Review: Shift

Shift by Kim Curran

Synopsis (From Goodreads):  When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, he learns he's not so average after all. He's a 'Shifter'. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he's ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands.
Scott was always average, hidden in the crowd, but that was until the day he met Aubrey Jones who tells him he's a Shifter, someone with the ability to alter decisions that they make. Scott thinks this could be a cool power, but soon realises that even the smallest decision can have dire consequences and could even end up hurting the ones closest to him.

In an effort to control these powers and help him understand the effects of each decision altered, he turns to ARES, the government organisation who regulates all Shifters, but doing so he is also pulled into a battle between the rebel group, the SLF (Shifting Liberation Front) and trying to hide from a rather grotesque villain who is out to kill him. Scott has to decide who to trust, especially when everyone around him can manipulate the world the way they want it to be.

I was hanging out for Shift's release ever since I heard about the opening of the print Strange Chemistry, and I was not disappointed. Scott is an average teenager in the nicest sense. He is not perfect and he knows it, his family is not perfect and even though he would like it if they were a little less dysfunctional, he would not give them up, and this is what makes his a well-rounded and likable character.  Scott isn't the only interesting character in this book, it is full of interesting and unique characters from the mysterious  Aubrey who gets Scott involved with ARES to the young members who are training at ARES, even all the adults have fleshed out characters and hidden agendas that adds to the twists and turns of the story.

Kim Curran has written an intriguing debut that captures the reader's attention from the premise and keeps a hold. Who wouldn't want the power to alter any mistake they have ever made? Or know what path each decision will lead them down? It's not just the premise that's interesting, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing what's going to happen next. There was only one part of the book that felt a bit muddled, and that was trying to figure out where all the story lines of ARES, SLF and the grotesque baddie all fit together because at parts it felt as if the stories were separate and had no connections to the main storyline, but everything all came together in one finale which felt like a roller coaster of emotions. I would recommend Shift for any lover of superheroes and mysteries, or anyone who has ever faced a decision that they wished they could undo. If this is what Strange Chemistry can deliver, I'm looking forward to reading the next releases.

Source: paperback
2012 Debut Author Challenge: #7 of 12

2012 YA Reading Challenge: #19 of 50