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Shift

by Em Bailey (Goodreads Author)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 1,377 ratings · 291 reviews

Olive Corbett is not crazy. Not anymore.

She obediently takes her meds and stays under the radar at school. After “the incident,” Olive just wants to avoid any more trouble, so she knows the smartest thing is to stay clear of the new girl who is rumored to have quite the creepy past.

But there’s no avoiding Miranda Vaile. As mousy Miranda edges her way into the popular group...more

Paperback, 320 pages

Published September 1st 2011 by Hardie Grant Egmont

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2012 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade)

202nd out of 795 books — 4,504 voters

What Should I Read in 2012?

44th out of 475 books — 539 voters

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Oct 18, 2012 Nessa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: review, fiction

Shift by Em Bailey was an extraordinarily gripping read. I loved every moment of it and I will definitely be keeping my eye out for future works by her.

The story follows the life of Olive, a girl who, following a recent breakdown and suicide attempt, has been put on a course of medication and therapy. She integrates herself back into a routine by attending school and working at the local cinema.

However, she no longer has any friends. Except for Ami. Olive's old best friend, Katie, has now ditche...more

12 likes · like · see review

Jul 20, 2012 Isamlq rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1.5/5

Subtlety is not this book's strong suit... so, this wasn't that much of a psychological thriller. Obviously there’s a history here with everyone aware but having the same go unspoken. Yet, with the big ginormous hints littering the path toward the reveal, there really was no thrill for me in this one. At points, I even felt a little insulted by how it seemed someone had taken my hand and positioned my just so, as if saying, ‘see this? this is the way things went down; and that? that is why...more 1.5/5

Subtlety is not this book's strong suit... so, this wasn't that much of a psychological thriller. Obviously there’s a history here with everyone aware but having the same go unspoken. Yet, with the big ginormous hints littering the path toward the reveal, there really was no thrill for me in this one. At points, I even felt a little insulted by how it seemed someone had taken my hand and positioned my just so, as if saying, ‘see this? this is the way things went down; and that? that is why things are the way they are now.’ There’s zero figuring out going on in here.

There’s more than one mystery to figure out in an attempt to make matters more interesting; More than one unknown quantity entered the picture though Lachlan’s type lay on the side of the more predictable. What did we have in him? Why, yet another new hot boy crushing on the odd girl out! Question: Who’s been there and done that with me? Answer: Anyone whose picked up a YA paranormal in the recent past. The fact that he’s interested in her was not new; the fact is I saw little point in him save YA hotness quotient being fulfilled.

It’s Miranda and her oddness that should have upped the ante. Eventually, however, the same problem of things being handed to me happens with regard to her. My complaints ran along the lines of wanting to be allowed the chance to figure things out on my own. As in ‘stop leading me along like a baby and let me do it!'

Plus, it’s the mostly oddly arranged thing I’ve read in ages and that’s not really a good thing. Imagine your typical story of a building up, a climax, and a resolution thereafter; now imagine a big old knife slicing it clean in half and swapping those halves’ places , or more apt, skipping the tail end and then doubling up on the start. Why? SHIFT had the same thing taking place twice over! Imagine (again) my frustration over how people in it just. didn’t. see! I mean, why piece things together at all, when midway through it’s clear that it’s already been done for you? What an aggravating experience this was. Not even mentions of toxic friendships and blow by blow of how they could tear each other apart kept me interested. And even when things eventually did change up (a little) well, there was no steam left. The tension before resolution? Absent. Instead, there’s a big squelchy plop-y sound to mark the ending.

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Oct 29, 2012 Trinity rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-ya-challenge, home-grown-aussie, intense, awesome-sauce, what-the-what, up-all-night, young-adult, read-in-2012

3.5 stars
Shift is a book with an unreliable narrator and I tend to think of unreliable narrators as slippery fish (well ok I hadn't until I just wrote that sentence...does that make me an unreliable reviewer?) Shift is a book about friendship, love and stalker crazy people...or is it? (Ok I'll stop now...or will I?)

From the first page I was hooked. Olive's voice is so very very real and she's a brilliant narrator. (all be it for the unreliable part...this is an orange, no wait it's a banana, no...more 3.5 stars
Shift is a book with an unreliable narrator and I tend to think of unreliable narrators as slippery fish (well ok I hadn't until I just wrote that sentence...does that make me an unreliable reviewer?) Shift is a book about friendship, love and stalker crazy people...or is it? (Ok I'll stop now...or will I?)

From the first page I was hooked. Olive's voice is so very very real and she's a brilliant narrator. (all be it for the unreliable part...this is an orange, no wait it's a banana, no wait it's an orange!) She's so wonderfully teenagery, making up words, obsessing over a band no one's heard of, wondering if the new girl at school is a psychopathic robot, you know, the usual.

The first half of Shift is a slow burn and takes it time to build the layers of creepiness and foreboding. The first half of Shift deserves 5 stars and then it hits the mid point and if this book was a bottle pink champagne and someone was shaking it a great deal and then the cork popped and everyone was covered in sparkly stickiness and then left with flat champers well that's a bit like what happened. The book reached its moment of holy crap! then took a hundred steps backward and almost started the story again. And it was good it was fine but it was rushed. The second half of the book is more told than shown and by dammit I wanted to see it! Olive skimmed over everything that happened to her (which I guess the argument could be that she didn't completely know what happened to her) which left the final climax unsatisfying and the ending flatter than the champagne I was still getting out of my hair.

