(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley.)

When Tessa's longtime crush Maddie passes her a note referencing 'all that they have in common,' Tessa is stoked: could Maddie possibly a werewolf too? Maybe the "curse" she's been wishing away her whole life finally has an upside. Or, no, that's clearly too much to hope for; if Maddie isn't a werewolf, what kind of supe could she be? (Witch? Banshee? Vampire? The possibilities are endless.)

But the big reveal goes horribly wrong, and Tessa is left feeling even more alone and alienated (from her pack, classmates, and the world in general) than before. When her pack alpha and surrogate dad, Mack, gets some intel about a group of hunters who are working with a rogue witch to cure werewolves, Tessa strikes out on her own in search of them. Not to neutralize the threat, but to offer herself up as a guinea pig: she's sick of being a werewolf, and a middling one, at that. (Her younger sister, Kylie, shifted a full two years before Tessa, and Tessa has yet to shift fully.) But a lone wolf is a dangerous one, and Tessa's teenage angst quickly puts everyone she loves in danger. Can she finally surrender to the wolf inside of her, before it's too late?

FULL SHIFT is such a great book that I'm willing to add it to my favorites bookshelf, even if I could barely make out the artwork. When it comes to e-ARCs of graphic novels, I usually get a digital copy that has some degree of pixelation; worst case, it's bad enough that I can't read the text without getting some serious eyestrain. This was a little different in that the text was crystal clear, while the artwork was nearly indecipherable. Luckily I was able to follow the story, even if I didn't get to marvel at Kristen Seaton's gorgeous illustrations. I mean, I'm inferring from the cover, but my hopes are high, especially for the wolves.

The story itself is entertaining and filled with pathos and heart. Tessa's feelings of loneliness - even in a lodge packed to overflowing with her extended wolf family - is the stuff of epic ballads. I love her scenes with Maddie (and Maddie's scenes with Mac), and the convo that kicks off the story is pretty hilarious. Ditto: the "what are your intentions with my daughter" interrogation; I'm not usually a fan, but the queer/werewolf spin makes it work. There are so many great little details, from the FAQ about werewolves to Tessa and Kylie's relationship and Tessa's meeting with her dad in the afterlife. Speaking of dads, I was all geared up to hate the replacement dad, but Mac is a pretty stand up guy. And his backstory with Anderson is fantastic too. I even loved the TWILIGHT references.

Honestly, I just can't say enough good things about FULL SHIFT. Gay werewolves? Sign me up!

I really enjoyed this take on werewolves. I loved how the pack was represented and the depiction of what family is. As for the story, I felt like it dragged in some points. I wanted a little more action and a little less filler. I think I would have reallocated some of those pages to building up the drama and making the stakes seem higher. But overall this was a good graphic novel. I appreciated the way this was illustrated - made it really easy to follow along

FILE NEEDS FIX ASAP. Something is seriously wrong with the ARC file for this graphic novel. The Net Galley app file has low-resolution images and it was incredibly difficult to make any of the illustrations out. I tried reading the .acsm file on my computer and the illustrations were just bugging out completely so all I could read were the text bubbles. Made for an unpleasant reading experience.

This copy was incredibly difficult to read as the only thing clear were the words and not what I look for in graphic novels - the pictures! Despite that, though it did unavoidably affect my reading experience, this was a fun graphic novel exploring werewolves with the sweetest sapphic romance there too!

I'm very eager to pick up a physical copy of this - what I could make out of the images was GORGEOUS and the plot was fun and engaging! I'd love more in this universe but I know that's unlikely. Overall: thoroughly enjoyable, fun and everything you need when you looking for something quick, easy and queer!

A queer YA graphic novel about a girl who would do anything to be human by @jl_dugan & @seakitillustrate
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Tessa is struggling to fit in both at home and school. Ever since her younger sister transitioned to a werewolf before her, she now acts like her older sister. She’s crushing on her friend, Maddie, and Mack, the man who replaced her dad after his death, is not her father, no matter how hard he tries. Still unable to fully transform on her own when she wants, Tessa thinks being human would be better. When she hears of another pack who has the cure for this, she thinks all her problems are solved. But the pack may have nefarious intentions and it’s up to Tessa to protect those she loves.
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This was such a great story—I even teared up at the end. I wish the eARC had allowed me to see the illustrations better, but what I did see was amazing. I can’t wait to get the physical copy. I’m looking forward to more graphic novels by Dugan. I received a free copy for an honest review. This #book releases August 27!

CW: violence, blood, death of a parent (recounted)

4.5 ⭐️

This is overall really cute and I loved a lot of the elements of chosen family and focus on community as family. The romance between Tessa and Maddie was sweet though definitely had some stuff to work through given the whole coming out scene - which had me absolutely cackling. I especially enjoyed the humor that kept coming up during the most dire moments, which helped keep the story overall very lighthearted.

