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True North

by Christy Trujillo (Goodreads Author)

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 21 ratings · 11 reviews

We’ve all heard them, the never-ending comparisons our parents make of us to our siblings and those around us. Why can’t you be more ambitious, Sahar? Why can’t you be more like your uncle, Sahar? Why can’t you flip into animal form like everyone else, Sahar? The small town of True North, Colorado is a serene and tranquil place if you happen to be a shapeshifter, which as...more

ebook, 195 pages

Published October 1st 2011 by Devine Destinies

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Dec 30, 2011 Nessa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Nessa by: Christy

Shelves: review, fiction

First of all, thank you to the author herself, Christy Trujillo, for sending me the e-book, as well as her other trilogy, which I will get around to reading soon.

True North is a book about shape-shifters. It starts off with an explanation of the mythology, before we're introduced to the life of Sahar North, the only teenager in town who, in a Colorado town full of shape-shifters, has not been able to shift (or 'flip'). Most of her family are a wolf pack, but there are some exceptions - her dad i...more First of all, thank you to the author herself, Christy Trujillo, for sending me the e-book, as well as her other trilogy, which I will get around to reading soon.

True North is a book about shape-shifters. It starts off with an explanation of the mythology, before we're introduced to the life of Sahar North, the only teenager in town who, in a Colorado town full of shape-shifters, has not been able to shift (or 'flip'). Most of her family are a wolf pack, but there are some exceptions - her dad is the mayor, and he's an eagle. God bless America.

Now, the positives about this book! The three male leads are pretty interesting, although it took me a while to really 'know' them as characters, let's say. Cameron, the alpha of the pack and love of Sahar's life, Dean, who turns out to be her twin brother, and her doting uncle Luke. They all have some specific interest in Sahar, which keeps the plot going along, at least. The setting and the other characters were all okay too, even if a big vague at times. I found it very difficult to imagine the world in this book. Okay, I get it's supposed to be your average American town just outside of a big city, but a little bit more description in regards to the setting would have made it a lot better.

There was one problem that caused me to re-read pages quite a lot, and... pretty much because of one little flaw that I ironed out the moment my best friend in secondary school read one of my stories and told me she had no idea who was talking to who during a conversation between three of my characters. Yup, you've guessed it... giving the names of the people talking only at the beginning of the conversation, and making the reader fill in the gaps with pronouns and maybe the odd clue in their speech (i.e., if a character uses a lot of slang). A nitpick, yes, but one that needs to be brought to attention all the same.

However, another problem that really ought to be taken care of before this book reaches physical publication (I presume it will be released one day), is the amount of spelling mistakes. Every couple of pages, there would be some iffy spelling or grammar that really drew me away from the story. This novel needs proofreading in the future. Don't just turn the spellchecker onto auto-correct. When I went to creative writing camp with a dyslexic friend of mine, I was told that you turn the spellchecker off when writing on a computer, unless, like my friend, you seriously needed it. It's a tool, not a crutch. Such glowing errors were 'brakes' being misspelled as 'breaks', 'nauseous' being misspelled as 'nauseas', and 'psyched' misspelled as 'siked'.

I'd also take into account some of the grammar issues... like 'my parent's' (plural apparently), and 'that's' being a possessive rather than a contraction. It reminded me of an English lesson at secondary school, where my teacher told us (bless him) that he was sick of seeing his kids write 'should of' rather than 'should have' and gave an entire grammar lessons based on the mistakes of a few. It's just a common parlance where I live (like Texans saying 'y'all' rather than 'you', or 'you all'), and if kids hear 'should have' being pronounced 'should of', they're going to believe that's the right way to word it. Same with 'that's' rather than 'whose' or 'which' or another appropriate relative pronoun.

This was a good book. Very interesting plot, and everything slotted into place better than some YA novels I've read in the past. I found the reveal of the villain quite interesting, especially after the red herring we had been given beforehand.

Usually in YA books, there's some fight or other cataclysmic event towards the end of the book, and the last couple of pages give us a happy ending or allude to the sequel. Well, interestingly, there were two big fights towards the end, with a wedding epilogue once everything was taken care of, justice was served and the day was saved.

I'm going to give this one a 3/5. It was alright, I liked it, but there are some flaws that really need to be ironed out, such as spelling, grammar, descriptions, use of pronouns, etcetera. Otherwise, not bad. :)(less)

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Mar 17, 2012 Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, non-erotic, paranormal, young-adult

Originally posted at: http://aurorareviews.blogspot.com/201...

Sahar is a typical teenage girl, and that is a huge problem.

Sahar is so easy to like. She’s a classic teenage girl in many respects. She has a loyal best friend, a wicked enemy, and a crush on the most popular boy in town. On top of the usual challenges of being a teenager, Sahar’s life is further complicated by the fact that her town is full of shape shifters and it doesn’t seem like she's ever going to “flip” into an animal form. I...more Originally posted at: http://aurorareviews.blogspot.com/201...

Sahar is a typical teenage girl, and that is a huge problem.