Olive was definitely a standout for me, with Ami a close second (view spoiler) and the creepy creepiness of Miranda was brilliant. Where I was pulled out of the story a bit was with Lachlan. Why did he like her? Who knows (besides the fact that she's awesome). But he'd never even talked to her, she just looked like she might be interesting. And then he goes from ten to like 80 on the like you scale come to the formal with me girl I've spoken to twice. Eh. It was okaaaay. I'd much prefer it though if the love interest had been someone that had known her for a while maybe a boy she was friends with and then even when she went bat crazy still cared about her.

All that sounds like I didn't like it, but I did. (see unreliable!)

Shift is a fun ride, a bit scary/creepy but also very safe and I can see why it won the 2012 Inky and why teens love this book. It's highly readable and that in no way is a bad thing. I enjoyed it messing with my brain and making me question what was real but not in an Matrix/Inception type way.

This book is heaps of fun!

This review and other such things can be found on my blog Trin In The Wind (less)

7 likes · like · see review

May 18, 2013 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Miranda Vaile is the strong point of this young adult novel. It is well worth reading for her alone. Miranda is offered to us, on the one hand, as a supernatural demon and on the other as a rolled-gold bitch who is disturbed and rageful, but also charming to the nth degree. For good measure, she can also be seen as the symbol of a destructive inner voice, enticing one unlucky girl into anorexia. Whatever she is exactly, Miranda has the psychopaths’s ability to pinpoint and play to our longings,...more Miranda Vaile is the strong point of this young adult novel. It is well worth reading for her alone. Miranda is offered to us, on the one hand, as a supernatural demon and on the other as a rolled-gold bitch who is disturbed and rageful, but also charming to the nth degree. For good measure, she can also be seen as the symbol of a destructive inner voice, enticing one unlucky girl into anorexia. Whatever she is exactly, Miranda has the psychopaths’s ability to pinpoint and play to our longings, fears and frailties, without a particle of real empathy.

The narrator is fellow high school student Olive Corbett, who has plenty of her own issues to work through. Family stuff. Huge amounts of confusion, guilt and anger have knocked her off course. In the early part of the novel she is trying to sort herself out while also observing Miranda from a distance.

Olive has ample evidence that Miranda is vicious and destructive, and decides, reasonably enough, to avoid her. That’s all thrown out the window, though, when Miranda turns her attentions to Olive. Miranda is fun, cutting through social barriers to get her and her underage friends-of-the-moment into nightclubs and posh fashion shoots. The devil indeed wears Prada. Miranda inspires obsessive adoration, which is also seductive, even while separating you from the humble everyday world.

It’s a life lesson: a scary person who suddenly turns sweet, and even flatters you, is almost irresistably seductive, a dream come true. Reason and rationality won't defeat them.

The rival that a demon cannot defeat, though, is the genuine lover – someone who knows you well enough to offer respect, tenderness and passion.

Who or what is Miranda really? In a way, this is a secondary issue. Herman Melville didn’t need the fantasy genre to show us Moby Dick as the ‘gliding great demon of the deep’. He just had to float the idea.

The double is used as a literary device throughout, to explore personal identity.

Males generally appear in a positive light – the young ones anyway – but in the romance tradition they are pretty much wooden props, even when they say and do the right thing.

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Aug 07, 2012 Beth rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-on-kindle, read-on-holiday, 2012-reads, july-2012, all-downhill-from-there, best-surprises, could-have-been-better, couldn-t-put-it-down, disappointment, great-expectations, loved-the-premise, mixed-feelings, not-sure-what-to-think, nothing-special, wanted-to-love-but, whiny-girls, quick-read, beautiful-cover

1.5 stars

Easily my biggest disappointment of 2012 so far.

I was so excited for "Shift." So excited. I love psychological thrillers and horror novels, and "Shift" sounded like it had a nice combination of both. Besides, look at that amazing cover! It's beautiful and so evocative and creepy.

I read it quickly. I'll give Bailey that. But, in all fairness, I was on a five-hour flight home from Turkey.

The only thing that saved it from a one-star rating was a twist at the halfway point that I totally d...more

11 likes · like · see review

Oct 01, 2011 Aik Chien 인첸 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow. This book practically threw me off balance. The story itself is amazing with a lot of twists and turns. If you've read my IMM 25, you would probably know that this book is soaked wet, and I spent hours drying it. And that was when I couldn't help but took a peek... and instantly, I was hooked.

Our main character Olive is a beautiful, witty, sarcastic but problematic teenage girl. Ever since her father left, she has not been the same as her old self. She is convinced that she is the reason of...more

20 likes · like · see review

Jun 22, 2012 Mallory rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's really quite simple (for me). There's no reason to read this book for the first half of it. It's nothing new. Nothing exciting. Not bad, but if you like the idea of constantly finding better books, and loving reading more and more, or anything like that, this seems like a backslide. Fortunately, some twists after that first half make it awesome. Not necessarily worth reading if you have a thousand other books to read, but a pleasant way to pass the time, if you can forgive the beginning. As...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 17, 2012 Watermelon Daisy rated it 3 of 5 stars

FIRST IMPRESSION:
My friend, Shayna, gave it to me to read. Well, lend. But it's the same thing, so I had to check it out! Psychological thrillers always make me smile. Mainly because I love how there's mystery, but more of a "mental" mystery going through the story.

