I only felt this way because Zelvin had created a juicy foundation for a full-length novel? It was a little difficult to grasp the scope of this world’s understanding of the supernatural and where Amy’s place was in the grand scheme of things. However, the old writer’s adage ‘show not tell’ comes into play here as it does not take long for the reader to discover why there was a need for vagueness in the beginning. Needless to say, I had a few ‘AH-HA’ moments during my second reading.
Zelvin’s main comment with Shifting is for the Goyim is the difference between biological family and adopted family. The representation of this is strongest when Amy is trying to figure out who has placed the voiceless spell on her. She is quick to place blame on her mother/father/aunt/sister and very reluctant to go there with her band. Amy is smothered by tradition and expectation when she returns home, so much so that this is the first trip back to Pumpkin Falls in a long time. Yet, she feels an immense freedom when she is on stage, with Michael, or shifting. Amy faces her greatest challenge when each one of these freeing aspects of her life is individually threatened.
The aforementioned ‘gloomy’ aspect of this story, other than the gruesome murder, is the resolution, which I found to be appropriate and deliberate but unsettling. Although Shifting for the Goyim is a very quick read the ‘reveal’ is especially unpredictable. The exposition that takes places during the ‘reveal’ felt a little bit artificial but I would say this is caused by the short amount of time that the reader is able to spend with the characters; we have less of an understanding of who they are and what motivates them. Thankfully, there are no twirly moustache moments.
I recommend Shifting for the Goyim to readers who are looking for a quick, intuitive and supernatural read. Approach this novelette with the acceptance that you will undoubtedly yearn for more.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/sh...
Amy Greenstein aka Emerald Love is finishing up a tour performance with her band in Atlanta, she kisses her fiancé, and lead guitarist, goodbye and sets off for a three day break in Pumpkin Falls, New York.
Amy is going home for Passover and into the lukewarm arms of her traditional Jewish family. Her mother is clucking away in the kitchen, her father is an apathetic match-maker, her aunt is judgemental and bitter and her sister is meddlesome. The Passover dinner turns out to be an awkward family affair, much the same as all institutionalized family occasions tend to be.
Amy’s family don’t particularly appreciate her gift of singing, mostly because her voice truly is a gift. Her vocal chords have been enhanced to ‘unearthly’ levels by her shifter powers, coincidentally, also something that Amy’s family would not appreciate if they had any knowledge about it.
It turns out that Amy is the youngest in attendance and therefore is required to ask the Four Questions, except when she gets up to sing she has mysteriously lost her voice. The fiancé, Michael, tells her to visit a witch to cure what is quite clearly a spell of some kind. Little does she know; she has spoken to Michael for the last time…
Elizabeth Zelvin’s novelette, Shifting for the Goyim, is a satirical, supernatural, gloomy, whodunit! Zelvin’s strength lies in the mystery-building. It becomes apparent that the novelette structure is the aspect that contributes to the mystery-building the most as the reader is only afforded glimpses into the life of the protagonist and her pursuit of the truth.
Consequently, it is the novelette structure that leaves the world-building slightly lacking. But perhaps I only felt this way because Zelvin had created a juicy foundation for a full-length novel? It was a little difficult to grasp the scope of this world’s understanding of the supernatural and where Amy’s place was in the grand scheme of things. However, the old writer’s adage ‘show not tell’ comes into play here as it does not take long for the reader to discover why there was a need for vagueness in the beginning. Needless to say, I had a few ‘AH-HA’ moments during my second reading.
Zelvin’s main comment with Shifting is for the Goyim is the difference between biological family and adopted family. The representation of this is strongest when Amy is trying to figure out who has placed the voiceless spell on her. She is quick to place blame on her mother/father/aunt/sister and very reluctant to go there with her band. Amy is smothered by tradition and expectation when she returns home, so much so that this is the first trip back to Pumpkin Falls in a long time. Yet, she feels an immense freedom when she is on stage, with Michael, or shifting. Amy faces her greatest challenge when each one of these freeing aspects of her life is individually threatened.
The aforementioned ‘gloomy’ aspect of this story, other than the gruesome murder, is the resolution, which I found to be appropriate and deliberate but unsettling. Although Shifting for the Goyim is a very quick read the ‘reveal’ is especially unpredictable. The exposition that takes places during the ‘reveal’ felt a little bit artificial but I would say this is caused by the short amount of time that the reader is able to spend with the characters; we have less of an understanding of who they are and what motivates them. Thankfully, there are no twirly moustache moments.
I recommend Shifting for the Goyim to readers who are looking for a quick, intuitive and supernatural read. Approach this novelette with the acceptance that you will undoubtedly yearn for more.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/sh...
