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Shift
Some friends fade away....Others disappear.
Imagine you and your best friend head out West on a cross-country bike trek.
Imagine that the two of you get into a fight -- and stop riding together.
Imagine you reach Seattle, go back home, start college.
Imagine you think your former best friend does too.
Imagine he doesn't.
Imagine your world shifting....
Shift is a tour de force -- a literary debut that'll knock the wind out of you as it explores the depths of loyalty, the depths of friendship, and the unknowable depths of another person.
Imagine you and your best friend head out West on a cross-country bike trek.
Imagine that the two of you get into a fight -- and stop riding together.
Imagine you reach Seattle, go back home, start college.
Imagine you think your former best friend does too.
Imagine he doesn't.
Imagine your world shifting....
Shift is a tour de force -- a literary debut that'll knock the wind out of you as it explores the depths of loyalty, the depths of friendship, and the unknowable depths of another person.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
90 people are currently reading
2425 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Bradbury
11 books128 followersJennifer Bradbury is an English teacher living in Burlington, Washington. She and her husband took a two-month long bicycling trek from Charleston, South Carolina, to Los Angeles, California for their honeymoon, changing more than fifty flat tires along the way. She was also a one-day winner of Jeopardy! Shift is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 532 reviews
April 10, 2012
I almost have a hard time believing that this was Bradbury's first book, when the second was Wrapped, which was a real let-down. Shift occasionally seemed a tiny bit unrealistic, with the two boys managing such emotional articulacy, but it was a great story well told. And - purely irrelevant but fun for me - one of my absolute favourite yarn companies is Beaverslide Dry Goods,, which is in Montana. I'd been looking at their colour cards dreaming of my next yarn order, and some of the names of colours are those of Montana landmarks encountered in the book.
February 26, 2009
This book was pretty good. It is a fast read and pretty interesting. It is about a boy who goes on a cross country bike ride with his friend and his friend ends up going missing. He was the last person to see his friend and is interrogated by his friends father and an FBI agent who works for his father.
I liked how the chapters go back and forth between the present of Chris in college dealing with having a missing friend and the past of the bike ride across the country with Chris and Win.
Win is Chris's best friend and they go on a bike ride from West Virginia to Seatle. Win's dad is a big business man, and is a total jerk. Win uses the bike ride as a way of escaping his controlling dad. Chris is mad at Win for leaving at first and making him deal with all of the troubles, but he eventually finds Win by figuring out his clues in his postcards, and going back along the route of their bike ride.
After talking to Win Chris understands why he had to leave, and is no longer mad at Win. He goes back and gets the FBI agent to leave him alone, and knows that he will be able to handle any other FBI agents if Win's dad keeps trying to find him.
The book was good. it was easy to read and didn't take too long. It was interesting to see how they changed on their journey. The end was pretty good. It was kind of obvious how it would end, but it was still good.
I liked how the chapters go back and forth between the present of Chris in college dealing with having a missing friend and the past of the bike ride across the country with Chris and Win.
Win is Chris's best friend and they go on a bike ride from West Virginia to Seatle. Win's dad is a big business man, and is a total jerk. Win uses the bike ride as a way of escaping his controlling dad. Chris is mad at Win for leaving at first and making him deal with all of the troubles, but he eventually finds Win by figuring out his clues in his postcards, and going back along the route of their bike ride.
After talking to Win Chris understands why he had to leave, and is no longer mad at Win. He goes back and gets the FBI agent to leave him alone, and knows that he will be able to handle any other FBI agents if Win's dad keeps trying to find him.
The book was good. it was easy to read and didn't take too long. It was interesting to see how they changed on their journey. The end was pretty good. It was kind of obvious how it would end, but it was still good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2012
I'm irritated with this book right now, so I shouldn't write a review. I just finished it, and I wanted to throw it across the room and maybe stomp on it just a little bit. This debut novel by Jennifer Bradbury is an award-winner, so who am I to give it only two stars? Because I'm wiser than all those critics who raved over it, evidently! It's too teen-angst ridden, too "I'm going to go on a long bike trip and find myself and define my relationship with my best friend who has jerks for parents and who ditches me to find himself and I will get blamed for his disappearance and you will learn all this through flash-forwards and flash-backs every flippin' chapter..." Ug. Maybe I should give this only one star.
Bradbury fits into the mold of most young adult literature authors of the new millennium: she weaves the required bad language with a small smattering of teenage boy masturbation references and some "bad, bad humans(well, OLD humans!)with their blue hair, driving their giant, gas-guzzling RVs around, leaving puddles of antifreeze for mountain goats to slurp up, while we teens CARE about Mother Nature..." See why I'm irritated?