WRITING STYLE:
I liked the writing style! I found myself dragged in by the awesome writing! Also, I loved Olive's thoughts. And this was written in first person, which I always love in books. I usually find first-person writing gives...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Leila Alexandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Currentlt reading this book and I am already captivated. I am looking forward to what happens next

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May 11, 2013 Val rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gifted-writing, young-adult

I have never read anything quite like this young adult fantasy.

Olive is trying really hard to take her meds and go to therapy and help out at home by cooking and watching after her little brother but after a new student comes to town, her life is turned upside down for the second time in just a year. The first time the "incident" occurred and after that Olive dropped all her old friends and took up with a new one, Ami much to Olive's mother's dismay.

Now Miranda, shows up at school, rumored to...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointing

From reading everyone else's reviews about this book it seems people either love it or hate it. Me? Yeah, I didn't like it very much. I picked it up just randomly from the book store because it was half price (i'm actually glad I didn't pay full price for it really) and also because it sounded like it would be really good, and the cover is pretty awesome too. But it was officially just the weirdest book I'd ever read, it was so strange.
Also I was pretty disappointed to find out that the back of...more From reading everyone else's reviews about this book it seems people either love it or hate it. Me? Yeah, I didn't like it very much. I picked it up just randomly from the book store because it was half price (i'm actually glad I didn't pay full price for it really) and also because it sounded like it would be really good, and the cover is pretty awesome too. But it was officially just the weirdest book I'd ever read, it was so strange.
Also I was pretty disappointed to find out that the back of the book told me almost the whole plot (view spoiler), and what it didn't tell you was extremely predictable. That made me sad because it could have had so much potential as a story, and I just... it irritated me.
Then you have the main character, Olive. Just don't even get me started on her. I think someone should give her a trophy for the most annoying character ever. I don't know, she like seemed to have some sort of memory lapse like halfway through and didn't take any of her own advice from the first half of the book. And she was so whiny too. Nothing irritates me more than a whiny main character. (view spoiler) And then you have that guy Lachlan, or whatever his name was. I'm not even really sure what the point of his character was. I couldn't really see what purpose he served. But I just couldn't connect with any of the characters, which for me is one of the most important things I have to be able to do with a book.
The ending was pretty boring and predictable too. I forced myself to carry on reading it, even though I got bored with it because I hate leaving a book half unfinished, but also because I think part of me was hoping that it would pick up and have a good ending. Sadly, that didn't happen and I was just left feeling really disappointed with the book. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 08, 2013 Juushika rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: status-borrowed, genre-ya-or-childrens, genre-fantasy

Olive has stayed under the radar ever since her Incident turned her from a popular girl to an outsider, but there's something strange about Miranda, the new girl, that she can't ignore--something dangerous, perhaps supernatural. Shift has an engaging ambiguity: an unreliable narrator, a premise that hovers on the edge of the fantastic, and a few plot twists to force the story forward; Olive's voice can be annoyingly teenage and her narrative occasionally pushes the boundaries of belief, but ther...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Jenni rated it 3 of 5 stars

What I Liked:
I liked how Bailey described the quirks of her characters. She had a unique way of describing eyes that I hadn't seen before.
And what kept me reading was that Bailey kept me guessing whether Miranda really had supernatural powers or not.
I also liked that her characters all had a secret to hide and share.

What I Didn't Like:
I guessed the twist too early on. From the moment after the forest scene but I guess I've read enough books of this nature that I can see things like this coming f...more

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Jan 12, 2013 ~Tilly~ rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really, really wanted to love this book. The plot just drew me in- it was captivating, original, and had so much potential.
I ~~liked~~ thought it was okay. Average. Em Bailey knows how to draw together a good plot, I'll give her that. But while Olive was an interesting character, Katie just seemed too much of a stereotypical popular girl: blonde, shallow and bitchy. Her death was drawn out, and while I wanted to feel something at her death-I just couldn't. Her character was very flimsy.

Miranda is...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Sofie rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'll start with the positive thing about the book: I did read it in one day, so I guess it did keep my interest, however I kind of feel like the only reason it did actually make me read to the end is because I wanted to be proved wrong about it.

The twist at the mid point I got annoyingly early on. (view spoiler) This just really got to me I love a good old twist but when you've worke...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars

I essentially consumed this book. It was so creepy and good...wow.

I kind of read through some of the reviews on here, so I'll address a couple things they said... One complained about the Hot Guy liking the Weird Girl, but I feel like it was pretty well established (especially by the end) that she wasn't actually looked down on by anyone in the school. She put herself apart on purpose. And if the weight thing is an issue, I felt like she wasn't actually that big...as a girl who was not so long a...more

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Oct 04, 2012 Marshiee Kai rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing. What other words to describe it? Like Olive said there's no other words in the English language to describe it. This book have all the things that makes a great novel with a gripping, funny, mysteries and original storyline that gets you hooked. This book will keep you guessing through the end. Seriously, even the ending left you shrouded with mystery.

The author's writing is one of my favourite. Her writing is flawless, smooth and neatly arranged so that the surprises will be revealed...more Amazing. What other words to describe it? Like Olive said there's no other words in the English language to describe it. This book have all the things that makes a great novel with a gripping, funny, mysteries and original storyline that gets you hooked. This book will keep you guessing through the end. Seriously, even the ending left you shrouded with mystery.

