Fifteen-year-old Shifty knows all about moving around and next to nothing about where he came from. When he's assigned to a new foster home and family, he tries hard to keep cool and stay out of trouble. But it seems like the more he tries to do the right thing, the more trouble he finds. As Shifty navigates a series of messy summer adventures, he struggles to find a balance between the street-wise spirit that has helped him survive and his longing for a place to call home. Lynn E. Hazen has crafted a fast-paced, page-turning plot full of surprises and warmth.

Reviews:

"Soli, aka 'Shifty,' survives by his wits. His 15-year-old narrator's voice will carry readers through this chronicle of four days in the lives of his San Francisco foster family ... Hazen (Mermaid Mary Margaret) creates fully formed characters here, and through Soli's narration, the audience witnesses firsthand his resourcefulness and rationalizations ... when a cop starts to issue a ticket, he conveniently finds an elderly lady in the shop whom he calls 'Mama' and who happily accepts a lift. Soli is out of a jam. Or is he? Hazen has a gift for turning humor into poignant situations devoid of sentiment ... the realistic relationships between the four foster family members, their ability to believe in each other in a world where each of them has already had more than their share of bad breaks and Soli's survivor-humor make these characters memorable."
-- SHELF AWARENESS (Jennifer M. Brown)

"Witty, fast, makes you think."
-- Sam, 16.

"In deceptively straightforward prose, author Lynn Hazen brings Shifty's San Francisco world to life on the page. Original, telling details, a compassionate eye, and Hazen's intuitive understanding of how love and trust can save us make SHIFTY a book to treasure."
--Alison McGhee,
Author of several novels and picture books, including #1 New York Times bestseller SOMEDAY

"... Written with heart and compassion, SHIFTY is a fun and fast-paced read. Readers will be rooting for Soli from page one, indignant at the judgmental people he is forced to put up with and sympathetic to the hardships that he is forced to endure. Lynn E. Hazen reveals a world that most readers could never have imagined, and Soli is an optimistic and courageous character that readers will identify with..."
--TEENS READ TOO (Reviewed by: Amber Gibson)
Rating: 5 Stars