The Shifter by Janice Hardy

This book was kind of bizarre.  It almost just threw me into it too much to where I didn't know what was going on.  It has an arabian feel to it, although I'm not sure if that is where it actually takes place.  In this story there are people, usually small children, that are called healers.  When someone has a bad injury, they can go to a healer and the healer will place their hands on them, draw out the pain into themselves, then the healer must put it into a type of rock called Pynvium that holds all the pain. The main character, Nya, has a rare gift in that she "shifts".  By shifting I mean that she can take pain from people, then shift it into another object or person, which is very rare and unusual.  In their city which is plagued by war, the healers are going missing.  Nya's sister Tali, which is one of the healers to go missing, sends Nya on the trail to find out what is really going on.  She finds that the cities pynvium has run out and the healers are being filled with pain to not be able to release it.  If she doesn't find her sister and help her in time, she will die from the pain she drew from others.  That is the main goings on of the book.  There are other mysteries and twists thrown in to keep the story going.  I can't put my finger on why I didn't really enjoy the book, but I think it just wasn't as exciting as other books I've read.  I think this is the first book in a series, so maybe the second book will get better.  I hope someone else reads it and loves it though, it just didn't do it for me.