The author's writing is one of my favourite. Her writing is flawless, smooth and neatly arranged so that the surprises will be revealed in the most dramatic way that will left you shaking your head and gaping in wonder. The plot is always full of surprises and twisting turns. In addition to the amazing plots is the characters. Each of the character is distinctive and each of them have the little quirks and flaws in them that makes them real . The author never fails to make you love them even Miranda.

When I read the synopsis, I wasn't expecting to see a paranormal edge to this novel. The paranormal aspects of this story is unique and different. I never read other books with idea like this before. Truly one and only. The idea of a shapeshifter is totally different. Shapeshifter drained a personality out of a person and slowly but terrifyingly turning into them and the original person would die slowly. Creepy huh? I partly wish this book would be a series just so I can read more about the shapeshifters. But I don't think that would be such a great idea since despite of the mysterious ending I still think the story is complete, well, in the mysterious way...

Near the middle of the book, the story takes a different, unexpected but interesting turn. Some people moan and yelled at Olive for her sudden stupidity but I don't mind at all. This just further shows that main characters ain't always suppose to be the perfect, shiny and brilliant type that seems to always do the right thing. Even main characters have flaws that makes them more real. Even Olive learns her lesson and works her way out in the end. So no worries, our main character is strong. :)

This book might seem simple at some point with a little cute romance added in. I may have said this a thousand times already that I dislike romance. I can stand if it's a side story, love it even. But I know sometimes it is important to add a little of it to the story to make it more interesting, real and I enjoy it sometimes. The main character, Olive has some conflict-romance with Lachlan and I love it how she is not some kind of damsel in distress stereotype and instead she is the true heroine who go through and learn her own mistakes. She fell down but doesn't need a knight in shining armour to help her get up. Sometimes what she need is a knight that would help point her to the right direction. That's what Lachlan is for. Another thumbs up for this novel for that.

For a first YA novel, Em Bailey sure have wrote such an incredible novel. Shift is one truly amazing read that you guys should check out. I am now officially Em Bailey's number one fan. I am looking out for more Em Bailey's masterpiece. Keep it up Em!
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Sep 17, 2012 Rachael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fantasy, thriller, plain-ya

There are spoilers. This is an intelligent discussion of the text. Deal with it.
Wow.
This book was intense and very taught, although it became a little too neat towards the center when Olive stops suspecting Miranda of being "evil" and just becomes buddy-buddy. But then again, with Olive suspecting that Miranda is something insidious, isn't that how this story should go? Letting your guard down and letting the insidious in because you no longer suspect it?
The story is that of Olive Corbett, a gir...more There are spoilers. This is an intelligent discussion of the text. Deal with it.
Wow.
This book was intense and very taught, although it became a little too neat towards the center when Olive stops suspecting Miranda of being "evil" and just becomes buddy-buddy. But then again, with Olive suspecting that Miranda is something insidious, isn't that how this story should go? Letting your guard down and letting the insidious in because you no longer suspect it?
The story is that of Olive Corbett, a girl released some six months before the initial beginning of the story from the mental ward of the local clinic. It is of her quest to prove she is sane and can function in the real world while dealing with high school. All of a sudden Miranda Vaile, the new girl, comes in to town and starts to involve herself in the life of the queen bee and Olive's former best friend Katie Clark. When Katie begins to wither away and become a nonentity, while Miranda becomes stronger and more beautiful, Olive is left to discern what is reality and what is illusion.

The reader is never really sure if Miranda is a shapeshifter, as Olive suspects. We assume it to be true, but the entire book is based upon perception. Perhaps it really is all in Olive's mind, as the story suggests throughout the unfolding of the tale.
Essentially this book is a "Is it supernatural or not?" story, where the main character doubts herself, all for the sake of appearing normal and sane.
It is excellently written in my opinion, and maybe the end falls a little flat by just ending.
But then again, perhaps it should without us ever finding out where Miranda ran off to or definitively proving that she is something supernatural. As Olive tries to move on, she pushes Miranda out, so the ending does suit.
In this day and age where we readers are given every tantalizing detail ad infinitum to the point where everything is explained and we have all the facts, here is Em Bailey's novel, where everything is very hazy, especially Olive's tenuous perspective of reality and whether or not dear Miranda is really a big bad after all.
I think honestly we are meant to be left wondering if Miranda was truly a shapeshifter or not, or if she indeed is truly "more fucked up" than Olive. We are given clues and led to believe that Miranda is a parasitic shapeshifter that moves from one host to the next. However, we are cast in to doubt since we see everything from Olive's viewpoint and she concertedly making the effort to not think supposedly "paranoid delusional thoughts".
Honestly, the theme of unreality is perfect for this psychological thriller. In the end it doesn't matter if Miranda was or wasn't supernatural, or our craving for truth is satisfied. Olive survives. And that's all that matters.

Cheers Em Bailey. Cheers.(less)

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Sep 10, 2012 Brandi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: must-own-this

4.5 Stars

I absolutely loved this! I just grabbed this at the library because it was available, and I was sick of waiting on titles, and now I'm so glad I did! I went into it not really knowing what to expect because none of the people I follow have read this (and I hope that changes after this review because it's a great book!), and usually I prefer to go into things knowing a bit more about what to expect, but it was fun to be taken by surprise for once.

The story is about Olive who has some qui...more 4.5 Stars

I absolutely loved this! I just grabbed this at the library because it was available, and I was sick of waiting on titles, and now I'm so glad I did! I went into it not really knowing what to expect because none of the people I follow have read this (and I hope that changes after this review because it's a great book!), and usually I prefer to go into things knowing a bit more about what to expect, but it was fun to be taken by surprise for once.