November 24, 2012
Shifting is for the Goyim is a very well written story. It really sucked me in from the beginning and kept me entertained throughout. The story is about Emerald Love aka Amy Greenstein who is also a shifter and has a 'magical' voice. She is also a country music singer (who is dating a musician in her band and he is a shifter as well) and Jewish - wow, that is quite a combination!
The story begins just as she is finishing up her concert and we learn that she is traveling home for Passover with her family in Pumpkin Falls - a small town in New York State. Michael, her boyfriend, is returning to his home to run with his pack during the full moon; but they have a gig in Las Vegas five days later. Unfortunately, her passover feast doesn't go so well. First, Amy looses her voice, and then, she learns that Michael was killed. Thus begins this engrossing story...
Amy/Emerald goes to the town of Boone to investigate what happened to her boyfriend and along the way, try to figure out who put the whammy on her voice. The story has some very funny moments and had a lot of nice little touches as we learn more about Amy and her family as well as some of their religious practices. I do heartily recommend this to anyone who enjoys short stories that include element of fantasy.
The story begins just as she is finishing up her concert and we learn that she is traveling home for Passover with her family in Pumpkin Falls - a small town in New York State. Michael, her boyfriend, is returning to his home to run with his pack during the full moon; but they have a gig in Las Vegas five days later. Unfortunately, her passover feast doesn't go so well. First, Amy looses her voice, and then, she learns that Michael was killed. Thus begins this engrossing story...
Amy/Emerald goes to the town of Boone to investigate what happened to her boyfriend and along the way, try to figure out who put the whammy on her voice. The story has some very funny moments and had a lot of nice little touches as we learn more about Amy and her family as well as some of their religious practices. I do heartily recommend this to anyone who enjoys short stories that include element of fantasy.
February 26, 2013
Emerald is a popular singer, but at home she’s just a nice Jewish girl called Amy. Home for Passover, Amy hides the truth of her relationship with Michael, her lead guitarist who is also her song writer. This is not her darkest secret and she hopes her family never find out the truth. When word comes Michael is dead, Emerald hurries to the scene of his death and discovers many unusual facts to do with his world and death which confuse her even more.
This story may be short but it is packed with emotion, mystery and action. In Amy/Emerald’s world shifters are accepted as part of the Goyim (non Jews) but there will never be a Jewish shifter. It’s just not possible. Her parents have decided it’s time their daughter is married and invite a nice Jewish boy to the Passover meal. So what does Amy/Emerald do? Am I being mean when I say read the story to find out?
The interaction between the characters in this book is paranormal but in an unusual way. A great mystery with an unexpected twist, something that always adds a bit of spice to a story. Good read for lovers of paranormal.
This story may be short but it is packed with emotion, mystery and action. In Amy/Emerald’s world shifters are accepted as part of the Goyim (non Jews) but there will never be a Jewish shifter. It’s just not possible. Her parents have decided it’s time their daughter is married and invite a nice Jewish boy to the Passover meal. So what does Amy/Emerald do? Am I being mean when I say read the story to find out?
The interaction between the characters in this book is paranormal but in an unusual way. A great mystery with an unexpected twist, something that always adds a bit of spice to a story. Good read for lovers of paranormal.
April 13, 2014
It's a short story involving a nice Jewish girl who's a country singer and a shape-shifter, dating one of her bandmates who is also a shifter. She goes home for Passover to face a chorus of "why aren't you married yet, and here's a nice Jewish boy to get you there." Between fending off her parents' romantic meddling and her perfect sister's snarkiness, she also has to solve the violent death of someone she loves.
I got so caught up in the characters and plot and then, boom! it ended. That's when I figured out it was a short story, not a full-blown book. Left me wanting more. A lot more. I'm intrigued by a nice Jewish girl being a country singer, and trying to fit into a conservative family, let alone be a shape-shifter. I hope to see more in this line.
I got so caught up in the characters and plot and then, boom! it ended. That's when I figured out it was a short story, not a full-blown book. Left me wanting more. A lot more. I'm intrigued by a nice Jewish girl being a country singer, and trying to fit into a conservative family, let alone be a shape-shifter. I hope to see more in this line.
September 5, 2012
Read my review on Open Book Society
October 28, 2012
I was hoping for ... I don't know something different from what I got... its a great concept. Knowing what I know now I'd still have picked it up and read it.
February 10, 2014
Why have I not read more of the Elizabeth Zelvin books I have stashed around the house? This paranormal-disliking shiksa really enjoyed this story about a shapeshifter's Passover.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews