Waiting On Wednesday: The Shifter
Title: The Shifter
Author: Janice Hardy
Publisher: Balzer & Bray (a HarperCollins imprint)
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Fifteen-year-old Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. She is also a Taker-with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person and storing it inside her own body. But unlike her sister Tali and the other Takers who become Healer’s League apprentices, Nya’s skill is flawed: she can’t push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store it. All she can do is shift it from person to person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden from forces occupying her city. If discovered, she’d be used as a human weapon against her own people.
Rumors of another war make Nya’s life harder, forcing her to take desperate risks just to find work and food. She pushes her luck too far and exposes her secret to a pain merchant eager to use her shifting ability for his own sinister purpose. At first, Nya refuses, but when Tali and other League Healers mysteriously disappear, she’s faced with some difficult choices. As her father used to say, principles are a bargain at any price, but how many will Nya have to sell to get Tali back alive?
Why Am I Excited For This Release? I’ve always loved the idea of healing injuries by taking them into oneself - it’s a gift that is also definitely a curse - and so I’m delighted to see that base idea here. Not to mention the rest of the story sounds absolutely fabulous, too!
Mirrored from On The Nightstand.