The story is about Olive who has some quirks and some kind of issue that happened in her not so distant past. She was the beta to the alpha female and then she found herself on the outside after her Incident leaving her one friend; Ami. Ami is the perfect friend for Olive because she doesn't judge her on how much she's changed, or how weird any of her thoughts might be, but one day a new girl comes to their school and everything is thrown into chaos for Olive and Ami.

Miranda Vaile was rumored to have killed her parents, and when she arrives at the school the alpha female initially shuns her. Slowly but surely Miranda works her way into not only being part of the clique, but becoming the new alpha herself. There's something about her though that Olive and Ami just don't like, and even though it is completely illogical, they can't help but wonder if she is some kind of shape shifter and liken her to a parasite. It does seem as though Miranda is almost stealing the life force of her new best friend though now doesn't it?! It isn't until Ami encourages Olive to confront Miranda that things take a turn for the worse. (view spoiler)

I found this book to be creepy enough to thoroughly entertain me but it doesn't strike me as a psychological thriller the way the synopsis claims it to be. It was glaringly obvious about what was happening to Olive and I did get a little annoyed with her for not picking up on things sooner, but she is a damaged girl and was trying to do what she had been advised to do (by her therapist) so I can understand some of her blindness. I loved Lachlan a great deal, and Ami, Toby, and even Olive's vegetarian-hippie mom with her terrible foods. I wish I had some inkling of what happened with the teacher though, that is something I was waiting to know and never got, but it's a minor complaint.

I would recommend this book to people who like a slightly creepy story, or who love twisted/dark/hurting characters. Olive is hurting a lot through this and my heart broke for her a couple of times ((view spoiler)). All in all I thought that this was paced fairly well, written in a believable voice, and completely entertaining.(less)

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Aug 14, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-emmy

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: The interesting premise and characters lacked a cohesive flow, which detracted from the tension/thriller aspect of the novel.

Opening Sentence: There were two things everyone knew about Miranda Vaile before she’d even started at our school.

The Review:

Miranda Vaile is everyone. Or can be anyone. Despite the vicious rumors that started before she even showed up at school, she easily weaves her way into the tight-knit popular crowd. She becomes...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Freya rated it 2 of 5 stars

I loved the main idea of the book and I finished it within days of buying it but I felt it never had a solid structure. There were a few amazing surprises, especially halfway through the book (view spoiler) but other then that Bailey's ideas seem undeveloped like she only just thought of them.

When I...more I loved the main idea of the book and I finished it within days of buying it but I felt it never had a solid structure. There were a few amazing surprises, especially halfway through the book (view spoiler) but other then that Bailey's ideas seem undeveloped like she only just thought of them.

When I first read the blur - Olive used to be the school queen-bee. I thought it would just be another bitter novel about how hard it was for her to cope without everyone's adoring eyes on her, and although there were a few hints of jealously from Olive I was impressed by how Bailey managed to deceive me. The book states on the front - a heart-racing climax Where was that? That, in fact, was what I felt the book was missing the most. The 'heart-racing climax' turned out to be when (view spoiler) I admit Miranda and Olive's 'swim' was unexpected but Bailey idea of suspense made even the climax of the book seem boring to me.

At the end Olive just lets Miranda leave. I really could not believe that Olive didn't even feel a tiny but guilty about letting Miranda just go. (view spoiler) It was just very frustrating.

During the first half of the book, I know I'm jumping around a lot, Miranda 'drains' Katie, Olive's ex-best friend, and once Katie dies, this isn't a spoiler it's on the back of the book, Miranda is suddenly friendly with Olive. Olive already said she wanted nothing to do with Miranda, she said Miranda killed Katie and yet it seems that as soon as Miranda starts flattering Olive she falls into the same trap as Katie. I just couldn't believe that would really happen.

When Katie did die Olive didn't seem to show any sadness for Katie. Ok, Katie was her ex-friend and they hardly talked anymore except to mock the other, but Olive did say she still felt connected to Katie and when Katie was in hospital Olive tried to save her from Miranda; and yet at the funeral Olive seemed more worried for whether her crush, Lachlan, had seen her or not rather then morning for Katie. Olive described the morning of Katie's family but that was just words, I wanted to feel the pain that Olive felt for losing Katie but because Olive didn't feel it, I as a reader felt isolated from the situation. I was as if Katie was cut off from everyone else's feelings.

Overall, I felt that instead of Bailey's boring, boring, something happens, boring structure she should of spread events over the pages at bit more to keep the reader's attention and to complement a really good idea. (less)