I only read this book because one of my struggling readers checked it out of our school library (6th grader), brought it to me and said, "This book is confusing me." I was mad at the writer, mad at my school for showcasing this book on a special shelf, mad at the Utah Children's Literature Association for awarding it their Beehive Award so that it SAT on said special shelf after I read the first page. Stale beer? Puke smell? College dorm setting? Not the book for my 6th grade struggler.
Or for me, either, evidently!
Bradbury fits into the mold of most young adult literature authors of the new millennium: she weaves the required bad language with a small smattering of teenage boy masturbation references and some "bad, bad humans(well, OLD humans!)with their blue hair, driving their giant, gas-guzzling RVs around, leaving puddles of antifreeze for mountain goats to slurp up, while we teens CARE about Mother Nature..." See why I'm irritated?
I only read this book because one of my struggling readers checked it out of our school library (6th grader), brought it to me and said, "This book is confusing me." I was mad at the writer, mad at my school for showcasing this book on a special shelf, mad at the Utah Children's Literature Association for awarding it their Beehive Award so that it SAT on said special shelf after I read the first page. Stale beer? Puke smell? College dorm setting? Not the book for my 6th grade struggler.
Or for me, either, evidently!
January 19, 2009
Three and a half-stars. I liked this mystery/boy-finding-himself novel where college bound Chris's best friend Win vanishes on a summer cross country bike trip. Has a couple of stockish characters (the awful, overdetermined father and the FBI guy) and less would have been more in some of the weighty conversations toward the end, but I'll be looking for more from this author. Those in the book group: Could we talk about covers? This one sat in my pile too long because of the jacket. Didn't think the title served the book much either.
October 15, 2014
I really enjoyed this book, with its combination of page-turning mystery, buddy story, and coming-of-age tale. I found the characters well-drawn and the dialogue authentic. Definitely an engaging read.
December 30, 2008
Chris and his best friend have decided to use the summer after their high school graduation to ride cross country from Virginia to Seattle by bike. It is their last hurrah before they have to settle down with school.
In alternating chapters, you learn that things didn't turn out quite as they had expected as Win disappears during their extended bike ride. Chris has settled down at college only to be faced with accusations that at the very least he knows where Win is and even some suspicions that he killed his like-long friend.
After weeks of investigation, Win's father decides to take things into his own hands. He decides to put his great wealth and corporate power into hiring an FBI investigator to look into things quietly, in the hopes of preserving Win's slot at an Ivy League college their family has been attending for generations.
The investigator sets his targets on Chris since he is the last person to have any details about Win's condition. That is their only hopes of finding out what might have happened.
As you can imagine, Chris is a bit defensive and he is angry at Win for some of the things that happened on the ride, which often makes him look more suspicious, but it quickly becomes clear that he did nothing directly to Win.
The alternating chapters shifting the setting back and forth are not at all confusing. Often, it almost feels like the reader is joining Chris as he looks back on past events in the hopes of figuring out what really happened. In the process he gets a better definition of friendship, the true meaning of happiness and success, and even of himself. This format also allows the events to unfold in an interesting manner. In fact, the suspense builds like a classic old Hitchcock movie.
I know a lot of people who read this felt a bit disappointed by the ending, but I thought it was a really realistic choice for how things played out. I did not see it as being unbelievable, though it is probably not as satisfying since most of us really want a tightly tied up conclusion to a book. Unfortunately, life is not like that. One door closes, leaving another open.
I did think the book had a sense of resolution, particularly for Chris. Like most cross-country tales, the journey is an internal one as much as a geographic one, allowing the protagonist to grow and learn along the way. I think Bradbury did a great job creating a story that does that.
In alternating chapters, you learn that things didn't turn out quite as they had expected as Win disappears during their extended bike ride. Chris has settled down at college only to be faced with accusations that at the very least he knows where Win is and even some suspicions that he killed his like-long friend.
After weeks of investigation, Win's father decides to take things into his own hands. He decides to put his great wealth and corporate power into hiring an FBI investigator to look into things quietly, in the hopes of preserving Win's slot at an Ivy League college their family has been attending for generations.
The investigator sets his targets on Chris since he is the last person to have any details about Win's condition. That is their only hopes of finding out what might have happened.
As you can imagine, Chris is a bit defensive and he is angry at Win for some of the things that happened on the ride, which often makes him look more suspicious, but it quickly becomes clear that he did nothing directly to Win.
The alternating chapters shifting the setting back and forth are not at all confusing. Often, it almost feels like the reader is joining Chris as he looks back on past events in the hopes of figuring out what really happened. In the process he gets a better definition of friendship, the true meaning of happiness and success, and even of himself. This format also allows the events to unfold in an interesting manner. In fact, the suspense builds like a classic old Hitchcock movie.
