Title: The Shapeshifter’s Secret
Author: Heather Ostler
Publisher: Cedar Fort Imprint: Sweetwater
Pub Date: June 12, 2012
Category: Young adult paranormal fantasy
This is another story about a teen with an absent parent and powers she knew nothing of until something strange starts happening. In this case, start turning into a werecat.
However, after we get over the oh-no-not-again groan, it’s quite a good addition to the young adult fantasy genre, one that crosses over from our world into a different reality. Julia discovers that not only is she a werecat, but in this other world, she’s a kind of royalty and her mother … I can’t let on, except to say that her heritage on her mother’s side throws another difficulty into Julia’s life.
Once she’s through the portal, the reasons for her father’s paranoia become clear. We spend time in a school reminiscent of Hogwarts and Julia falls in love. There’s a bit of tension with a teacher and another boy, but apart from that the middle of the story drags a little.
The end is a burst of action and then a satisfying conclusion, except for the conversation begun by the boy she supposedly wasn’t in love with that is interrupted. We never do find out what he wanted to say and his declaration that he had something to admit bore no relation to anything previously in the story. I wondered why it was there.
I’m giving it 3 stars, but don’t let that put you off. It’s a good read just nothing special.
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