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Jul 22, 2012 Ramona rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dies ist eins der Bücher, die ich ab und zu brauche, um abzuschalten. Ein Jugendbuch, das locker und leicht zu lesen ist. Allerdings ist dieses hier eher ein Jungendthriller. Es ist nämlich wahnsinnig spannend und ich hatte schon länger nicht mehr das Gefühl, dass mich ein Buch gar nicht mehr loslässt. Ich musste immer wissen, wie es weitergeht, was zu Folge hatte, dass ich dieses Buch in einem Rutsch weggelesen habe. Und solche Bücher liebe ich. In dem Buch geht es um Miranda Vaile. An ihrer Sc...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Nina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Inhalt
Als an Olive's Schule ein neues Mädchen aufgenommen wird, kursiert direkt ein brisantes Gerücht: Die Neue (mit Namen Miranda) soll tatsächlich ihre Eltern ermordet haben! Olive schenkt dem ganzen keinen Glauben und lebt ihren Schulalltag weiter wie bisher, ohne groß (offensichtliches) Interesse an der Neuen zu äußern. Als diese graue Maus sich jedoch ausgerechnet mit der Schulschönheit Katie anfreundet und von Tag zu Tag mehr ihre Persönlichkeit anzunehmen scheint, während Katie immer grau...more Inhalt
Als an Olive's Schule ein neues Mädchen aufgenommen wird, kursiert direkt ein brisantes Gerücht: Die Neue (mit Namen Miranda) soll tatsächlich ihre Eltern ermordet haben! Olive schenkt dem ganzen keinen Glauben und lebt ihren Schulalltag weiter wie bisher, ohne groß (offensichtliches) Interesse an der Neuen zu äußern. Als diese graue Maus sich jedoch ausgerechnet mit der Schulschönheit Katie anfreundet und von Tag zu Tag mehr ihre Persönlichkeit anzunehmen scheint, während Katie immer grauer und unscheinbarer wird wird Olive's Interesse geweckt und sie kann nicht länger wegschauen. Bald beginnt sie jedoch an ihrem Verstand zu zweifeln - oder ist die Neue tatsächlich irgendwie unheimlich und geheimnissvoll und - hat sie vielleicht wirklich ihre Eltern ermordet und sucht ein neues Opfer?
Zitate
"Das Gedächtnis ist eine verquere Sache. Es gibt Dinge, Songs zum Beispiel, die ich buchstäblich nur einmal zu hören brauche und die dann für immer in meinem Hirn eingeschlossen sind. Andere Sachen, zum Beispiel algebraische Formeln, können mein Hirn betreten und wieder verlassen, ohne die geringste Spur zu hinterlassen. Aber manchmal erinnert man sich an Zeugs, selbst wenn man nicht will. Von einigen Dingen weißt Du, dass sie Dir, bis ins kleinste Detail, für den Rest Deines Lebens erhalten bleiben. Von dieser Art war der Moment, als ich das erste Mal Augenkontakt mit Miranda hatte."
"Warum gab es bloß keine Notrufnummer für Fälle, wenn einem das Gesicht so rot anläuft, dass akute Entzündungsgefahr besteht?"
"Ich blieb stehen, wo ich war, und sehnte irgendeine Naturkatastrophe herbei. Ein Erdbeben vielleicht. Einen Hurrikan. Egal was, Hauptsache, es lenkte mich davon ab, wie ich mich fühlte. Hauptsache, es brach das eisige Schweigen, das sich um mich zusammenzog."
Fazit
"Du denkst Du weißt wer ich bin" ist der Debütroman der Autorin Em Bailey. Als ich das Buch vorhin beendete und mich meine Mutter nach meinem Eindruck fragte waren meine ersten Worte übrigens folgende: "Den Thriller in diesem Buch suche ich immernoch!" Grundsätzlich fand ich dieses Buch sehr gut, die Geschichte war interessant und vielfältig, die Charaktere waren charismatisch und tiefgründig, es gab Gefühlshoch's und -tief's und ein Fantasy oder schon fast Science Fiction Anteil war auch vorhanden. Der "Thriller" Anteil, denn das Buch wurde als Thriller "ausgeschrieben", fehlte meiner Ansicht nach jedoch komplett - für mich ist ein Thriller jedenfalls was anderes.
Die Geschichte beginnt spannend, nämlich mit den Worten der Olive, die es kaum erwarten kann die Neue mal von nahem zu sehen - endlich mal ein interessanter Mensch auf der Schule! Die Enttäuschung offenbart sich jedoch schnell: Miranda ist unscheinbar und wirkt unsicher, kein Mensch also der so aussieht als ob er seine eigenen Eltern ermordet hätte! Im Laufe des Romanes wird Miranda jedoch schlagartig beliebter, schöner und selbstsicherer, erst jedoch muss sie sich mit der schönen Katie anfreunden. Während Miranda sich zum scheinbar positiven hin verändert, kehrt sich Katie in's krasse Gegenteil um, die wird "unsichtbarer", ungepflegter und immer unscheinbarer. Auch Katies Charakter scheint Miranda plötzlich wieder zu spiegeln und Katie ist so garnicht mehr sie selbst. Doch niemandem, außer Olive und ihrer Freundin Ami, scheint dies wirklich aufzufallen. Die beiden versuchen jedoch tatkräftig hinter Mirandas "Geheimnis" zu kommen - denn offensichtlich ist an Miranda irgendetwas faul - und stoßen auf eine fast schon unglaubliche Vermutung! Ich persönlich fand es etwas seltsam, dass sich die Geschichte in solch eine Richtung zu entwickeln schien, der Sinn und Zweck des ganzen erschließt sich mir zwar nämlich nicht völlig. Vorallem fand ich es sehr schade, dass sich bezüglich diverser Vermutungen noch eine offene Fragen auftürmen, die zumindest für mich auch am Ende des Buches nicht wirklich beantwortet waren. Vielleicht war's ja Absicht und man soll am Ende des Buches noch etwas spekulieren? Oder eventuell Platz für eine Forsetzung lassen? Man weiß es nicht...
Ami ist Olive's einzige Freundin, zumindest seit einem gewissen "Vorfall". Dieser Vorfall wird in einem großen Teil des Buches nur so genannt aber nicht wirklich erklärt was passiert - bis zu einem gewissen Zeitpunkt. Für den Leser ist es jedoch meiner Ansicht nach relativ leicht zu durchschauen - nur die Hintergründe sind lange unklar. Als diese jedoch ans Licht kommen scheinen sie durchaus plausibel und zumindest ich für meinen Teil kann Olive ein bisschen verstehen - auch wenn ich ihr Verhalten nicht befürworten kann und will. Ami, die Olive immer unterstützt und ihr als Freundin tatkräftig zur Seite steht, spielt eine ganz besondere Rolle und scheint die einzige zu sein, die Olive wirklich versteht und für sie da ist. Bei Olive's Mutter stößt Ami allerdings auf wenig Begeisterung, lange habe ich persönlich jedoch nicht verstanden woran das liegt. Die Offenbarung der Ursache lässt einem jedoch alles wie Schuppen vor die Augen fallen - eine dramatisch gute "Wendung" der Geschichte!
Eine Katie, Drama-Queen, Schulschönheit und Prinzessin, braucht scheinbar jede Schule und auch jeder Roman der ansatzweise mit schulischen Aktivitäten zu tun hat - ohne wäre es ja langweilig. Trotzdem hat mich mein Gefühl nicht getäuscht, Katie scheint oberflächlich und tussig zu sein, doch hinter der Fassade steckt etwas mehr als man am Anfang vielleicht denken würde. Trotz ihrer eigentlich unsympathischen Art und Weise mochte ich sie ganz gerne und freute mich jedes Mal, wenn sie mal wieder einen ihrer "Auftritte" hatte.
Miranda ist sehr schwer zu durchschauen. Was will sie, was bezweckt sie, welche Hintergründe türmen sich auf? Man weiß es nicht, man vermutet, man liegt falsch, stellt neue Vermutungen auf. Miranda ist wohl der wechselhafteste Charakter des ganzen Romans, eine Tatsache die es verteufelt schwer macht hinter ihre eigentlichen Charakterzüge zu kommen und sie auch nur im geringsten einzuschätzen. Sobald man denkt sie durchschaut zu habe und zu wissen was als nächstes passiert, merkt man dass man sich getäuscht hat und wieder nur dasteht und sich über ihr Verhalten wundert.
Alles in allem fand ich diese Geschichte sehr interessant und spannend aufgebaut, mit wunderbaren Charakteren und grandiosen Formulierungen, die einen Sog erschufen dem man sich weder entziehen konnte noch wollte. Die Seiten flogen nur so dahin und die Zeit verging wie im Flug. Trotzdem muss ich diesem Roman einen Stern abziehen, denn wenn man den Klappentext liest erwartet man eigentlich eine ganz andere Geschichte als die, die man im Endeffekt geliefert bekommt. Auch bleiben mir einige Fragen zu offen und ungeklärt, Dinge die ich lieber gewusst als vermutet hätte und der Spielraum für eine Fortsetzung hätte auch anderes geschaffen werden können. Die Sprache ist leicht verständlich und die Worte gut gewählt, die Kapitel sind nicht zu lang oder kurz und die Schrift ist in normaler Größe abgedruckt.(less)