I know a lot of people who read this felt a bit disappointed by the ending, but I thought it was a really realistic choice for how things played out. I did not see it as being unbelievable, though it is probably not as satisfying since most of us really want a tightly tied up conclusion to a book. Unfortunately, life is not like that. One door closes, leaving another open.
I did think the book had a sense of resolution, particularly for Chris. Like most cross-country tales, the journey is an internal one as much as a geographic one, allowing the protagonist to grow and learn along the way. I think Bradbury did a great job creating a story that does that.
Read
February 3, 2009Shifting gears isn’t as easy at you’d think. Sometimes the chain catches; other times the incline proves more challenging than anticipated. In Jennifer Bradbury’s psychological mystery, it’s a bit of both, metaphorically speaking.
Best friends Chris and Win embark on a bike trek across the country, from West Virginia to the coast of Washington. At least that’s the plan. They have just graduated from high school and are eager to test themselves and explore the world. That seems to be what Chris is after. Chris sets out on this trek with his father’s blessing; in fact, Chris is pursuing dreams his father wished he had. But what are Win’s motives? Is he really out to share an adventure with a best friend, or is he running/riding away? From what?
Chris gets a sudden flat tire at a critical point in the trip, and when he needs Win the most, Win disappears around the corner. The clues are there, the mystery slowly unfolds, but it is really the relationship between Chris and Win that is the most mysterious and thought-provoking part of this gripping story.
Best friends Chris and Win embark on a bike trek across the country, from West Virginia to the coast of Washington. At least that’s the plan. They have just graduated from high school and are eager to test themselves and explore the world. That seems to be what Chris is after. Chris sets out on this trek with his father’s blessing; in fact, Chris is pursuing dreams his father wished he had. But what are Win’s motives? Is he really out to share an adventure with a best friend, or is he running/riding away? From what?
Chris gets a sudden flat tire at a critical point in the trip, and when he needs Win the most, Win disappears around the corner. The clues are there, the mystery slowly unfolds, but it is really the relationship between Chris and Win that is the most mysterious and thought-provoking part of this gripping story.
February 24, 2010
This journey book was unique in that the journey is one of self-awareness, rebirth, and biking cross-country. Many would refer to this as a "boy book," but anyone can relate since the pressure Win feels from his parents and life isn't unique. So, Win and his friend Chris decide after their high school graduation to bike cross-country, but what Chris doesn't know is that Win has other plans-- plans that eventually lead the FBI to Chris' door.
A curt mystery wrapped up in a coming-of-age story and surprising that a female author could write such a dynamic story between male best friends. Believable and inspiring.
A curt mystery wrapped up in a coming-of-age story and surprising that a female author could write such a dynamic story between male best friends. Believable and inspiring.
March 6, 2018
Chris has just returned from a cross-country bike trip with his best friend, Win. He goes on to orientation at Georgia Tech but his best friend never checks in at Dartmouth.
As it turns out, the two friends separated at the end of their tension-filled journey. Chris assumed Win went on to Seattle where he was to meet an Uncle. Except the uncle was fictional—just one of many lies Win told.
Win also claims to be broke when he actually had $19,000 in cash on hand.
The FBI come to Chris's college and expect him to know where his friend went. Only he has no idea. Everything he thought he knew about his friend and his life has just shifted.
Chris finds himself in this predicament in Jennifer Bradbury's 2012 young adult novel, Shift.
When the boys go on their road trip, for the first time, they feel cool. Win's father is rich yet he does not feel supported or loved. The bike trip gives him purpose.
Girls respond by sending both of them postcards. Some of the postcards, however, are signed "Tricksey."
One of the best scenes has Win wrestling with Chris, reminiscent of the wrestling match Jacob had with the angel in the Bible.
This is a powerful novel about new starts and learning how to say goodbye.
http://chantalreviews.blogspot.com
As it turns out, the two friends separated at the end of their tension-filled journey. Chris assumed Win went on to Seattle where he was to meet an Uncle. Except the uncle was fictional—just one of many lies Win told.
Win also claims to be broke when he actually had $19,000 in cash on hand.
The FBI come to Chris's college and expect him to know where his friend went. Only he has no idea. Everything he thought he knew about his friend and his life has just shifted.
Chris finds himself in this predicament in Jennifer Bradbury's 2012 young adult novel, Shift.
When the boys go on their road trip, for the first time, they feel cool. Win's father is rich yet he does not feel supported or loved. The bike trip gives him purpose.
Girls respond by sending both of them postcards. Some of the postcards, however, are signed "Tricksey."
One of the best scenes has Win wrestling with Chris, reminiscent of the wrestling match Jacob had with the angel in the Bible.
