Shift
by Jennifer Bradbury
by Jennifer Bradbury
SHIFT by Jennifer Bradbury
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 5/20/08
Publisher: Atheneum
Reviewed by: Jaglvr
Rating: 5 Stars
Chris and his friend, Win(ston), decide to embark on a cross country bike trip after they graduate high school. Their plan
is to ride from their home in West Virginia to Seattle, Washington, where Win has an uncle. But in the end, only Chris
returns to West Virginia a few weeks before he is to start at Georgia Tech.
Chris and Win have known each other since third grade and have been best friends since sixth grade. With the last names
of Collins and Coggans, they were destined to know each other. But the bike trip might have been too much for the
friendship to bear. Winston comes from a wealthy family where his father either ignores him or degrades him, and his
mother is always off on some vacation or other. Win’s father has pulled strings to ensure that Win has gained admittance
to Dartmouth, the Alma Mater of generations of Coggans. Chris comes from a loving home where his father tells him to
set a date to start the bike trip or he will forever regret not having done it.
During the trip, Chris notices aspects of Win that he never saw before. Most surprising is the almost twenty-thousand
dollars that Win has buried inside his bike panniers. Win never tells Chris about the money, and so, respecting Win’s
privacy, Chris never asks. But this is only one of many instances on the journey that Chris realizes Win is hiding more
than he lets on.
Upon return to normal life, Chris is visited by an FBI agent employed by Win’s father. Threats are made by Mr. Coggans
to find out where his son has gone. Everyone believes that Chris holds the answer to locating Win. But Chris is torn
between what is expected of him and what he knows to be the right thing to do.
Ms. Bradbury is one of the bright new authors in the Class of 2008. Her story is fresh and keeps the reader curious until
the end. The story is told in alternating chapters: one in the present and one during the bike journey. The alternating
chapters keep the story flowing and the tension building until the revelation of what Chris finds out about Win.
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 5/20/08
Publisher: Atheneum
Reviewed by: Jaglvr
Rating: 5 Stars
Chris and his friend, Win(ston), decide to embark on a cross country bike trip after they graduate high school. Their plan
is to ride from their home in West Virginia to Seattle, Washington, where Win has an uncle. But in the end, only Chris
returns to West Virginia a few weeks before he is to start at Georgia Tech.
Chris and Win have known each other since third grade and have been best friends since sixth grade. With the last names
of Collins and Coggans, they were destined to know each other. But the bike trip might have been too much for the
friendship to bear. Winston comes from a wealthy family where his father either ignores him or degrades him, and his
mother is always off on some vacation or other. Win’s father has pulled strings to ensure that Win has gained admittance
to Dartmouth, the Alma Mater of generations of Coggans. Chris comes from a loving home where his father tells him to
set a date to start the bike trip or he will forever regret not having done it.
During the trip, Chris notices aspects of Win that he never saw before. Most surprising is the almost twenty-thousand
dollars that Win has buried inside his bike panniers. Win never tells Chris about the money, and so, respecting Win’s
privacy, Chris never asks. But this is only one of many instances on the journey that Chris realizes Win is hiding more
than he lets on.
Upon return to normal life, Chris is visited by an FBI agent employed by Win’s father. Threats are made by Mr. Coggans
to find out where his son has gone. Everyone believes that Chris holds the answer to locating Win. But Chris is torn
between what is expected of him and what he knows to be the right thing to do.
Ms. Bradbury is one of the bright new authors in the Class of 2008. Her story is fresh and keeps the reader curious until
the end. The story is told in alternating chapters: one in the present and one during the bike journey. The alternating
chapters keep the story flowing and the tension building until the revelation of what Chris finds out about Win.