Sahar is so easy to like. She’s a classic teenage girl in many respects. She has a loyal best friend, a wicked enemy, and a crush on the most popular boy in town. On top of the usual challenges of being a teenager, Sahar’s life is further complicated by the fact that her town is full of shape shifters and it doesn’t seem like she's ever going to “flip” into an animal form. I found it interesting that being a human was odd and being a shape shifter was normal. In many of the other books I’ve read about shifters it is usually the other way around. I think Ms. Trujillo’s approach is unique and a great addition to the paranormal genre.

As if worrying about her lack of shape shifting abilities wasn’t enough, Sahar’s life is further complicated when people start dying in the woods. It becomes clear her small home town is full of secrets that will change her life forever. As the story progresses, Sahar comes face to face with a lot of big revelations concerning not just her town, but also her family and herself. I think she handles everything very well. She has a few melt downs and lashes occasionally, but she never fought against or denied the truth when it was right in front of her.

Cameron is Sahar’s hero. I think they make a very cute couple, but their relationship became serious very quickly. One day Cameron doesn’t know she exists and the next he can’t take his eyes off her. Before long, they are professing their love for each other. While I believe their connection is genuine, I would have liked to have seen them spend a little more time together doing something normal like going on a date.

True North has some interesting secondary characters including Sahar’s Uncle Luke, and Dean, the new guy at school. These characters really help move the plot along, especially Dean. There are some big surprises concerning his character revealed near the end of the story. However, even after finishing the book, I still don’t feel like I really know Luke, Dean, or any of the other secondary characters very well. I would have liked to get to know them in greater depth.

The pacing of True North really picks up toward the end. I had one piece of the puzzle figured out, but the master mind behind it all was a surprise. There are not one, but two very intense battles that had me racing to the end of the book. The ending is neat and satisfying, but again, I was left wanting a bit more detail especially concerning the antagonist’s motivations. Despite this issue, I had a smile on my face when I finished the book.

True North is a fun, fast paced story with an interesting take on shape shifters. I enjoyed every minute spent reading it. Fans of paranormal romance looking for a quick read with a happy ending should give True North a try.
(less)

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Oct 17, 2011 Gothic Angel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of supernatural

Shelves: most-favourite

MEET YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE BOOK!

I was given this book to review, and will be forever grateful to Christy for that. It is by far one of my favourite books in a long time. And even though it may seem like I say that a lot (for those of you familiar with my reviews), that is because I never can narrow it down to just one or two favourites. I have many. This book being up there with the best of them.

It's like taking a pinch of LJ Smith and adding a dash of Maggie Stiefvater but with it's own unique qu...more MEET YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE BOOK!

I was given this book to review, and will be forever grateful to Christy for that. It is by far one of my favourite books in a long time. And even though it may seem like I say that a lot (for those of you familiar with my reviews), that is because I never can narrow it down to just one or two favourites. I have many. This book being up there with the best of them.

It's like taking a pinch of LJ Smith and adding a dash of Maggie Stiefvater but with it's own unique qualaities too. Christy Trujillo has the makings of a best selling author, of that, I am in no doubt. The words really come to life, and you get so lost in them that this book is difficult to put down. I know I didn't put it down once all day.

All I knew when I picked this book up this morning was that it was about shape shifters, but when I got to the end of it this evening, I knew it was about far more than that.
Within it's pages, this books holds a story of friendship, love, rivalry and a secret so big the town's council kept it for hundreds of years in the hope of it never being discovered. But is all that about to change? Will the secret be uncovered and will the inhabitants of this town ever be the same?

Sahar North is a 16 year old girl, living in the small town of True North, Colorado. A pleasant, tranquil town provided you are a shape shifter. Which Sahar is not.
She is the daughter of one of the most prominent families within the town, but never really feels like she fits in. This is in no small part due to Dana, the aptly nicknamed 'Wicked Witch Of The North'. So it isn't much of a surprise to find that once Sahar has graduated, she intends to blow out of this small town with it's small minded bullies and put the past far behind her.

She's been in love with Cameron, Alpha of the wolf pack, from afar, knowing he would never feel the same about her, due to the fact that he has an on/off relationship with Dana. But when out of the blue he starts to pay her more attention, and Dana's cousin Dean befriends her, she feels like maybe she isn't so alone, and might just stick around after all.

But in sticking around, she gets more than she bargained for. Dead bodies start showing up in the woods, and Sahar's family must join with the pack to solve the mystery of whom is killing these people and leaving them where anyone could find them.
The fact is, there's humans in town, and they know not of the existence of the shape shifters in their midst. And the plan is to keep it that way.

I really never like to give too much away about a story, as I believe it lies in wait for the reader to discover for themselves. All i can really tell you is, I read this book start to end in under 5 hours. It was hypnotic in the way it got under my skin and did not want to let me go until I had devoured every word.
I really believe it will do the same for you.
Whilst this book does not challenge your perception of the genre on the whole, I feel there is something to be said for something safe that you can just sit back, relax, and get happily lost in the pictures Christy paints with her words.

I eagerly await any more installments to this series. I know they will be just as good, if not better than the first.(less)

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Mar 28, 2012 Once Upon rated it 5 of 5 stars

I must say Christy Trujillo as become one of my favorite authors and True North is just one of the many books she’s written to prove that theory. She’s a delightful, beautifully well written author who can write up a romance novel that will entrap you from page 1.