This is a powerful novel about new starts and learning how to say goodbye.
http://chantalreviews.blogspot.com
Read
September 30, 2019It was a really good book. I haven't finished it yet, but I wanted to do a summary on it. There was always a lot of details in the book and it pieced the story together well and made out for a good 60 pages. There were FBI agents in the book because Chris went on a country bike trip with his friend Win, and at the end, they got split up by an argument and Chris lost Win. Chris went back home and thought Win already came back. Win didn't come back and Chris was the last one to see him. Win also kept some secrets away from Chris. I don't want to say anything more because I could spoil it. All around, a good book so far, I just don't have time to read it.
September 30, 2025
Loved reading this for my coming of age unit with my freshmen. It is a great story about male friendships as well as finding yourself. The allusions in it were also surprisingly thoughtful and added another layer to the already interesting story!
December 15, 2022
Quick easy read.
May 10, 2010
This story is told in alternating time periods. The first chapter starts in the present: the bike trip is over, and Chris has returned without Win. Then the second chapter starts with Chris and Win first getting the idea, and permission, for this bicycle trip across the country. The chapters alternate, past-present-past-present, until they ultimately merge by laying out the whole chain of events.
I’ve read stories with alternating time periods before, and, most of the time, felt it wasn’t necessary. These stories were interesting, but didn’t need to be told in this alternating fashion. SHIFT, however, isn’t one of those stories. Not only is it amazingly effective, it’s the only way this story should be told. A linear story line would have made it average, even boring.
But Bradbury skillfully gives us information that furthers the story in each chapter. I mean, of course, the story as a whole. Not just that particular time period (past or present). If she had a question hanging from something in the past, she answered it in the present. And vice versa. This is NOT an easy thing to do, and I thoroughly enjoyed the thought and precision that went behind each chapter. Nicely done.
There was only one place in this book that gave me pause. That was the post card that Win sends Chris in the present. He sends it posing as a girl they’d met on their trip, dropping subtle clues to let Chris know it’s really him. To the reader, it is painfully obvious. But Chris doesn’t get it. Granted, he catches on a couple chapters later, but the way the post card was presented made me want to scream at him to turn on his brain – the brain that he says he’s been sharing with Win for the past ten years.
I realize that these things do happen, even to friends who are as close as Chris and Win are. And my guess is that the author wanted Chris to discover the post card sender’s identity at a particular moment. If that’s the case, then I think the post card should have been as downplayed as all the other ones he’d received. Since it wasn’t, the reader knows right away that there’s something special about this one. And we start looking at it closely, analyzing the details, until we’ve figured it out. Personally, I find it frustrating when I figure something out way before the main character does...but this was the only place where I had trouble.
The ending was really, really good. Unconventional, interesting, happy, and sad all at the same time. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but all loose ends were well taken care of. Much care, thought, planning, and work has been poured into this book. And it shows. Highly recommended.
I’ve read stories with alternating time periods before, and, most of the time, felt it wasn’t necessary. These stories were interesting, but didn’t need to be told in this alternating fashion. SHIFT, however, isn’t one of those stories. Not only is it amazingly effective, it’s the only way this story should be told. A linear story line would have made it average, even boring.
But Bradbury skillfully gives us information that furthers the story in each chapter. I mean, of course, the story as a whole. Not just that particular time period (past or present). If she had a question hanging from something in the past, she answered it in the present. And vice versa. This is NOT an easy thing to do, and I thoroughly enjoyed the thought and precision that went behind each chapter. Nicely done.
There was only one place in this book that gave me pause. That was the post card that Win sends Chris in the present. He sends it posing as a girl they’d met on their trip, dropping subtle clues to let Chris know it’s really him. To the reader, it is painfully obvious. But Chris doesn’t get it. Granted, he catches on a couple chapters later, but the way the post card was presented made me want to scream at him to turn on his brain – the brain that he says he’s been sharing with Win for the past ten years.
I realize that these things do happen, even to friends who are as close as Chris and Win are. And my guess is that the author wanted Chris to discover the post card sender’s identity at a particular moment. If that’s the case, then I think the post card should have been as downplayed as all the other ones he’d received. Since it wasn’t, the reader knows right away that there’s something special about this one. And we start looking at it closely, analyzing the details, until we’ve figured it out. Personally, I find it frustrating when I figure something out way before the main character does...but this was the only place where I had trouble.
The ending was really, really good. Unconventional, interesting, happy, and sad all at the same time. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but all loose ends were well taken care of. Much care, thought, planning, and work has been poured into this book. And it shows. Highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2009
"On my honor, I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this assignment nor have I presented someone else's work as my own."
