It’s easy to follow without shying away from the complexities of the issue – doesn’t gloss over them, pretend it’s something else but also only gives the basics. I really appreciated how a complicated, nuanced topic was presented for a younger age group. Without boring you to death, a massive plot line is all about wars over a scarce resource – and both the wars to gain it and the exploitation of people linked to it (in this case, those who can use its magical properties). When I was 10, I didn’t notice any of that, but now… Clearly I’ve been a fan of political fantasy for years without knowing it. I really enjoyed returning to this world, and realising how much of a political fantasy it was. Since then, I’ve hunted it down, as it’s no longer published in the UK. This was my favourite series when I was changing from primary to secondary school (I think this is Middle Grade?), then I gave it away to friends. 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? At first Nya refuses, but when Tali and other League Healers mysteriously disappear, she’s faced with some difficult choices. She pushes her luck too far and exposes her secret to a pain merchant eager to use her shifting ability for his own sinister purposes.

Rumors of another war make Nya’s life harder, forcing her to take desperate risks just to find work and food. If discovered, she’d be used as a human weapon against her own people. All she can do is shift it into another person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden from forces occupying her city. But unlike her sister, Tali, and the other Takers who become Healers’ League apprentices, Nya’s skill is flawed: She can’t push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store it. She is also a Taker-with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person into her own body.

Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. Series: Yes - book one of trilogy Synopsis:

The Shifter by Janice Hardy