Shapeshifter

by Holly Bennett

Paperback, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

BEN

Description

Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML:A woman trapped in the body of a deer. A dark sorcerer in relentless pursuit. A mysterious child, found alone on the slopes of a great mountain. This is the turbulent and heartbreaking story of Sive, a girl of the Otherworld who must flee her world of plenty to live as a hunted beast. Surviving hardship, danger and crushing loneliness, she finally finds refuge�??and unexpected joy�??with a mortal champion, Finn Mac Cumhail, the great hero of Irish legend. But Sive's ordeal is far from over. She has a gift the Dark Man craves, and the smallest misstep will give him his chance to snatch her away from all she holds dear. Set in the wild, magical landscape of Iron Age Ireland, Shapeshifter is a tale of rapacious evil, quiet courage and the healing power of… (more)

Genres

Young Adult

Fantasy

Fiction

Collection

Adult Learning Library

Publication

Orca Book Publishers (2010), Edition: Illustrated, 244 pages

User reviews

LibraryThing member bluesalamanders

Sive is a Sidhe who can shapeshift into a doe and has magic in her singing. She unwittingly catches the eye of Far Doirche, a dark fey sorcerer who wants control over her and her singing power. To escape him, she shifts into her deer form and flees.

The plot and some of the characters are

interesting, but there are flaws in the writing that detract from the story. The book is in third person but most chapters include a short section in first person, interludes that add little to the story and only release any tension there might have been regarding the future of those characters. In addition, there are several important events that occur completely off-page and which are only described minimally later, in passing.

The story would have read better in alternating first person, which would have retained the dramatic tension and given a method for including the events that were left out (or a reason for their exclusion).

I liked the idea of the story, but unfortunately the stylistic quirks were too distracting for me to like the book.

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LibraryThing member macsbrains

In general I like retellings of classic folktales and this adaptation is no exception. Bennett rounds out the drama and the characters into a more cohesive whole while still remaining very faithful to both the events and the essence of the original tale it was based on. The writing is simple and

clear without being stilted, and the emotions, particularly Sive's, are powerfully relayed. It was a little disorienting at first to get used to the occasional passages from another character's 1st person point of view after spending most of the time 3rd person limited following Sive, but those instances are clearly marked and quickly become a part of the story's structure. I thought the pacing near the end was a little lopsided, especially regarding the villian of the piece, but that seems to be from working within the framework of the source material.

Overall I really enjoyed the book and the way that Bennett expanded upon the original folktale (which Bennett nicely includes at the end of the novel) and the way the different themes are brought to light. Recommended for anyone who enjoys folktales, fairytales, ballads and/or irish/celtic themes.

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LibraryThing member ankhet

Sive, one of the Sidhe of Ancient Ireland, has magic. She has magic in her singing voice - and the ability to shapeshift into a deer. When Sive catches the eye of a dark, evil, power-hungry druid her only escape is into her deer's body. Shapeshifter is a retelling and expansion of an Irish legend,

intended for young adult audiences.

I thought it was an interesting book for a YA audience, very similar in form and concept to Donna Jo Napoli's Hush. As an adult, the book did not draw me in, though it would have as a young teen. The jumps between the first-person interludes at the beginning of each chapter and the third-person narrative were slightly jarring; as another reviewer has said, the narrative would have been much better served told in alternating first-person voice(s).

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LibraryThing member DARKANG3L

Shapeshifter was a good and easy book to read. Holly did a great job with the characters and kept the book going with ease. I was thrown off a bit with all the switching from point of views, but it's easy to get used to.

LibraryThing member krau0098

I got this book through Librarything.com Early Reviewers Program. The premise sounded like something I would be very interested in. Overall is was a beautiful book, very lyrical and lush settings.

Sive is a young woman who can transform herself into a deer. As great as her shapeshifting powers are

they are surpassed by the power of her voice. Sive's singing can weave powerful magic over those who listen. Sive has caught the eye of a Dark Mage and takes deer shape to flee him. Her flight will take her out of fairy into the mortal realms and back again, it will take her to the greatest heights of loves and the deepest depths of despair.

This was a beautifully written book, done in a very lyrical style. Not a ton of action, this book is written more in the style of classic Irish folklore. All of the book is very focused around Sive and her family and doesn't pay much attention to outside forces. Sive is an excellent heroine and you really feel for her. The story was fairly engaging and a quick read.

For the most part I enjoyed it. I enjoyed reading about Sive's struggles as a deer and about how she hid from the Dark Mage. I also enjoyed watching her fall in love. There were a couple things in this book that just broke my heart. Overall this is a dark story, with a decent ending.