I chose to read Shift by Jennifer Bradbury for my summer reading. Shiftis a coming of age novel about two best friends, Chris and Win, who take a cross country bike trip during the summer before college, starting in West Virginia and ending in Seatle where Win has an uncle. Chris and Win have been raised in two completely different atmospheres. Chris has been raised in a supportive family and taught to work for money, while Win was raised in a pressured lifestyle. Win's dad is a CEO of a company, wealthy, and in Win's mind, never proud of his son. To Win, whatever he does is never good enough in the eyes of his father. As a result of his father's behavior, Win acts rebeliously since he knows that he'll never be able to please his dad. Unfortunatly, his dad still manages pulls a few strings to get him into an Ivy League university.
On the road, Chris discovers a massive amount of cash in Win's bag. Assuming his friend will explain it later, Chris doesn't mention that he found it. Not known to Chris at the time, Win has no intention of returning in the fall for college orientation. Near the end of the road, Win ends up ditching Chris, who manages to finish the journey by himself. He returns home by himself and heads to his first week of college, and assumes Win has done so as well until and F.B.I. agent starts asking questions. Apparently Win doesn't have an uncle in Seatle and the wad of cash Chris found sums up to about $19,000. Win's well connected dad is ready to manipulate as many people as possible to find out what happened to his son, and he thinks Chris knows something about it.
Overall, Shift was just a mediocre book. It had the characters and plot to go far, but the author didn't make me care about what happened. I would recommend it to a bike fanatic or someone who enjoys teenage self discovery and the challenging transition into manhood.
I chose to read Shift by Jennifer Bradbury for my summer reading. Shiftis a coming of age novel about two best friends, Chris and Win, who take a cross country bike trip during the summer before college, starting in West Virginia and ending in Seatle where Win has an uncle. Chris and Win have been raised in two completely different atmospheres. Chris has been raised in a supportive family and taught to work for money, while Win was raised in a pressured lifestyle. Win's dad is a CEO of a company, wealthy, and in Win's mind, never proud of his son. To Win, whatever he does is never good enough in the eyes of his father. As a result of his father's behavior, Win acts rebeliously since he knows that he'll never be able to please his dad. Unfortunatly, his dad still manages pulls a few strings to get him into an Ivy League university.
On the road, Chris discovers a massive amount of cash in Win's bag. Assuming his friend will explain it later, Chris doesn't mention that he found it. Not known to Chris at the time, Win has no intention of returning in the fall for college orientation. Near the end of the road, Win ends up ditching Chris, who manages to finish the journey by himself. He returns home by himself and heads to his first week of college, and assumes Win has done so as well until and F.B.I. agent starts asking questions. Apparently Win doesn't have an uncle in Seatle and the wad of cash Chris found sums up to about $19,000. Win's well connected dad is ready to manipulate as many people as possible to find out what happened to his son, and he thinks Chris knows something about it.
Overall, Shift was just a mediocre book. It had the characters and plot to go far, but the author didn't make me care about what happened. I would recommend it to a bike fanatic or someone who enjoys teenage self discovery and the challenging transition into manhood.
December 27, 2008
It's yellow. There's a bicycle. The cover alone could never persuade me to pick this one up. Yet, I'm glad I did. Really glad. I enjoyed this one a great deal. I like the way this one is told. I like the story. I like the characters. I like satisfying nature of it all. She made me care. The story isn't traditionally told--it's revealed in bits and pieces. We'd have one chapter set in the present, the next chapter set in the past, etc. (This framework is a trend I'm seeing quite a bit of in my Cybils reading.) It's a good coming-of-age story, a realization that change is the only constant in life. The friend you thought you knew, the friend you grew up side by side with isn't necessarily going to keep on the same path that you are. Life changes. Friends change. Families change. You change. You grow. You can grow closer to someone, or you can grow apart. There's no real predicting which will happen. But change can be a good thing--a very good thing in some cases. And it's necessary to living life. Our narrator, Chris, took a bike ride across the country with his best friend, Win, but only one of them returned back home. The other has gone missing. It's the how and why and where of it all that keeps the pages turning...This is the story of both boys--recent high school grads at the beginning of their new lives.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
April 6, 2013
I'm giving this one star and I think that might be too generous. This story featured underdeveloped characters who apparently were quite stupid.
The story centers around two friends who go on a bike ride across the country. They split up and only one comes back. Then after telling his parents and his friend's parents what happened he goes back to normal life until an FBI agent shows up to question him on his friends disappearance. Apparently his friend's parents think he killed his friend or something but if they were good parents they would know that he was probably the only friend he had.
I couldn't stand how entitled some of these characters acted and how crappy a friendship there was. I figured out what happened to the boy who disappeared in the third chapter of the book! Did I really need to read any more? Since this was supposed to be a thrilling suspense book I kept at it and wasn't disappointed because I was right! Turns out nothing exciting happens and I predicted right. To me that was the saddest part that the reader didn't get what we were promised and we could easily figure out what happened to the kid!
