The Shifter
Balzner + Bray, 2009
Fantasy
ISBN: 0061747041
384 pages
Synopsis
Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. She is also a Taker—with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person into her own body. But unlike her sister, Tali, and the other Takers who become Healers’ League apprentices, Nya’s skill is flawed: She can’t push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store it. All she can do is shift it into another person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden from forces occupying her city. If discovered, she’d be used as a human weapon against her own people.
Rumors of another war make Nya’s life harder, forcing her to take desperate risks just to find work and food. She pushes her luck too far and exposes her secret to a pain merchant eager to use her shifting ability for his own sinister purposes. At first Nya refuses, but when Tali and other League Healers mysteriously disappear, she’s faced with some difficult choices. As her father used to say, “principles are a bargain at any price;” but how many will Nya have to sell to get Tali back alive?
Critique
There is no question that this is a fast-paced, fun novel with an original fantasy that incorporates well both the light and dark sides of the magic. Personally, I’m always a fan of original fantasies that are done well. Specifically, that means that the fantasy itself has never been done before, the world itself is unique, and the magic must be explained properly with the proper guidance and rules. Like anything in nature, magic will also follow a set of organic guidelines or it won’t really make sense to the reader.
Hardy has given us all the necessary elements for a good original fantasy. The rules are clear, the characters themselves must choose between the evil and good sides of what the magic is capable of, and the world itself is unique to the type of fantasy she’s exploring. However, although I did enjoy it thoroughly, I have a few small qualms about the story overall. First, there is a lot of willing suspension of disbelief in regards to what the characters are able to accomplish. It creates great fast-paced action, but sometimes it’s almost a little too over the top.
Also, Hardy sets us up for a second book, but it’s a little too neatly wrapped up. Nya is going to take on the Duke all alone, which is unfortunate that she has such a clear vendetta. I think it would be more interesting if Hardy left it more open ended, and we were to find Nya and Tali in hiding at the beginning of the next book and watch as they have to navigate a myriad of difficult circumstances as they continue to explore the original world that Hardy has created.
Lastly, and this is perhaps my own personal issue. It’s difficult to materialize what the world looks like, not just the specific scenes that Nya finds herself in, but the world as a whole. I have a hard time picturing the landscape, the geography and layout of the land. I can’t seem to imagine how the buildings appear or the relative size of the city. Also, it would be an amazing help to have the world on a map. That seems like a pretty standard thing to do with original fantasy worlds and stories.
However, despite some of the minor flaws, I really enjoyed this new fantasy that delves into the prospect of using healing powers for evil or good. I recommend this book to all readers 11+.
This is the first in the series, so far, and I look forward to the rest of the books.
Rating Rubric
Enjoyable Read:
Original Fantasy:
Original Plot:
Language:
Asthetics: 
Depth In Characters:
Depth In Story:
Social Commentary:
Layers/Complexity:
Classroom Text:
Overall Rating:
For the Classroom
Since this text operates in a parallel world with separate cultures, societal issues, natural laws and histories than our own, there’s not much to use as a classroom companion. However, there are some interesting parallels between their world and ours, especially references to Saints and religion as well as the kinds of things that people are forced to do in a war that are completely against their ethics. Nya also sites many axioms that she’s learned over the years that are not so different from ours.
Other Books You May Like
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.