Review: Dark Shift
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 11, 2013
This is a decent teen sci-fi post-apocolyptic action paranormal tale, with some vampires and werewolves thrown into the mix. The main characters are representative of the stereotypical high school students -- the brainy nerd who's picked on, the jock bully, the goth girl, the perfect princess, and the guy who sits in the back of the classroom -- roles that each feels forced to play. However, the characters grow past these roles to find their true strengths, which they need in the world they are thrown into.I thought it a bit odd that they were so accepting of such a weird occurrence and were able to crack jokes. That may just be an adult point of view; many successful YA novels portray the heroes as undaunted by bizarre situations. I like how the time-shift occurred. It is creative, not the same old thing.The language is clear, without tired devices. I give it an extra star just for saying 'it felt like 3 hours' instead of 'it felt like forever.' The humor is, well, humorous. It's suitable for even younger readers. The ending is satisfying enough to be a stand-alone novel, even though the book is the first of a series. I look forward to the next volume.p.s. I reserve 5 stars for books that stand the test of time. Perhaps Dark Rising will be a classic like A Wrinkle in Time. I think it well might be.