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Jul 08, 2012 Ria [The Beaucoup Review] rated it 3 of 5 stars

I felt so let down by this book. I had been SUPER excited to read it, and I had heard such good things. But there were too many things lacking for me.

The story line. Original. Amazing. I should have loved it. But other than the base story-line, of Miranda 'becoming' other people, none of the smaller story lines fit. I felt as though the romance between Lachlan and Olive was completely forgotten about, and then all that was talked about. Which was a shame because I really liked Lachlan and wou...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Tsana Dolichva rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review originally posted here: http://tsanasreads.tumblr.com/post/21...

Shift is full of psychological drama and there is blurring of reality so you’re not always sure what’s real and what isn’t. It’s also a book about mental illness about being weird and about dealing (or not) with those things.

I really loved it.

Honestly, there was only one aspect I disliked about it and it’s not the sort of thing that would bother everyone. The author is Australian (this is her first YA book, but she has writte...more Review originally posted here: http://tsanasreads.tumblr.com/post/21...

Shift is full of psychological drama and there is blurring of reality so you’re not always sure what’s real and what isn’t. It’s also a book about mental illness about being weird and about dealing (or not) with those things.

I really loved it.

Honestly, there was only one aspect I disliked about it and it’s not the sort of thing that would bother everyone. The author is Australian (this is her first YA book, but she has written books for younger readers as Meredith Badger) and the book is indisputably set in an Australian coastal town near either Melbourne or Sydney (my theory is Melbourne, but I may be biased). It’s definitely Australia because they have high schools like we do (years 7 to 12) and wear school uniforms in state schools (I only recently learnt this is a bit of an Australian quirk) and, well it all sounded Australian. But. It also felt like the most direct mentions of Australianness had been removed or carefully not mentioned. At one point the main character goes for a run through the forest, not the bush. There’s a scene near a fig tree, which in itself isn’t that strange, but no gum trees were ever mentioned even thought they must have been ever-present. It just bothered me a bit. A setting made slightly generic but not completely. I would have enjoyed seeing more Australia in it.

Mind you, that was a very small component. The rest of the book — the characters, the plot — was top notch. Olive was great. She was a flawed narrator but that was part of the charm. We were so deeply inside her head that we could only guess things she didn’t know herself a little while before they happened. The way some events were foreshadowed, you had to be paying more attention than Olive was to notice.

