Shift

by Jennifer Bradbury

Hardcover, 2008

Call number

JF BRA

Collection

Children's/YA Fiction

Genres

Young Adult

Publication

Atheneum Books for Young Readers (2008), 256 pages

Description

When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened.

User reviews

LibraryThing member TigerLMS

Chris Collins and his best friend Win set off on a cross-country bicycle ride, from West Virginia (where Win's dad is one of the most powerful and wealthiest men in the state) all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The journey starts just after high school graduation, and the goal is to get there and

back (returning via bus or other powered means) before the start of fall term at their respective colleges in August. On the ride, the two friends discover more about themselves-- and Chris realizes that the things that have irritated him for so long about Win are amplified after spending so much time together. Near the end of the journey, the two friends get separated. Chris returns home and starts college, assuming Win did the same. But the FBI is investigating, and Win's powerful father wants to know what really happened. Author Jennifer Bradbury alternates the story between the ride itself and the aftermath as Chris tries to decide what he really knows. As a bicycle enthusiast, this book held special appeal-- and it made me wish for similar circumstances to make a similar journey back through Montana and into Seattle. Bradbury's writing leaves a few questions lingering throughout the book-- such as how Chris could leave Win without looking any harder for him. These are questions that are ultimately answered. The story is part coming-of-age novel, part adventure, part police investigation. It's well written, and I think many students-- especially boys, since there are two male protagonists-- will enjoy this story of friendship and growing up during a life-changing bike ride.

Show Less

15 more

LibraryThing member dcoward

This book details the disappearance of Chris Collins' best friend Win towards the end of their cross country biking trip prior to college. This book was billed as a mystery, but it was pretty easy to guess what was going to happen. I think, despite the protagonist being an 18 year old, this book

might go over better with a younger crowd then teenagers. There was nothing objectionable in the book that would make me hesitate to recommend it to an 11 or 12 year old.

Show Less

LibraryThing member jenniferthomp75

Win and Chris have graduated high school and decide to bike across country from West Virginia to Washington state. However, it soon becomes apparent that each boy is planning on something different for the journey. When Chris returns home from his bike trip alone and angry, questions arise as to

what happened to Win during the trip. Bradbury's debut novel excels at both depicting friendships and relationships with parents as well as being an engrossing mystery. The characters are complicated and definitely depict a realistic look at teenagers confronted with growing up. Highly recommended!

Show Less

LibraryThing member gtnorvell

I saw this book first mentioned in theolog, the blog of the Christian Century, and decided to check it out. After 25 pages I knew for a fact that either I knew the author or knew someone she knew. Why? There were too many details of WV life. Who else would know about John's Cyclery next to Taco

Bell? That clue made me stop reading and google some information. After some research and a couple of emails it was confirmed, I knew the author's husband, but enough of that -- back to the book.

The book is a great read. It tells the story of Chris' and Win's cross country bicycling trip from WV to WA. The author tells the story in alternating chapters, one from Chris' current point of view then one from Chris's running diary of the trip.

I do not want to give any more details of the book. I do want to highlight the author's creative usage of the biblical story of Jacob wrestling the angel. I also want to say the way the author narrated the tricky and troubling aspect of young adulthood of growing up. Well done Mrs. Bradbury, look forward to future works!

Show Less

LibraryThing member rampeygirl

A captivating story that is told from a first person point of view about the complications of friendship as well as the strong bonds of friendship. Chris and Win challenge each other, fight each other, and learn to get along with each other. Bradbury adds a bit of mystery to the story to keep the

reader guessing as to where Win really is.

Show Less

LibraryThing member mattsya

Plenty of YA books show relationships between BFFs who have magical, memorable times together, and learn and share and become central parts of each others lives. In fact, just about every YA book does this. Much rarer is what Bradbury shows here: friends who are friends because of convenience,

friends by default. The relationship between Chris and Win, who spend a post-senior year cross-country bike trip together, is an awkward and aggravating one. They are friends because they equally do not fit in with their peers, not because they fit with each other. Bradbury captures this relationship perfectly. Plot-wise, this may leave some teen readers disappointed. The "mystery" of the book is obvious. (No one will waste a second wondering who those mysterious postcards are from.) And Win's father is a little one-dimensional (and ultimately non-threatening) as an antagonist. But what shines here is the all too real depiction of the shakiness of young friendship.

Show Less

LibraryThing member carlsonn

For best friends Chris and Win, nothing could be more gratifying than a two-month-long cross-country bike trip following high school graduation. But when Win suddenly disappears somewhere in Montana, and Chris, the narrator, returns home alone to Virginia with only a hunch where his friend might

be, Chris's once-firm grasp on reality slowly begins to weaken-especially when Win's overprotective, blowhard father launches an FBI investigation to track down his son. Chapters alternates between the boys on their trip to Chris in college.

