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The Shifter Extraordinaire #1
The Shifter
At the Institute for Dimensional Studies, shifters learn how to transcend space and time in order to fight supernatural threats. Insecure, awkward, and frizzy, fourteen-year-old Faedra Madison Mae has little to offer except for this one ability. As Faedra hones her talent, she becomes increasingly entangled in her training and longs for the time when her life was still her own.
Suave, brilliant, and handsome, Dominic Archer has everything going for him. He deserves to be hated for his exasperating perfection. Too good to be true or trusted, he is the one guy Faedra would like to avoid. But he is the only shifter who can keep up, and the best have no choice but to work together. If Faedra can summon the strength to survive brutal mentors, elusive bad guys, pushy roommates, and all the dangers of multidimensional warfare, hopefully she can handle this one egotistical boy.
In this provoking, intense novel, a shifter extraordinaire destined to alter the course of history must shatter her perception of the world in order to save it.
Suave, brilliant, and handsome, Dominic Archer has everything going for him. He deserves to be hated for his exasperating perfection. Too good to be true or trusted, he is the one guy Faedra would like to avoid. But he is the only shifter who can keep up, and the best have no choice but to work together. If Faedra can summon the strength to survive brutal mentors, elusive bad guys, pushy roommates, and all the dangers of multidimensional warfare, hopefully she can handle this one egotistical boy.
In this provoking, intense novel, a shifter extraordinaire destined to alter the course of history must shatter her perception of the world in order to save it.
- GenresYoung Adult
424 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2014
About the author
Chris T. Acadian
2 books4 followersMathematician and writer, Chris T. Acadian, has been trapped in the fourth dimension for a long time. A professional dabbler, Acadian is a sucker for anything new, be it mountain climbing or oil painting. Acadian has also dabbled in several mathematical careers, such as actuary, educator, editor, and researcher. THE SHIFTER is Acadian’s first book.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 9, 2017
Situated on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific is a very special facility, the Institute for Dimensional Studies. Cloaked in secrecy, the site provides specialized training for those who are dimensionally gifted. Make no mistake, the pupils here may be young, but they are far from powerless. They are shifters, and they are learning how to torque and perfect their special powers in order to defy time and space.
Smarter and more complex than other YA novels I have read, this one has the bonus of having no icky instances of insta-love, and no sappy love triangles. Get ready to shift into the fourth dimension, to phase in and out of sight, to bend time, and to revel in the art of gravity defiance.
Copy furnished to me by the author. Thanks for the mind tweak and for a most enjoyable read.
Smarter and more complex than other YA novels I have read, this one has the bonus of having no icky instances of insta-love, and no sappy love triangles. Get ready to shift into the fourth dimension, to phase in and out of sight, to bend time, and to revel in the art of gravity defiance.
Copy furnished to me by the author. Thanks for the mind tweak and for a most enjoyable read.
December 2, 2014
I have had such a great time reading and re-reading this book over and over again. There is a complexity to this book that I love. The way that the author brings math into the book I found enjoyable, and I do not find math fun. Not only is there an analytically side to this book but a different take on a romantic one. The author makes the characters so relatable in the way that they are presented in the beginning of book. I love this book so much and can't wait for the second one to come out.
November 9, 2015
I received the Shifter from the GoodReads giveaway. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was really excited to read this book and it did not let me down. I did get somewhat annoyed in the beginning by Faedra, nor did I see the selfishness that was used to describe her. I do love the new and different look on the romance. I cannot wait until the second book comes out, I really started procrastinating towards the end so the book did not finish! In the last 10 or so chapters I was completely in shock as to what was happening and I could not stop reading. I feel the four stars were due to how long I took on this book, but it was simply because I was busy and nothing else. I cannot wait until I re-read the book and until the second one is out. This is a book that should be known everywhere.
October 20, 2014
I won this book in a First Reads giveaway and I'm so glad I did because I loved this book!
This book made me laugh out-loud sometimes when characters would make jokes, I hardly ever do that! I really enjoyed reading this book, the chapters were short and it was pretty fast-paced. The plot was so interesting and as were the characters.
I really enjoyed the fact that I could relate to Faedra in some aspects, like her insecurities and having to perform or talk around big groups. Faedra character had some really well-done character development which I really enjoyed reading.
For some reason I really enjoy love-hate relationships and this one was really well-done. The relationship between Faedra and all her friends was also amazing! I don't know how else to explain it.
I think the only problem I had was remembering what was the 3rd dimension, 4th and 2nd. I caught on after awhile but sometimes I got confused.
Other then that though this book is amazing! I would most definitely recommend this book. I apologize if I didn't review this book well, because I've never actually reviewed a book. This was a great book and I can't wait for the next one's!
This book made me laugh out-loud sometimes when characters would make jokes, I hardly ever do that! I really enjoyed reading this book, the chapters were short and it was pretty fast-paced. The plot was so interesting and as were the characters.
I really enjoyed the fact that I could relate to Faedra in some aspects, like her insecurities and having to perform or talk around big groups. Faedra character had some really well-done character development which I really enjoyed reading.
For some reason I really enjoy love-hate relationships and this one was really well-done. The relationship between Faedra and all her friends was also amazing! I don't know how else to explain it.
I think the only problem I had was remembering what was the 3rd dimension, 4th and 2nd. I caught on after awhile but sometimes I got confused.
Other then that though this book is amazing! I would most definitely recommend this book. I apologize if I didn't review this book well, because I've never actually reviewed a book. This was a great book and I can't wait for the next one's!
August 30, 2014
I received this book as part of a Goodreads First read Giveaway. I loved the whole theme of the book and the way it was presented, I struggled to put it down. The though that was out into the relationships between Faedra and the other characters, especially Nic, was deep. This also made the book that much better to read because I felt like I could connect in one way or another to how Faedra felt towards people and their actions. I would definitely recommend reading if your looking for something different.