The other characters were also very believable. Creepy Miranda was particularly well drawn and mysterious to just the right extent. The secondary characters of best friend, ex-best friend and love interest were also well crafted. I’m not sure that I can properly say what I liked about them without spoilers, however.

And the ending was great. A perfect mix of suspense, action and, well, spoilers.

Even though it’s not really fantasy or science fiction, I think this is still the kind of book lovers of SFF YA would enjoy. And lovers of mainstream YA too, particularly of the darker variety. I loved it. One of my top books read this year. (Oh, and isn’t the cover great? It’s particularly apt, too.)(less)

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Mar 13, 2012 Larissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

Ever since the incident, and since her father left, Olive has looked at the world differently and has not liked what she saw, especially about herself. Cutting herself off from her former friends, from Alison, and throwing out everything about her old self, her old life, she has replaced it all. From new friends to a new wardrobe and a bedroom makeover, she has finally found a new version of herself that she is happy with. Unfortunately so has someone else.

When she first discovered the shapeshif...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I picked up Shift , I had no idea what it was about - just the cover seemed to attract me and I thought Hmmmm , that looks like it could be good and OMG it definitely was as I found myself hooked from the very first page , I could not put it down - once I got started , I wanted to read to find out what happened next. In Shift, we meet Olive Corbett , she used to be one of the popular chicks , the one who had it all until tragedy struck and she found herself in an institution. Returning back...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Millie rated it 5 of 5 stars

My friend gave this book to me to read and I'll admit that I really didn't want to. I'm not usually into the whole vampire/werewolf/fallen angel/shapeshifter thing, but Em Bailey has somehow drawn me in with a rich, exciting, suspenseful plot that explores social and phsycological issues. It's absolutely amazing.

I really liked that this book isn't completely romantic. There's space allowed for romance while the plot continues to thrill the reader.

The ideas in this book were well thought out an...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Jennifer Tran rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oh... My... God. There are almost no words to describe my state of mind after reading 'Shift'. Em Bailey should be applauded, and I am definitely grateful for her impeccable writing skills that never once failed to leave me questioning my own sanity.

This genre wasn't one I'd usually take to, but this book just begging me to read it, and so I did. I was pleasantly surprised.

All the characters were written so well- Miranda always left me wondering. Was she just a psychotic girl, suffering from he...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Kita rated it 4 of 5 stars

Okay, so I decided I'd give this book to someone else before I reviewed it. Just because, well, I wasn't sure whether I wasn't getting it because I am stupid, or whether I wasn't getting it because I wasn't SUPPOSED to get it. Turns out, either we're both stupid, or it's just one of those books.

You know the ones I'm talking about... the ones with the fantastic writing, brilliant prose, life-like characters... those books that leave you SO... UTTERLY... CONFUSED!

So basically, the story settles it...more Okay, so I decided I'd give this book to someone else before I reviewed it. Just because, well, I wasn't sure whether I wasn't getting it because I am stupid, or whether I wasn't getting it because I wasn't SUPPOSED to get it. Turns out, either we're both stupid, or it's just one of those books.

You know the ones I'm talking about... the ones with the fantastic writing, brilliant prose, life-like characters... those books that leave you SO... UTTERLY... CONFUSED!

So basically, the story settles itself quite tightly around the life of one Olive (as in the name)…a troubled individual... as she examines the destructive, unnatural and downright creepiness of her new classmate, Miranda. Together, Olive and her best friend Amy, investigate Miranda as deeply as they can and promptly decide that she’s dangerous.

A few chapters in, you feel that you've started to get the hang of the story... curious bestie, hot new-guy, creepy new-girl, popular bitches. Olive seems so... normal; she has a regular job at a cinema, a crazy-loyal best friend and a simple, common family situation with a mother and one little brother. You start to see that this is just a regular (if slightly more realistic than most)YA fantasy novel. The suspense is building and your guessing that, a little later on, the horror and action will start, then somehow, against all odds, Olive will trump her opponent and walk away with a nice little happily ever after.
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.
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AND THEN!
SOMETHING (not telling what... not going to ruin the surprise... nope... NEVER!) turns your entire understanding of the story on its head. It takes what you thought you knew about Olive's life, what you predicted for it, and then rips it to shreds. Now you have NO IDEA where you're going, what's right and what's wrong, what's true and what's false. Now you just have to ride out the rest of the story like a wave, feeling totally out of control having ABSOLUTELY NO understanding of what's going on.

But, and here comes the genius of Em Bailey, despite what you decide is (well at least how you're going to take it as) the truth, the outcome, the message and the entirety of the novel itself is the same. It's either a fantasy or a dark realist... but either way it's chilling and brilliant.
(less)

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About Em Bailey

Em Bailey is an Australian living in Germany where, despite having been a vegetarian for many years, she now enjoys the occasional Wurst. Em used to be a new-media designer for a children’s television production house and is now a full-time author. Shift is her first YA novel, although she has written a number of books for children under the name Meredith Badger.

When she’s not writing, Em is gene...more

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Quotes from Shift

“I am weird, and you know what? That's OK. So are most interesting people.” — 34 people liked it

“... it looked at me as it passed, smiling in that crazy-happy way that dogs do. And I started laughing. I mean, how can you not laugh at a dog running on the beach? But I was also kind of crying, too. Laughing and crying simultaneously hurts. It hurts and it's confusing.” — 8 people liked it

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