Book Review: Shifting by Bethany Wiggins

By: Bethany Wiggins

Published by: Walker Books for Young Readers

Released on: September 27th, 2011

Source: Book from publisher to review

5 stars- I Loved It!

Purchase from: Amazon| Barnes & Noble

After bouncing from foster home to foster home, Magdalene Mae is transferred to what should be her last foster home in the tiny town of Silver City, New Mexico. Now that she's eighteen and has only a year left in high school, she's determined to stay out of trouble and just be normal. Agreeing to go to the prom with Bridger O'Connell is a good first step. Fitting in has never been her strong suit, but it's not for the reasons most people would expect-it all has to do with the deep secret that she is a shape shifter. But even in her new home danger lurks, waiting in the shadows to pounce. They are the Skinwalkers of Navajo legend, who have traded their souls to become the animal whose skin they wear-and Maggie is their next target.

Full of romance, mysticism, and intrigue, this dark take on Navajo legend will haunt readers to the final page. -quoted from Goodreads

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 centers on seventeen, soon to be eighteen year old Maggie Mae who's grown up getting the short end of the stick. She been an orphan since she was a young child and has bounced around from foster home to foster for years. She's dwelt with her fair share of abuse, abandonment, and bullying. It wasn't hard for me to become emotionally involved with this in-depth, beautifully layered character who's emotions really poured off the pages for me. I understood her fears, her anger, her frustrations and her wanting to just blend in, and I admired her strength, her persistence, and the fact that there's something about her that makes her relatable to everyone. Her feelings and desires are ones that we've all experienced or are experiencing. She's had a crappy upbringing and yet she tries to make the most of it, despite the fact the most of the trouble she's been is has all been from misunderstandings.

It's Maggie Mae's secret gift for shape shifting that's landed her with a police record and has her moving from one part of New Mexico to the other. It's here in the quiet desert town of Silver City that Maggie will finally get everything she's needed throughout her life, stability, love, compassion, and she'll realize she's not the only one with a secret for shape shifting. That also comes at a price and it's here that Maggie's life is threatened, supernatural things start happening and she endures a horrific bullying incident, which really surprised me with how emotionally involved it made me feel with this story. The way Bethany created this scene was so raw, and believable. I admire the fact that she created such an amazing heroine who's had to deal with so much.

Maggie Mae doesn't go through this story without some reward, which is comes in the form of Bridger, the fabulously written, swoon worthy love interest. I was absolutely smitten with this romance and the way it was developed. These two are so much alike, but appearance wise couldn't be any different. I loved the "rich boy, poor girl" theme and the fact that these two didn't have an insta love. What Bridger and Maggie had was such a credible, sizzling chemistry and connection that made their relationship real and completely believable. There's some about Bridger that's intriguing and little by little his secrets are unraveled as the story continues, and I liked that air of mystery that surrounded him.

Aside from Bridger, there is a cast of great characters who are apart of Maggie's story and I loved the Native American lore that ties Bridger and Maggie together. I was really blown away by the richly detailed Native American mythology that Bethany has in her story, and it's what made me want to pick this book up in the first place. The element of shifters, skin walkers, protection circles, Bridger's family ties to Silver City and the Navajo beliefs were beyond fascinating to me. There's such a shortage of YA books who's stories are rooted in Native American lore, and I love that Bethany has written a really refreshing, unique story that will stand out among the recent YA release.

This is an incredibly enticing story that I completely fell in love with. With it's flawed, believable characters, it's solid story line, riveting lore and incredible storytelling, Bethany Wiggins's Shifting is one book I highly recommend picking up. I'm looking forward to reading more of Bethany's future books.