Readers who are interested in Irish folklore, traditional fairy tales, or classic love stories will probably like this book. If you are looking for action and adventure I would look elsewhere.

There were a couple things I didn't like about this book. Bennett switches which character-viewpoint the story is told from quite often and she doesn't really let you know when she does this, you have to figure it out. That made things confusing. She also has little sections where she says "Sive remembers..." these sections are supposed to give you a glimpse into Sive's past but don't really make sense because Bennett talks about Sive's past in other sections of the book too...so, I didn't really understand the point of separating them out. Readers will also be disappointed in the way the Evil Mage is dealt with; in general it is pretty anti-climatic.

Still the book is worth a read if you like reading Irish folklore or classic fairy tales. It is beautifully written and an engaging story. The story can get a bit confused with the switch in viewpoints but it is not too bad. Although I enjoyed the story okay, it did not make me want to run out and read more of Bennett's stories in the future.

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LibraryThing member Jenson_AKA_DL

A relatively interesting foray into fantasy, this legend turned novel boasts little in the way of wham, bang excitement or rapturous romance but is quite a readable little story in spite of its lack of modern literary hooks.

In this story we follow Sive as she matures from child sidhe to adult as

she seeks to escape the evil clutches of a dark sorcerer. For those sensitive to such things there is references to sexual situations although it is all told in the abstract and not in any superfluous terms. Other than that this is a very tame, lyrical tale with a surprise climax as it is not at all what you would expect from the entire tale to that point.

Overall I found it to be an enjoyable myth re-telling that held my interest but didn't quite grab me enough to make it a keeper.

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LibraryThing member MonicaLynn

Very interesting story based in Ireland, that is based off of folklore. Enjoyable read with alot of trials and tribulations to get through her life.

LibraryThing member Liviania

While I'm not most familiar with Irish mythology, I do enjoy it quite a bit. (After all, I do consider myself Irish.) I loved seeing an author play around with a short episode in The Fenian Cycle, as opposed to the more popular Ulster Cycle. I also liked that the publisher included a translation of

the original episode for comparison. (Do be careful about reading it first, if you aren't familiar with the story, since it will spoil things.) Readers will also enjoy the glossary, since Irish names often have tricky pronounciations. Holly Bennett makes the fortunate decision to use the romanization Sive for the protagonist instead of Sadhbh.

Sive was the first wife of Finn mac Cumhaill (whom you may know as Finn McCool), a Sidhe woman trapped in the body of a deer. Bennett explores how Sive first came to the attention of the evil druid Far Doirche and turned into a deer. In Bennett's telling, Sive was not turned into a deer by the druid but turned herself into one to escape his unwanted attentions. Sive's singing could charm anyone, and Far Doirche wants access to her power.

I thought Bennett fleshed the story out well, developing an interesting and original cast to accompany the epic figures. She did have little sections marked off by [Character] Remembers . . . that I thought were fairly useless. The book was in the past tense and slipped into people's heads anyway, so the those sections felt redundant and flabby. (Actually, almost all of Bennett's use of POV tricks could've been tightened up.)

The ending, focusing on Sive and Finn's son Oisin, moved a little too quickly for my taste. SHAPESHIFTER truly is Sive's story, but I would've liked to get to know Oisin as well as Sive. SHAPESHIFTER is fairly short, so it probably wouldn't have tasked readers attention spans.

SHAPESHIFTER contains adventure and romance, but will probably appeal most to people interested in mythology. If you aren't familiar with Irish mythology, SHAPESHIFTER is a good place to start. It doesn't ask you to come in familiar with the stories. SHAPESHIFTER is a little rough, but still good light entertainment. The language is easy enough for preteens, but there are oblique sexual references.

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LibraryThing member DragonLibrary8

Shapeshifter by Holly Bennett is an incredible story. It tells of loyalty, determination, love, fear, control, and desire. It is the story of a girl, a shapeshifter girl, but of so very much more than that. I am not sure what I was expecting when I opened the cover of this book, but what I got was

amazing. I fell in love with the characters. The names, not so much - but I think there is meaning in them too. The main character, Sive, is stronger than she could ever imagine. It is this strength that in so many ways is both her downfall and her saving grace. Sive is a powerful singer with a magical voice and once the Dark Man hears her, her life changes forever. The Dark Man - obviously the villain, is everything you expect the bad guy to be, in spades. He is treacherous and cold, cunning and evil and will stop at nothing to have the power of Sive's voice. Sive's father is one of my favorite characters, he makes me think of my own father, those incredible men who would stop at nothing to save their children. I would have liked to learn more about Sive and Finn's son, Oisin. I truly enjoyed the story, although it is sad in so many ways. I was, as I always am, hoping for the happy ending - and I wasn't disappointed.

