Shifting

3 to 3.5 stars I picked this up because my friend, Donita, recommended this to me. (You can see her review by clicking on her name). I was really so scared to start the story thinking this is going to be about snakes but as it turned out, this isn't and I'm boldly saying- that cover is really deceptive. Somebody, please change it.^^Cover and fear aside, I really enjoyed the fast-paced plot (even though it's a little immature and a bit fairy-tale like) and the intriguing premise of the story whic [...]

Oh, that was painful. It started out bloody freaking awesome, but of course the love interest has to ruin everything. Review to come soon. After I'm done raging.Actual Review The beginning of the book started out amazingly good; a unique setting, a cool heroine, shapeshifters, etc. Then the love interest came in. Maggie Mae has been to twelve different foster homes in her past life. In Silver City, New Mexico, she may have found the perfect home in an old farmhouse with a kind old woman named Mr [...]

*spoilers*My only real problem can be summed up in three words: Bridger. O. Connell.A patronising, shallow, faithless douche if ever there was one. For the greater part of the story he's either ignoring poor Maggie May or leading her on, and then, when he finally does profess his undying (ha.) love for the girl; he turns on her almost immediately. Aaand then he shoots her. Lovely. No no, it's okay though-he didn't shoot to kill, so you forgive him right Maggie? Right?Oh you should, he's a keeper [...]

"'Something really important came up,' he said. 'Something so important you didn't have the decency to give me a freaking ride home? What came up?' 'I can't talk about it.'"So. Let's talk about 'Shifting', a paranormal Young Adult Romance debut about an orphaned girl, who has been handed from one abusive foster home to the next, and who has had some collisions with the police lately because of nightly nudity and kitty fights for pieces of clothing with local prostitutes in her home town Albuquer [...]

Why I am surprised that I liked this book so much? Because I thought I had fallen prey to the pretty cover. Yes it's so hard to resist them! But Wiggins knows how to write and hello shapeshifiting. You can never have enough of that.Maggie Mae is an orphan. She has been moved around countless times from foster home to foster home. Lately things have been worse since she has been having run-ins with the police for indecent exposure. What no one knows is that Maggie can't help it because she is a s [...]

I was drawn to this book because of the Native American mythology - you don't get much of that in books these days. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this novel really blew me away. The last sentence of the blurb is totally true: it is full of romance, mysticism, and intrigue, and it did haunt me to the final page!Let me start with the romance, because really, I felt that was one of the most important aspects of it. There is no insta-love to be found here. The relationship between Bridger and Ma [...]

Shifting has an alluring blend of Native American lore, sizzling romance and a beautiful New Mexico setting that made it hard for me to put this captivating story down. Bethany is a brilliant story teller. She mesmerized with her ability to create and bring her story to life through a vivid setting and richly detailed mythology. She intertwines the two together flawlessly. She not only engaged me with her story line, but she had me connecting with her characters from the get go.The story itself [...]

Read this in its earlier stage and knew right away it would be published! This book is phenomenal.

Can you imagine this girl waking up in a dark alley naked? She's in amazing shape, has been arrested for indecent exposure almost a dozen times, and has the biggest roundest . . . eyes you have ever seen. And like most YA characters I've read about lately, she is strong and fast and has the ability to change into something not-quite-human. But unlike these same characters, she doesn't magically keep her clothes on like some G rated, ultra-cleaned up, Disney version of a werewolf/pixie/shapeshift [...]

Review to come.

This book has been on my To-Read shelf for a long time now. I wasn't really expecting too much when I started reading it out of boredom, and boy did it surprised me. I find it really hard to put down this book as I am always wanting for more action and revelations!Summary:Magdalene Mae or Maggie mae, why can't her nickname be Maggie?, anyway, she's an orphan girl that has been to 12 different foster home since she was 5, and as if life wasn't hard enough as it is, the girl discovered that she's [...]

