Shifting

August 1, 2011

A slow and derivative plot mars this already lackluster debut.

After more than 12 years in the foster program and 20 incidents of indecent exposure in just the past two years, orphan Maggie Mae Mortensen is sent from Albuquerque to small-town Silver City, N.M., to finish out the last few months of her senior year. While she may have a caring guardian and a date to prom with Bridger O'Connell (the town's luckiest catch), the remote desert setting doesn't stop her from shifting into the closest animal around her at the full moon or being followed by a pack of wild animals. The tension wears thin as the fear of a mysterious man looking for Maggie Mae is overshadowed by her controlling relationship with Bridger. Despite being stood up at prom for no reason, told that he can't date local girls after leading her on and a plethora of other abusive situations, Maggie Mae forgives Bridger each time because of his physical attractiveness. What should be a driving force of the novel—the conflict between Shifters and Skinwalkers (evildoers who use stolen skins to change into animals)—is not explained until the very end. More information or an author's note about this Navajo legend and other Native American beliefs mentioned throughout would have been helpful.

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December 1, 2011

Gr 8 Up-Maggie Mae Mortensen, 17, has been in 12 foster homes and has had nearly 20 arrests for indecent exposure. She is taken from Albuquerque to a new foster home in Silver City, NM, and starts in a new school for the last few months of her senior year. Immediately, she is drawn to handsome, rich, and popular Bridger O'Connell, but she can't control her problem: she's a shape-shifter. Every month at the full moon, she turns into an animal. That's why she's found naked in the streets after changing back to human form. Maggie Mae makes some friends, finds a job, forms a good relationship with her foster parent, and starts a budding romance with Bridger. Things are going okay-except for the fact that SkinWalkers, people who are able to become an animal by wearing their skin, are trying to kill her. A blend of paranormal romance and Navajo legend, Wiggins's debut novel is an engaging story that's difficult to put down. Recommend it to fans of Maggie Stiefvater's "Wolves of Mercy Falls" series (Scholastic).-Melissa Stock, Arapahoe Library District, Englewood, CO

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2011
Grades 7-10 All her life, Maggie Mae Mortensen has shifted from foster home to foster home. She's a good kid who has always managed to find trouble. And as if being a teenager isn't difficult enough, Maggie Mae realizes that she is a shape-shiftera secret she dare not share with any friends, not that she has any other than Bridger O'Connell, the local rich boy, whose Navajo heritage adds to his magnetic appeal. Unbeknownst to anyone, Maggie Mae's ability has made her the target of the menacing Skinwalkers. Despite these elements, it is easy to forget that this is a supernatural story and not predominantly a tale of a lonely girl trying to find where she belongs. Maggie's ability to shift is used incidentally (usually when she needs to get somewhere at a cheetah's speed), and the true nature of the Skinwalkers isn't explained until the end of the book. Still, as an alternative to werewolves and vampires, Wiggins' novel is a likable debut.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)