March 11, 2020
(Review originally found on Word Storm: https://www.azelynklein.com/2015/10/b...)
I had the privilege of meeting Chris T. Acadian in my creative writing class at Evangel University. Acadian spoke to our class and first proposed the potential of the fourth dimension, a topic that has baffled yet fascinated me from a young age, especially when connected with another book Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. But that’s a book for another time. Then Acadian introduced The Shifter and blatantly told the class we would not like the main character, Faedra Madison Mae. My original thought on that: “Challenge accepted!”
This fall (2015), I dove into The Shifter, determined to enjoy reading about this protagonist. Three chapters in, I discovered Acadian was right. I didn’t like Faedra. She is arrogant and dislikes nearly every other character in the story. But, hard as it may seem, I found myself relating with her in so many ways, especially concerning her awkward nature around other people and the way she rarely voices her feelings. Ultimately, though an unlikeable protagonist, Faedra remains a character of strong convictions, making her admirable in other ways and contrasting her faults.
The story starts out in a seemingly ordinary way, filled with the everyday life of Faedra attending school. But the Institute for Dimensional Studies is not just any school, and Faedra isn’t your typical three-dimensional being. She’s a shifter with fourth-dimensional capabilities, and the story soon becomes about anything but ordinary life, with hints of super-human abilities. While the plot builds up to encounters with other shifters, the book never loses its touch of ordinary life with its supporting characters.
At first, Acadian’s writing style was a little jarring. The story is written in first person, past tense (not unusual if you ask me), but there were very few of Faedra’s actual thoughts. She saw things and reacted. Life seemed to merely happen to her. The descriptions were rather minimal, and Faedra acted far more than she thought, even when she was alone. But, as the story progressed, Faedra spent less time letting life happen and more time doing something about it. Even Acadian’s writing style plays in with one of the novel’s major themes that one of the characters, Nic, mentions:
“I don’t care what bubble of self-pity you’ve lived in until now. I’m not going to let you be a little baby any longer…take my advice as you will. But life doesn’t happen to you; it happens because of you. Stop being so helpless and make your life happen.”
I gave The Shifter 4/5 stars for its slower place and seemingly confusing climax. There was a lot of build up throughout the story, but very little is actually resolved. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story more and more as it progressed. My only complaint? When will there be a book two? Chris T. Acadian, you can’t end it there! In other words, I look forward to the sequel. I’d recommend this book for anybody interested in the possibilities of the fourth dimension or even a good book with human characters and adventures.
I had the privilege of meeting Chris T. Acadian in my creative writing class at Evangel University. Acadian spoke to our class and first proposed the potential of the fourth dimension, a topic that has baffled yet fascinated me from a young age, especially when connected with another book Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. But that’s a book for another time. Then Acadian introduced The Shifter and blatantly told the class we would not like the main character, Faedra Madison Mae. My original thought on that: “Challenge accepted!”
This fall (2015), I dove into The Shifter, determined to enjoy reading about this protagonist. Three chapters in, I discovered Acadian was right. I didn’t like Faedra. She is arrogant and dislikes nearly every other character in the story. But, hard as it may seem, I found myself relating with her in so many ways, especially concerning her awkward nature around other people and the way she rarely voices her feelings. Ultimately, though an unlikeable protagonist, Faedra remains a character of strong convictions, making her admirable in other ways and contrasting her faults.
The story starts out in a seemingly ordinary way, filled with the everyday life of Faedra attending school. But the Institute for Dimensional Studies is not just any school, and Faedra isn’t your typical three-dimensional being. She’s a shifter with fourth-dimensional capabilities, and the story soon becomes about anything but ordinary life, with hints of super-human abilities. While the plot builds up to encounters with other shifters, the book never loses its touch of ordinary life with its supporting characters.
At first, Acadian’s writing style was a little jarring. The story is written in first person, past tense (not unusual if you ask me), but there were very few of Faedra’s actual thoughts. She saw things and reacted. Life seemed to merely happen to her. The descriptions were rather minimal, and Faedra acted far more than she thought, even when she was alone. But, as the story progressed, Faedra spent less time letting life happen and more time doing something about it. Even Acadian’s writing style plays in with one of the novel’s major themes that one of the characters, Nic, mentions:
“I don’t care what bubble of self-pity you’ve lived in until now. I’m not going to let you be a little baby any longer…take my advice as you will. But life doesn’t happen to you; it happens because of you. Stop being so helpless and make your life happen.”
I gave The Shifter 4/5 stars for its slower place and seemingly confusing climax. There was a lot of build up throughout the story, but very little is actually resolved. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story more and more as it progressed. My only complaint? When will there be a book two? Chris T. Acadian, you can’t end it there! In other words, I look forward to the sequel. I’d recommend this book for anybody interested in the possibilities of the fourth dimension or even a good book with human characters and adventures.
September 16, 2014
I received this book from the goodreads giveaway and am so glad I did. It is an excellent read, well written and an original idea. I thought it made a refreshing change from a lot of young adult books at the moment. It really got my brain firing and can't wait to read the sequel. If you have liked The Maze Runner by James Dashner or The Maximum Ride series by James Patterson you will love this!
July 16, 2014
At first I couldn't stand the main character but it just adds to the development you get to see her go through.
I never knew what was going to happen and that made it a hard book to put down. Hopefully there will be a second book.
I would definitely recommend this book!
I never knew what was going to happen and that made it a hard book to put down. Hopefully there will be a second book.
I would definitely recommend this book!
July 22, 2014
I hope there will be a sequel soon.
October 6, 2014
Wonderful. Energetic. Romantic without cliches. I could read this book over and over again.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews