6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Shift into Gear, May 13, 2008
This review is from: Shift (Hardcover)
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
Sometimes, life takes a detour.
Shortly after graduating from high school, Chris and his best friend Win set out on their bicycles, determined to travel across the country before college. Like all good road trip, this trek is bumpy, memorable, and metaphoric. Towards the end of their journey, Win unexpectedly takes off by himself. Feeling abandoned and upset, Chris finishes the trip alone. When Chris comes home without Win, he has to answer to his parents, Win's parents, and the police. Where did his best friend go? Why? What really happened between Point A and B?
As close as he thought they were after ten years of friendship, Chris found himself surprised by some of the things his best friend did during their trip. He learns even more as he unravels the mystery of Win's disappearance. In the summertime sequences, their dialogue is always comfortable, sometimes teasing, sometimes competitive. They are friends who almost act like brothers, but they aren't one in the same. Chris comes from a working class family while Win, whose parents are well-off, obviously has difficulty getting along with his father. Growing up, the boys didn't really think about going their separate ways, but now that they have, Chris must figure out what his friend wanted and what he must do.
My favorite line from the book reads as follows:
"Reality had a disappointing habit of not measuring up to my memories."
I also really enjoyed Chris' assessment of his situation:
"[E]veryone kept telling me how much fun I was going to have in college, how much freedom I'd have. I was starting to believe that I'd used up my lifetime quota of both on the trip this summer."
Readers will easily navigate through this story. Like a good film noir, Shift unfolds using both the past and the present: the chapters alternate between the here-and-now, with Chris starting his freshman year of college, and the summer, as Chris and Win make their way across the country. Their friendship and the investigation are accompanied by bicycles, patches, jackets, one glove, small towns, campgrounds, diners, and postcards. Though the element of mystery is always there, Shift is not a whodunnit. Instead, it asks: Why did Win leave? Who is he, really? How well do we really know anyone?
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Terrific Read, May 9, 2008
This review is from: Shift (Hardcover)
SHIFT is the kind of book that grips you from the first sentence and keeps you riveted until the last. A satisfying mystery, a journey of a road trip and a coming of age story, SHIFT is a beautifully written and well crafted story. Told in chapters that go from past to present, the story of Chris and Winn on their bike trip across the country, and the aftermath, unfold at a taut pace. Recommended for anyone who loves a good book!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shifting into adulthood, June 8, 2008
This review is from: Shift (Hardcover)
The transition from high school to college often brings a sense of freedom and release, but Chris' first few days on a universtiy campus were impacted by the arrival of an FBI agent full of questions about his best friend.
Author Jennifer Bradbury does an exquisite job of seemlessly weaving past and present scenes into an intriguing, cohesive story as Chris struggles to decide what to do about his missing friend, Win,last seen at the end of their cross-country bike trip
I felt the wind in my face, burni n my calves and sweat on my back. I look forward to Bradbury's next release!
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