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LibraryThing member JRlibrary

The main character, Sive, has a magical voice, and that makes the evil sorcerer want to use her talents. Sive can also shapeshift, and her animal form is a deer. In order to stay safe from the Dark Man, she must stay in her deer form when she is in the mortal world. I think readers will enjoy the

story, and appreciate the little bit of romance that is present as well.

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LibraryThing member Nikkles

I enjoyed this book and its retelling of Irish mythology. I felt the plot moved a bit fast and the characters were just a bit thin. Overall, it is an enjoyable book though particularly for those who really like folktales and myths.

LibraryThing member tallgurrl01

I really enjoyed the telling of this story. The fairy tale aspect, as well as the thorough descriptions of the mundane world, made this an exciting read.

LibraryThing member N.T.Embe

I've got to say, this book surprised me in the end. I was having a hard time of really getting into it at first--and maybe that's just me--but after a while things seemed to finally pick up when men from the human world began to be involved. Which is crazy, right? Normally you want anything but

people from the normal world to get focused on in a story that's supposedly fantastic. But I think that's what made this book actually bearable for me at the end.

It's not that the story itself is lacking. The story is based off of the actual Irish tale of Sive--or at least one of its interpretations--and as far as the story goes, it's pretty entertaining, as most things that have stood the test of time usually are. I feel that where this book was lacking for me was in the execution department. The writing was not bad, and it wasn't hard to get used to the style that the author took either. You could pick up on it after a couple of pages without any confusion. But I feel that the pacing was awkward at some times, and the method of time-skipping was always a bit abrupt. Time skips happened within the same chapter multiple times. That's just how the book was written. Sometimes there were a few paragraphs of italicized text that were various bits of commentary from different characters in the book as they looked back on things that happened at that point in the story. It bridged sections and made some time skips easier to pass into; made them run more smoothly. But in many cases you didn't have those bridges there. Were you able to get used to it for the most part after a while? Yeah, you were. It wasn't hard, but it threw off the otherwise natural rhythm a story might have.

Now in terms of characters, I actually think that they were done well. The focus wasn't very in depth because the story skipped between characters much more than it ever focused solely on one--that goes for our main character and what the book is named after too. Actually, I really liked all the characters. It's one of those stories where the character development was played out very well, considering how the tale itself was formatted to play out. So I have a lot of respect for the characters there. In fact, I liked most of them! Even the villain was a fair villain--for his purposes. (Though I totally called him out on that one lackluster move he made with trying to marry Sive's half-sister. Definitely could have been done better on his part if he wanted to win. BUT ANYWAY~)

I must say that I like the research that the author put into this book, and I even enjoyed the parts at the end of the story where she had a bunch of the terminology and names used throughout the story there with definitions and pronunciations. MAN was I reading SOME of those words wrong if I didn't have that guide! It's really nice to have it to look back on, and really helps to bring out the culture that you can see clearly throughout the book. It made a very nice impression on me, as someone who likes to know these details. Plus, she even gave a quick summary of how the actual Legend of Sive went, which was a really nice thing to note. And while it showed where the author differed or added on to the story, for the most part I was pleasantly surprised with how accurate her book was to the legend itself. It's always nice to see an author expand on what already exists and keep characters and tales true to their origins! Major plus for Holly Bennett on that point!

On the shapeshifter point of research, it addressed a couple of things that were interesting to mull over, but weren't necessarily new to me. And the actual issues of being a shapeshifter weren't the focal point of the book at all. It was more a side noted ability, like magic is in most tales. There were perhaps a line or two of advice at the very beginning that I took to heart as something to definitely keep note of, but other than that, not much to comment on.

Overall, I thought it a pleasant read and a nice way to pass the time. It's one of those books that I would read once and say, "Oh, what a nice story!" but I wouldn't really invest my time into buying. I'd advise you to library this one if you can. If it ends up being more significant or loved by you, then by all means! Pursue buying it! But generally, it's a quaint book and a tale that's a pleasure to read, especially towards the latter half of the tale. If you feel curious, go for it. But don't feel like you need to rush out and get this one any time soon. It's a book to pass the time, as opposed to one that grips your heart for a long duration afterwards. While lovely, it is not lasting. Either way, I hope you enjoy it should you come by it!

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