Full Shift is a YA sapphic paranormal graphic novel. I’m a little bummed that the illustrations were blurry with my eARC download, but I read Coven by Jennifer Dugan and Kit Seaton and know their work is beautiful so I’m sure it’ll be perfect when the graphic novel is released.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. I’m a sucker for paranormal stories and even more so when they are sapphic. I also loved the themes of self acceptance and coming of age. I wished I could have seen more of the pack. We see a small glimpse but I would love to know more of the pack dynamics and the werewolves who make up the pack.

Regardless, I really liked the characters we got to see a lot of in this story. The love interest, Maddie, and Tessa’s sister, Kylie. They were the exact influences Tessa needs in her life and to lovingly call her out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a graphic novel, but it is more a novel... with graphics.
I loved the illustrations and the story was great.

3.5 stars

There was issues with the ARC editions. On the Kindle version all the pages were tiny and blurry and missing all the text bubbles and boxes with all the text below the pages but not even properly matched to the pages it is supposed to be on. The NetGalley app version had all the text in their bubbles and boxes, but the art while full screen was still very blurry and hard to make out any details. Which is frustrating since this is a graphic novel and you lose a lot when you can’t properly see the art.

The actual story was pretty good. The pacing could have been better and I overall think the story would have benefited from being a longer graphic novel or have been a novel so we could get to know the characters more in depth. Knowing the characters more and why they do the things they do would have also helped with some of the frustration I felt at them for certain actions. I wished we could have gotten to know the pack more, they all felt so background which I guess is on purpose for the story but I’d had liked to at least know the ones that played some form of role in the story like Ethan and Charlie.

I do like the idea of half shift and full shift for werewolves, gives both versions of werewolves in a single interpretation. Wished more time could have been spent on the lore because as it was stated and what we were shown it seemed inconsistent for main and secondary characters versus pure background characters in the pack.

While I guess I kinda get why the author went with the Alpha bit for the werewolf lore for the story and character dynamics I can’t help but still be annoyed that we’re still getting debunked Alpha nonsense in werewolf stories, especially when it’s not really needed. But that’s just a personal gripe I have with werewolf media.

Tessa is part of a family of werewolves, only problem is she hasn’t been able to fully shift over into her wolf form. Most children who are born into this do so at a much younger age, so she also feels immature. Plus, she has a crush on a girl that she has known since 4th grade, and she seems to have a crush back on her. Is she also supernatural? She hints that she might have a secret.


But, no, not giving a way too much by saying that Maddie is just queer, but totally human.


Then Tessa hears about a cure for werewolves, and thinks if she can just become human, that all her problems will go away,and she can have the perfect life.


As you can probably predict, that is not what happens.


The whole story is cute, and fun, and full of love and companionship (from her family), and love and friendship from her crush. If only those darn werewolf hunters would just go away.


Good queer werewolf story. Although in the ARC, it was a bit hard to see the artwork, from the cover I assume that it will be just as crisp and clear.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book will be published the 27th of August 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

It was really hard for me to read the book for some reason, but I still enjoyed what I could see of the art. Idk if it was me or the download but the pages were a little blurry. I was still able to get most of the story.

This is my second Jennifer Dugan graphic novel and I’m definitely a fan. Coven was great and this one is up there too. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what I thought of Tessa. She got a bit annoying in the way that she treated people, but I can see where she comes from. Her need to belong and fit in mirrors my own at times. Maddie seemed ready to do anything for Tessa even though she really didn’t deserve it, so you have to give it to her for being a good person and a good friend.

The pack seemed so fun and I loved them. Having a big family to do stuff with seems both annoying and exciting. Even though she didn’t see it at first, I’m had they were there for her when she needed them. Mack turned out to be a great leader and father figure and even Kylie seemed like a great sister after the beginning. I teared up near the end.

The only thing I wish was we could have seen more monsters since they were mentioned. It would have been cool!

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for an early copy for review. This title is set to release on 8/27/24 from G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.

I really enjoyed Full Shift and would recommended to YA readers who are looking for a coming of age story that might be different from some others they've read. Full Shift is a mixture of a werewolf story and pack drama but also has a strong message of accepting yourself which resonated with me as an adult. The art was beautiful and really made the story come to life. I believe there will be a lot of people who enjoy this and have. strong takeaway from it at the end. Also it's. sapphic werewolf story, what more could you ask for?

this was such a fun read, Jennifer Dugan has became an auto-read author for me anything she writes I will immediately read. Tessa and Maddie were so cute and seeing the dynamics of the pack was honestly super fun as well as the small story of grief that was added in. Overall if you're looking for a sweet, fast read I'd definitely recommend full shift. the art style is super pleasing to look at and I'm hoping for more graphic novels from Jennifer Dugan like this -- especially another graphic novel in the same world to see the pack crossover with vampires/witches.

Thank you Penguin Teen for the e-arc all opinions are my own