I think this book is a waste of time and I would not recommend this to anyone looking for a good mystery or a thriller. If you want to read a book with a very predictable storyline then this is the book for you.
The story centers around two friends who go on a bike ride across the country. They split up and only one comes back. Then after telling his parents and his friend's parents what happened he goes back to normal life until an FBI agent shows up to question him on his friends disappearance. Apparently his friend's parents think he killed his friend or something but if they were good parents they would know that he was probably the only friend he had.
I couldn't stand how entitled some of these characters acted and how crappy a friendship there was. I figured out what happened to the boy who disappeared in the third chapter of the book! Did I really need to read any more? Since this was supposed to be a thrilling suspense book I kept at it and wasn't disappointed because I was right! Turns out nothing exciting happens and I predicted right. To me that was the saddest part that the reader didn't get what we were promised and we could easily figure out what happened to the kid!
I think this book is a waste of time and I would not recommend this to anyone looking for a good mystery or a thriller. If you want to read a book with a very predictable storyline then this is the book for you.
March 9, 2015
I finished reading the book Shift by Jennifer Bradbury about two teenage boys who take a trip on two wheels across the country just after graduating high school. This was going to be their last adventure before heading off to college. Chris and Win have planed their whole trip out going all the way from East Coast to West Coast on bike. Chris’s parents are very worried about him, while Win’s parents feel like it is a good idea. The two boys head out on the adventure of a lifetime. Unexpectedly Chris and Win go separate ways after a fight. Chris continues on the planed path assuming Win is doing the same, but when Chris reaches home the truth unfolds. Win never came back, causing his father to hire an FBI agent to investigate. Chris is the main suspect in the case, because he was the last one to speak with Win. Chris is full of mixed emotion and finally slips away to make one last effort to find his “friend”. Does Win ever make it to his first semester of college? You will have to read this amazing book to find out. I give this book all five stars, and would recommend this book to High School teens, because they will be able to relate to this book.
September 18, 2010
Best friends Chris and Winston take a cross-country bicycle ride from West Virginia to Washington State the summer after high school graduation. What is supposed to be one last adventure before they leave for different colleges turns into a mystery when only Chris returns home.
Chapters alternate between recounting the events of the trip and the investigation into Winston's disappearance. Chris soon realizes he is the prime supect and must do everything he can to find his friend.
Shift is an easy and predictable book. Readers will identify with the main characters and the realistic events of the journey. The chapters that describe the trip are filled with interesting scenery, remarkable locals and believable anecdotes. The chapters devoted to the investigation often seem contrived and silly. The author would have been better served by simply writing about the changing friendship revealed by the journey. The mystery aspect of the book just ruins it.
Chapters alternate between recounting the events of the trip and the investigation into Winston's disappearance. Chris soon realizes he is the prime supect and must do everything he can to find his friend.
Shift is an easy and predictable book. Readers will identify with the main characters and the realistic events of the journey. The chapters that describe the trip are filled with interesting scenery, remarkable locals and believable anecdotes. The chapters devoted to the investigation often seem contrived and silly. The author would have been better served by simply writing about the changing friendship revealed by the journey. The mystery aspect of the book just ruins it.
June 20, 2011
Not having read a review or the dust jacket, I dove right into this book. I saw it listed on a library teen list of some sort, it was available, and so I checked it out of my public library.
At first, I thought the main characters, Chris and Win, were girls with guy names. The way they talked and behaved did not seem guy-like to me, and I never shook that initial feeling for a majority of the book. It annoyed me but not enough that I wanted to put the book down. I like the idea of a present tense story wrapped around a past tense story. There's a great idea there, but the tension wasn't really there for me.
Also, I thought cycling would make a stronger presence. Calling Chris "Eagle" seemed to have more significance.
This is really a fast read, a simple read, and I liked the ending. At first, the majority of the characters were too simple, too cookie-cutter, but they became more. I won't say fully fleshed out, but they were starting to become real. I liked that.
At first, I thought the main characters, Chris and Win, were girls with guy names. The way they talked and behaved did not seem guy-like to me, and I never shook that initial feeling for a majority of the book. It annoyed me but not enough that I wanted to put the book down. I like the idea of a present tense story wrapped around a past tense story. There's a great idea there, but the tension wasn't really there for me.
Also, I thought cycling would make a stronger presence. Calling Chris "Eagle" seemed to have more significance.
This is really a fast read, a simple read, and I liked the ending. At first, the majority of the characters were too simple, too cookie-cutter, but they became more. I won't say fully fleshed out, but they were starting to become real. I liked that.