I’ve been looking forward to reading Shifting by Bethany Wiggins ever since first hearing of it. I love Native American folklore! Also, the synopsis mentions skinwalkers, which of course makes me think of the awesome Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series. So basically, I knew this was definitely the book for me. Turns out I was right! I absolutely loved almost everything about it.In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes a paranormal/fantasy author can make is sacrificing characterization for t [...]

1.5 stars - some spoilers The main problem I have with this book is Bridger. He was an awful hero he treated Maggie Mae like crap. He ignores her, then chases her, then dumps her and then acts hot and cold with herhe then breaks Maggie's heart by getting smexy with his french girlfriend all over townbut all is forgiven when Bridger says he loves her and wants to be with herhis declaration of love was hard to believe when he was all over his girlfriend the day before and to top it of (view spoile [...]

I’m quite shocked at how much I enjoyed Shifting. After attempting to read numerous books and failing to really get into any of them, I picked up Shifting and expected to put it back down, just like all the others. But I couldn’t, because from the first chapter, I was drawn in.I loved the characters. Maggie was interesting, although a bit too forgiving, and Bridger was engaging, if a bit arrogant. But flawed characters are believable characters. Their relationship had me on the edge of my se [...]

The ARC cover for this novel is so flipping fantastic. WHY did they change it? Why? Because let me tell you, I was sure (based on the cover) that this was a Medusa book. It's not. Mag can't even fully shift into a snake so I don't know what the cover story is. Nice braids though. I like them. You know how there are guilty little pleasures that you wouldn't really tell anyone about without expecting an eye roll (this happens a lot in my circles, I'm tell you the English lit students can be such l [...]

In the aftermath of reading Bethany Wiggins "Shifting," it makes me wish that there were far more offerings in YA literature that would derive from different cultural groups, because the product of such would make for not only fascinating stories that spark the imagination, but also incorporate examinations/spotlights of characters of variant backgrounds. I love a good shapeshifter story, and I appreciated the fact that Wiggins uses touches of Navajo legend to create the backdrop of this novel. [...]

The most exciting part of this book for me was the suspense- a rare quality in the young-adult genre. Wiggins did a phenomenal job building up the suspense throughout the ENTIRE book- I didn't see the ending coming until it happened (although I had a few vague expectations). Better yet, the ending didn't disappoint. The plot builds the reader up, while still keeping the middle of the book interesting enough to captivate our attention. I really appreciated the heroine- unlike many of her counterp [...]

Why I read it:I've met Bethany and her sister before. They're both amazing women so I always knew that when they debuted I'd read them. This is Bethany's debut novel and I had the opportunity arise to participate in an ARC tour for her book. (Thanks, Elana!)Mini-review:I struggled at first to connect to the character, but that's just a personal thing, I think. I mean, I've never faced the humiliations Maggie Mae goes through in this book, though I have faced bullies in the past. And I've never f [...]

Oh mah goodness gracious, this was unexpectedly enjoyable! I've been so wary of YA books over time because most tend to drag, and be stuffed full of tiresome tropes, but this little gem was SO FRESH, and had some near-flawless storytelling! I literally read this in two sittings in one day (because after first sitting, I had to go to work, boo!), and found myself thinking about it, and even missing it, after I was finished.I agree with another reviewer on GR that Wiggins did an EXCELLENT job of " [...]

Wow. I LOVED this book. I had to go to three different bookstores to get my hands on this book because it was sold out at the first two! It was worth the time and gas. I totally connected with the main character. There was one scene where I had tears running down my face. The romance in it was fantastic. I loved Bridger. Sigh. I started this book last night and finished it this morning. I really hope there is a sequel. I highly recommend this book!

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.Quick & Dirty: One word: angst. This book is full of it. The romance tears at your heart, the mythology is unusual and exciting and the minor characters are unusually helpful!Opening Sentence: I woke to the sun setting behind mountains and peeled my forehead from the car window.The Review: Love this book. Just saying.Maggie has finally come to the last foster home before she turns 18, but it’s not everything its cracked up to be. Sure her current family [...]

