Tori's Review: Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

Hardcover: 384 pages
Price: $17.99
ISBN: 978-1416994084
Released: May 3, 2011 
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Author's Website: Jeri Smith-Ready
Buy it: Amazon
Obtained: Big Honcho Media
Genre: YA 
Series: Shade 
Book Order: 
1. Shade (book review) 
2. Shift 

Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.

Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.

As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

My Rating:

My Opinion:
SHIFT lacked a lot of the emotional punch that its predecessor SHADE had. That's not necessarily a bad thing; in fact, I'm somewhat glad that I wasn't bawling my eyes out over every bittersweet line Logan uttered.

This time around, we follow Aura's relationship--or lack thereof--with Zachary, the hottie Scottie. I loved Zachary in SHADE because he was such a kindhearted, understanding individual. In comparison, Logan seemed to be selfish and toxic for Aura. In SHIFT, while I was glad more focus was paid to his persona, I was also disappointed with a few of his actions.

Suffice to say, I felt that Zach, while mostly a lovable character, had his moments. These instances where he is made to be "the asshole" seemed completely out of character for him when one considers how sweet he was in the initial book. Granted, this man-stupidity (a common phenomena) eventually gave way to logic by the end... but I still did not appreciate it!

Logan charmed me in SHADE, but in SHIFT, I was ready for him to pass on. I felt for the kid at times--especially when he was forced to recognize and accept Aura's new wants and needs--but for the most part, I felt his obliviousness to the feelings of those around him lessened him in my eyes.

As for Aura, I think that she both progressed and regressed. I wanted to applaud her for behaving so maturely when it came to Logan. As for her regression, this has more to do with Dylan and Zach. At times I could not fathom the love she had for Zach--particularly during the prom scene. Such behavior would have instantly made me turn around and tell the Scot to go to hell. But maybe that's just me. I felt somewhat disappointed when Aura didn't give him a piece of her mind. I also experienced a brief moment of "wtf?" during the phase with Dylan. By the end, though, I was happy with how much her character had developed.

There's a lot more relationship drama in SHIFT, but overall, I am incredibly happy that I had the opportunity to read this book and see what happened next. Unfortunately, the final book in this series does not come out until 2012. I suggest that all of you unfamiliar with this series start reading now, so that you're ready for the third book next year.