September 28, 2013
Among my favorite types of books are those about journeys. In this case, longtime high school buddies Chris and Win embark on a cross country bike trip during the summer after their senior year. Things get complicated when Win disappears by choice near the end of the journey. The narrative shifts between Chris's freshman year of college and the summer road trip, filling in the details of the dynamics of the friendship and the aftermath of Win's disappearance. We know fairly quickly where Win went and why, so the book is less of a mystery than a exploration of that transitional time between high school and college, when two boys are figuring out what they are and what they want. I can't think of many other books set during that crucial life stage, and this one definitely kept my interest.
April 4, 2016
What a great read about friendship and growing up. Win and Chris have been best friends since 3rd grade. After graduating high school, the two set out to bike across country, from Atlanta to Seattle. Chris's story begins during his first week at college, and in addition to adjusting to that new life, he has to deal with an FBI agent who is asking a lot of questions about Win. Turns out, 3/4 through their epic trip, Win and Chris have a falling out of sorts and they separate. Chris continues to the coast and returns -- as planned -- via bus to Atlanta. Win does not come home. Told in alternating chapters, readers experience the friends' ride, as well as Chris's quest to uncover the secrets of what happened to Win. Suspenseful, endearing and relatable.
September 3, 2013
I think the book Shift by Jennifer Bradbury, is a great mix of mystery and realistic fiction. The main character Christopher Collins is an 18 year old ordinary boy, who's summer has just ended. A week before his entry into university, he is informed that his best friend since sixth grade Winston, with whom he spent all summer, has gone missing. Chris was also the last to have seen him. With the F.B.I questioning him, and school coming up, Chris is in a heigh state of anxiety.
I recommend this book if you like mysterious and dramatic stories, a great read!
I recommend this book if you like mysterious and dramatic stories, a great read!
September 7, 2008
"Imagine you and your best friend head out West on a cross-country bike trek.
Imagine that the two of you get into a fight - and stop riding together.
Imagine you reach Seattle, go back home, start college.
Imagine you think your former best friend does too.
Imagine he doesn't.
Imagine your world shifting."
The dust jacket says it much better than I ever could. Read this book!
Imagine that the two of you get into a fight - and stop riding together.
Imagine you reach Seattle, go back home, start college.
Imagine you think your former best friend does too.
Imagine he doesn't.
Imagine your world shifting."
The dust jacket says it much better than I ever could. Read this book!
June 8, 2009
YA Book Club Book 3. I felt a bit deceived as it's billed as (and described to me as) something of a mystery. Not so much. It's basically a coming of age story of 2 high school friends on a cross-country bike trip. There's nothing wrong with that and there is some good insight into growing up and out of friendships. However, overall, the writing is nothing special particularly the dialogue which seemed inauthentic at times.
April 1, 2013
I met Jennifer Bradbury at a National Project event. I think it was the Inservice Institute in MA but am not certain. When I saw the book propped up on a display in our middle school library, the name clicked and I decided I had to read it. This was another binge-read!
It is an adventure story with a fresh twist and a bit of mystery. I would definitely recommend this to middle school students - - I think it would even work for fifth graders.
A good read!
It is an adventure story with a fresh twist and a bit of mystery. I would definitely recommend this to middle school students - - I think it would even work for fifth graders.
A good read!
February 11, 2018
I picked this up in Barnes and Noble one evening and it hooked me from the word go. I love this story! What a great way to tell a narrative! The story intersperses two related storylines involving the same characters. It is a little bit mystery, a little bit road trip/buddy novel, and even a very little bit romance.
December 16, 2013
enjoyed it immensely, great storytelling that kept my attention coupled with characters that i was able to identify with. Lovely imagery, mixed with humor and a lot of wide open space. Really refreshing read that left me itching to get on a bike and go ride somewhere new.
April 28, 2017
I started this book recently. The boys are graduating from high school. They decide to ride their bikes across the country. So far, the book is pretty good. I think it would be really cool to ride a bike across the country.
Read
March 13, 2020“Win has no Uncle in Seattle, and he hasn’t contacted his parents in over a month. You’re the last person to have seen him, I think you better start from the beginning, Chris” SHIFT written by author Jennifer Bradbury. The book is about the investigation of Chris’s best friend Winston or “Win”s disappearance. At the beginning of their summer, fresh outta highschool childhood best friends Chris and Win decide to ride their bikes from Atlanta Georgia, to Seattle Washington because they wanted a chance to see what it was like to ride their bikes across the country. But when Chris returns home without Win, things become suspicious and questions arise from everyone, but it does not seem to bother Chris until one day Chris is stopped by some man in the lobby who reveals himself to be an FBI investigator. And with each chapter we uncover the truth about the mysterious “disappearance” of Win.