This is how I felt as soon as I opened True North and began reading. I especially loved the cover because it helped me visualize Sahar North and the beau Cameron. I immediately feel in love with Sahar North. A teenage girl who lives in...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Jennifer Monzon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

I must say Christy Trujillo as become one of my favorite authors and True North is just one of the many books she’s written to prove that theory. She’s a delightful, beautifully well written author who can write up a romance novel that will entrap you from page 1. This is how I felt as soon as I opened True North and began reading. I especially loved the cover because it helped me visualize Sahar North and the beau Cameron. I immediately feel in love with Sahar North. A teenage girl who lives in...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Candace (Lovey Dovey Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

This book was a great read!! Sahar was a very responsible lead and one of my favorite shifters ever. I am so glad that she didn't have a long drawn out moment of disbelief any time something shocking came up. And there were some pretty shocking moments.

I loved how everyone solved the mystery so quickly. Nothing was so obvious, except for the fact that Sahar was special, and I was never quite sure who the bad guy was until it was revealed.

This is a story I'd read over and over again. The action i...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Lexie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-young-adult, genre-romance, review-blog, book-type-e-book, genre-paranormal

Its not a secret I enjoyed Christy's Maldito trilogy. Also not a secret I have looked forward to her next novel with lots of anticipation--I did not resort to begging however. True North, which was meant to be a stand alone but gets itself a sequel, is still quintessentially Christy, but darker somehow. Not that the Maldito books were fluffy happy-go-luckys (especially not Sarah's Fate :sobs: ), but there's a more immediate feeling to Truth North. A closer to home feeling because the people of T...more Its not a secret I enjoyed Christy's Maldito trilogy. Also not a secret I have looked forward to her next novel with lots of anticipation--I did not resort to begging however. True North, which was meant to be a stand alone but gets itself a sequel, is still quintessentially Christy, but darker somehow. Not that the Maldito books were fluffy happy-go-luckys (especially not Sarah's Fate :sobs: ), but there's a more immediate feeling to Truth North. A closer to home feeling because the people of True North are a close knit group (whereas the folks in the Maldito series are fractured more often then not).

I admit I wasn't keen on Sahar at first. She tends to dwell on one of three topics in the first quarter of the book--1) her lust for Cameron, 2) her inability to shift or 3) how badly she wants to get away from the town forever. She tosses in some angst about nobody ever talking to her about anything as well, though this isn't as true as she makes it sound. Its not that I didn't understand her position, but after the first murdered man was found I would have thought her priorities would shift a bit more drastically (if only because the first suspects were all people she knew and cared about so...)

I began to like her better when she took an active stance on changing her situation. She would still angst, but she didn't let Cameron's hot/cold attitude nor the fact she was the odd man out in a town of all shifters get her down. She had a mystery (the murdered men, the town's origins, etc) to grab onto and dig deep about.

Sahar and Cameron's romance, and the ::waves hand:: whatever you want to call Sahar and Dean in the beginning was not bogged down by (much of) the standard teen angst. After her initial 'Why can't he just love me?' phase, Sahar approached the whole thing with Cameron rationally. She understood, intellectually, why it was hard for him to come to grips with his feelings for her. They came about overnight and he was reluctant to turn his back on. I applaud her for her maturity, even though I wanted her to shake him and tell him to man up.

Dean as a character appealed to me, though some of his history/backstory/actions put me off. Its a huge spoiler to explain why, but I'm really glad Christy made it clear that Sahar loved Cameron and Cameron alone.

I wish the whole story about the white wolf was elaborated upon more, or at the end it wasn't as overshadowed by past misdeeds and secrets (plus a really insane crazy bad guy). The plot would be picked up and given steam, but then sidelined by the murder mystery plot.

Overall however I enjoyed the book quite a bit. The secondary characters--like Tessa--were a hoot. There's a couple of times that Christy surprised a laugh out of me because of a line or action. From a reader's standpoint the story moved along at a brisk pace, with only a couple rough transitions and logic jumps.

(less)

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Oct 17, 2011 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a fantastic story - I absolutely love Sahar and can't wait to find out what is going on with Cameron!!! Christy - this is for sure your best literary work so far!!!!

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Sep 11, 2011 Christy rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Could be pretty good. ;)

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Oct 01, 2011 Jeri rated it 2 of 5 stars

2.5

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About Christy Trujillo

Christy Trujillo was born and raised in a small town in Northeast Florida near Jacksonville and the Florida-Georgia line. As a child she loved books on vampires and the paranormal and has been heavily influenced by the writings of L.J. Smith. Christy currently works for a major staffing company, and dreams of becoming a full-time author. She resides in Jacksonville, FL with her husband, son, and t...more

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“So there’s this guy named Murphy and he has this law. I hate him.” — 4 people liked it

“She looked genuinely confused. “I…I don’t know. He just seems so sweet and out of place. I guess I feel sorry for him. Kinda like a lost puppy.”

“Great, well, can you just take him home with you then? I’m allergic.” — 2 people liked it

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