*happy sigh* That's actually what I wrote to the author in the ending margin of the ARC that will be finding its way back to her through many eager hands after mine. It continues to amaze me how some authors can craft a tale that makes readers suspect but not quite know. The balance of mystery and logical hints leading up to a revelation is an art I've not grasped as a writer, so I marvel when it's done well, artfully.Bethany Wiggins is artful in her modern rendering of this old Navajo legend. I [...]

See full review on DarkFaerieTales.Love this book. Just saying.Maggie has finally come to the last foster home before she turns 18, but it's not everything its cracked up to be. Sure her current family is just her agent's mom who's strict yet understanding. Sure she's going to prom with possibly the cutest guy in town. Sure she's got the track coach under her thumb. But there is someone out there on the hunt for her, following her tracks and eventually sniffing around her work. Even worse: she's [...]

This novel was a non-stop, action packed, never-ending ride of paranormal awesome!Maggie Mae has to be one of the most enduring characters I have read about in a very long time. I couldn’t help but feel for her, and at times, I almost felt as much pain as she did. She had been through so much, but she was still very strong and level-headed. She had a life that she could have cried and moaned about, but she didn’t. She was strong, brave, and never gave up. Bethany Wiggins really brought Maggi [...]

Maggie Mae lost her family when she was six, and has been moved through dozens of foster homes, never lasting longer than a year at any place. Within a month of high school graduation, she's being forced to move yet again, with her only possessions in a single duffel bag, a few hand-me-down clothes.But the kid's got spunk. At her first day of school, she meets Bridger - gorgeous, well-dressed, obviously rich - and he hesitates when asked to show her around the school. As she compares herself to [...]

My Thoughts: When I first heard of this book, I thought it sounded good. But would it be good enough to hold my interest? It seems like there are a bunch of books that sound like other books and just don't really interest me as much as they used too.I dove into Shifting with an open mind. I told myself if I didn't like it within the first 100 pages, I would just stop it. I had read bad and good reviews for it so I would stop if it didn't appeal to me.Once I started, I couldn't stop. Before I kne [...]

Ok, first of all, how absolutely STUNNING is that cover? Seriously, I can't stop staring at the girl and the snake. Even when it started to freak me out. I have this really big urge to draw the cover now.Anyways. I had second thoughts about reading this book. For a while, I've not been having a great time reading books because not a lot of the ones I read recently truly captivated me. And Shifting didn't sound like a book that would be any different. But I still decided to give it a chance. You [...]

Just as a side note, this is actually the third cover I've seen for this book. The first was a girl facing a cheetah head on. The second was a shot of a girl from the back with the braid morphing into a snake. And then this one. And I must say, I like this one best. It suits Maggie's personality well. Her eyes really say it all, revealing the depth of sorrow within her as well as her fierce determination.Which brings me to my first point. One of the greatest qualities of SHIFTING is that it isn' [...]

Shifting, by Bethany Wiggins, is one of those books that I’m not entirely sure why I wanted to read it. Looking at it now nothing about the description (or the cover of the ARC) seems as if it would be appealing to me, personally.I liked that Shifting worked in Navajo legends. Or, at least, I assume it did because it claims to. I don’t actually know anything about Navajo so, I cannot corroborate anything on that front. Either way, it’s something I don’t see too much of in young adult fic [...]

SHIFTING is a riveting and magical novel that had me glued to the pages for hours! The Navajo legends that are included in the story were fresh and something I haven't seen done in the YA genre before. However, the one thing that irked me was the romance between the two characters. Frustrating and cliched, it is your typical girl meets boy, girl falls for boy, girl denies that she is falling for boy, and boy leads her on romance. While really irritating, the mythology and plot line make up for i [...]