Show Less

LibraryThing member stonelaura

In the summer between finishing high school and starting college best friends Chris and Winston decide to ride their bicycles across the country from their home in West Virginia all the way to Oregon. Many doubters thought they’d never even start, but no one thought that only one of them would

return.
In this debut novel, teacher, cyclist and one-day Jeopardy! winner, Bradbury creates great tension in alternating chapters where we follow Chris and Win on their big adventure, and where we learn about Win’s troubled past and his father’s aggressive search to bring him home. But is his father’s desperation to find Win one of love and concern or just another manipulative and controlling strangle hold that Win might go to extreme lengths to escape?
As Chris tries to negotiate his first busy weeks at college he is hounded by calls, notes and threats regarding Win’s whereabouts, not to mention being followed by an FBI agent. It seems that Win’s dad will stop at nothing to get his way, but Chris doesn’t have any answers and doesn’t understand Win’s disappearance any better than anyone else, until he starts getting some confusing postcards.
Shift is intriguing and easy to read while it focuses on friendship, loyalty and finding one’s true place in life.
SLJ Gr. 8 up, PW age 12 up, clean

Show Less

LibraryThing member eaglesfan

Captured me immediately. I'm interested in how the story will unfold. The emotional play of the kid who doesn't want to follow in Dad's footsteps to Dartmouth, who has now diasappeared. The FBI intrigue.

LibraryThing member francomega

YA Book Club Book 3. I felt a bit deceived as it's billed as (and described to me as) something of a mystery. Not so much. It's basically a coming of age story of 2 high school friends on a cross-country bike trip. There's nothing wrong with that and there is some good insight into growing up and

out of friendships. However, overall, the writing is nothing special particularly the dialogue which seemed inauthentic at times.

Show Less

LibraryThing member herbcat

Great descriptions of landscape, people, and incidents on a cross country bike ride by two new high school graduates.

LibraryThing member NicolLH

Best friends, Chris and Win, are about to graduate from high school when they plan a cross-country bicycle trip before they head off their separate ways to college. However, along the way, the friends have an argument. Chris gets a flat tire….again, but this time, Win doesn’t stop for him.

After Chris fixes his flat, Win is nowhere to be found. Chris finishes the trip alone and then heads off to college. Then, one day, an FBI agent shows up and starts questioning Chris about Win’s disappearance.
I really enjoyed this book and could totally relate to Win’s need to escape his overbearing father, as many teens probably can, as well as the desire to head out on an adventure to see more of the world. The book is well written and has enough mystery and adventure to keep readers interested. Older teens may relate to the pressures Chris and Win face in transitioning from High School to adulthood and to college. Many will relate to Win’s relationship with his father and the feeling of wanting to escape.

Show Less

LibraryThing member lscottke

Chris and Win, best friends since early childhood, spend their final summer before college cycling across the country from W. Virginia, destination Seattle, WA. Somewhere out west, Chris loses his cycling partner when Win doesn’t stop while Chris is changing a flat tire. As the story evolves, we

learn about the friction between the friends and that, ultimately, Chris didn’t mind finishing his journey alone. The plot flips back and forth between Chris in college, tailed by an FBI agent and the boys’ journey across the west. Chris makes a trip back out west to search for Win. There is a good focus on coming into one’s own personality under/despite parental performance pressure. Could be a good read for high school students gaining independence from helicopter -or judgmental- parents.

Show Less

LibraryThing member rgleason14

I enjoyed this book. It keeps your attention from start to finish. Its a story about two young men from different background that set out on a bike ride across country.

LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50

I found Shift by Jennifer Bradbury an interesting story of two young boys who, after graduating high school and before leaving for university, take a bike trip across the United States. When only one boy returns and resumes his life, questions arise as to the whereabouts of the other.

Told in a

combination of flashbacks and current time, we learn about the boys, Chris and Win, what the trip means to both and where they feel they are going in life. When Win continues to be missing, an FBI investigation is launched and this investigation appears to be centered on Chris.

This is more of a story of relationships than a true mystery. As the details of the trip are revealed, the reader has a very good idea of what happened to Win. I enjoyed the story and my only quibble is that I felt the ending was a little to simplified. I should qualify this complaint with the allowance that this is a YA story and meant for a far younger audience than I.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Sarah220

After high school, two best friends (Chris and Win) go on a cross country bike ride before heading off to college. When Win disappears on the trip, Chris has to deal with parents (both sets) and an FBI agent while starting college. The book switches between the two time lines (summer road trip and

fall aftermath) revealing how we got to the disappearance while discovering what Chris will do now. Although the flashbacks/forwards were a bit disorienting at time and frustrating if you were at a cliff hanger, the parallel time lines did help make the book more interesting and mysterious. Each boy comes to his own realization about himself and the other and the reader has a certain vicarious pride in watching them grow up and take ownership of their lives.

Show Less

Fewer