This story takes place in Atlanta Georgia, where we are first introduced to Chris, Chris is an overachiever, he is in the top percentile in his grade. And school seems to be nothing but child's play for him, and it is the same for his best friend Win, they both are stellar students and have big futures ahead of both of them. But for Win, all he wants to do is move away from there, because his family life is not the greatest, Win’s father is very abusive towards him and makes Win feel like nothing he does will ever make his father happy. So when Will comes up with the idea of riding their bikes across the country Chris reluctantly agrees because Chris did not want to leave home this summer, but he will do anything to make his best friend happy. It was hard for Chris to persuade his parents to let him go, mostly because Chris’s mother is the overly-protective type, but when Chris’s dad tells him his own regrets about not living out his own childhood that gives Chris the courage to stand up to his mom. So on the second day of summer Chris and Win pack their gear and start their adventure.
The conflict begins when Chris gets a flat tire, and Win ditches him and keeps riding, Chris spends hours trying to find win, and eventually after calling him for the 100th time. Chris gets so angry and decides to cut the trip short and ride all the way back home. After returning home without Win, Chris and Win’s parents bombard Chris with questions but knowing Win’s parents Chris wondered why they cared so much about Win now that he is gone, they treated him like he was worthless so why start pretending like they loved him now. Chris quickly decides to cover up Win’s disappearance by saying that Win went to Seattle to be by himself and all of the parents bought it. Later in the book we find out from Abe Ward the FBI investigator who decided to pursue the case, that Win doesn’t have an uncle who lives in Seattle. And then Chris starts getting mysterious letters from someone named “Tricksey” that seem to be locations of where Chris and Win traveled on their summer journey, assuming the letters are from Win, Chris decides to follow the letters in hopes of finding where Win is, and eventually he does. It turns out Win does have an uncle, but he lives in Montana. Win decided the best decision for him was to live with his uncle, without the constant abuse from his parents Win could finally live a normal life. Seeing that Win was happier there Chris decides it was best for him to let Win go.
In my opinion I would recommend this book to anyone because of the message that it brings, also because it was a heart wrenching story that kept me hooked throughout the entire plot. So if you enjoy mysteries this is definitely the book for you. The best part of this book for me was when Chris decided it was best to leave Win in Montana because he seemed to be happier there, it portrays the message of “if you love someone, you love them enough to let them go” which also relates to my life a whole lot right now since we are graduating high school, and all of my friends are moving away from each other, and it will be tough to not see them everyday but i wish them all the best.
This story takes place in Atlanta Georgia, where we are first introduced to Chris, Chris is an overachiever, he is in the top percentile in his grade. And school seems to be nothing but child's play for him, and it is the same for his best friend Win, they both are stellar students and have big futures ahead of both of them. But for Win, all he wants to do is move away from there, because his family life is not the greatest, Win’s father is very abusive towards him and makes Win feel like nothing he does will ever make his father happy. So when Will comes up with the idea of riding their bikes across the country Chris reluctantly agrees because Chris did not want to leave home this summer, but he will do anything to make his best friend happy. It was hard for Chris to persuade his parents to let him go, mostly because Chris’s mother is the overly-protective type, but when Chris’s dad tells him his own regrets about not living out his own childhood that gives Chris the courage to stand up to his mom. So on the second day of summer Chris and Win pack their gear and start their adventure.
The conflict begins when Chris gets a flat tire, and Win ditches him and keeps riding, Chris spends hours trying to find win, and eventually after calling him for the 100th time. Chris gets so angry and decides to cut the trip short and ride all the way back home. After returning home without Win, Chris and Win’s parents bombard Chris with questions but knowing Win’s parents Chris wondered why they cared so much about Win now that he is gone, they treated him like he was worthless so why start pretending like they loved him now. Chris quickly decides to cover up Win’s disappearance by saying that Win went to Seattle to be by himself and all of the parents bought it. Later in the book we find out from Abe Ward the FBI investigator who decided to pursue the case, that Win doesn’t have an uncle who lives in Seattle. And then Chris starts getting mysterious letters from someone named “Tricksey” that seem to be locations of where Chris and Win traveled on their summer journey, assuming the letters are from Win, Chris decides to follow the letters in hopes of finding where Win is, and eventually he does. It turns out Win does have an uncle, but he lives in Montana. Win decided the best decision for him was to live with his uncle, without the constant abuse from his parents Win could finally live a normal life. Seeing that Win was happier there Chris decides it was best for him to let Win go.
In my opinion I would recommend this book to anyone because of the message that it brings, also because it was a heart wrenching story that kept me hooked throughout the entire plot. So if you enjoy mysteries this is definitely the book for you. The best part of this book for me was when Chris decided it was best to leave Win in Montana because he seemed to be happier there, it portrays the message of “if you love someone, you love them enough to let them go” which also relates to my life a whole lot right now since we are graduating high school, and all of my friends are moving away from each other, and it will be tough to not see them everyday but i wish them all the best.
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