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A Season of Transformation

by Lauren Murphy (Goodreads Author), Jayne Fordham (Pseudonym)

3.38 of 5 stars 3.38 · rating details · 32 ratings · 22 reviews

A Season of Transformation is a young adult fantasy/ romance novel set in the contemporary world. It is the story of five young people drawn together to complete a Quest, to protect their town from destruction. In order to defeat the story’s villain, Maxvale, the five virtual strangers must come together and not only forge a bond of trust but become proficient with the ‘ab...more

Mass Market Paperback, 258 pages

Published March 31st 2011 by Jayne Fordham

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Oct 21, 2012 Monica rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received this free book for review from author, Jayne Fordham, in exchange of honest review.

The story grabbed me in from the very beginning. The idea of the story was original, which enticed me. Finding out what their abilities were, made the story that much more interesting and fun. I would love to have their powers. I was interested to see how the characters were going to use their powers to kill Maxvale. To me, the story lacked action; it would have been good to read about them during thei...more

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May 03, 2012 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

Five teenagers – a geek (Ben), a bad boy (Lucas), a class clown (Adam), a goth (Bonnie) and a rich kid (Makenna) – are all drawn together. Not knowing why, they all feel the urge to visit the Carnival. Unbeknownst to them, their ancestors have buried a box containing a letter – a letter stating that they are the only hope their town has against Maxvale, a man the ancestors defeated all those years ago but somehow has the power to come back and terrorize the town.

After digging up and opening the...more Five teenagers – a geek (Ben), a bad boy (Lucas), a class clown (Adam), a goth (Bonnie) and a rich kid (Makenna) – are all drawn together. Not knowing why, they all feel the urge to visit the Carnival. Unbeknownst to them, their ancestors have buried a box containing a letter – a letter stating that they are the only hope their town has against Maxvale, a man the ancestors defeated all those years ago but somehow has the power to come back and terrorize the town.

After digging up and opening the mysterious box, the teenagers all develop special abilities that are supposed to help them in fighting Maxvale.

Bonnie, the girl who feels like nobody knows she exists, gets invisibility. Quick-witted Adam who fires off jokes at the speed of light can now run kilometres in seconds. Ben, the nerd of the group, who has always excelled in school is now able to memorize textbooks in a heartbeat. Bad Boy Lucas who is repeating year 11 and is living with a foster family can walk though walls. Makenna, the final member of the group and narrator of the novel, is gifted with telekinesis - the ability to move objects with her mind.

I enjoyed reading this novel. It felt a little like The Breakfast Club meets X-Men. Makenna is the narrator and tells the story in first person present tense. I can’t remember the last time I read a book in this style and it took me a little while to get used to it. But once I was used to it, I could appreciate that it suited the novel. There were a few point of view changes – from Makenna to a third person – and I liked that it gave me a little more insight into the other teenagers but I felt like it took me out of it a little and I felt a little detached from the novel after the switch.

The powers that the teenagers get are perfectly suited for their personalities. I really liked how they all came together to help each other in the mission to find and destroy Maxvale. I did feel like the mission was a little rushed in the end but it was appropriate for the villain (He’s not as big and bad as I was expecting. I wanted him to be ferocious and terrifying and completely town destroying… rather than a bit of a pussy cat…).

The strength of this novel is the development of the characters throughout. I loved how they grew as people and as friends. There’s a message of stereotyping and that people are not always what they seem at first glance. The relationship between Makenna and Lucas was lovely to read – I liked the pace and the fact that they did have their struggles. These characters (all of them) were written in a way that did make them likeable and realistic. Many of the issues that were faced were ones that I have faced myself in my youth. I also enjoyed the Aussie-isms inserted into the novel – things like petrol being it’s cheapest on Tuesdays, the P plates etc.

I thought this was a fantastic debut novel by a self-published author. It was entertaining and interesting and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys young adult paranormal fiction with an Australian flavour.(less)

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Jul 18, 2011 Bonnie Lamer rated it 4 of 5 stars

A Season of Transformation is a modern day Breakfast Club with a paranormal twist. And the story is better for it. When a disenchanted teen, a privileged girl, a shy and lonely goth girl, a geek and a class clown are each given a supernatural ability and told to work together to be strong enough to fight what’s coming, it takes more than practice to make it happen. Each of them needs to confront the issues in their lives that will affect their confidence in themselves to win the battle. As they...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars

What is great about the book is the variety of characters, my personally favourite was Ben. Each one is very different and each one has a different life which is explored perfectly throughout the book. A strong character was definitely Bonnie, who has arguably got the most on her plate, is so grateful to be in a part of something. This book also reflects life, maybe not the saving the town from evil Maxwell, but more the school aspect of it. The book also offers romance and, anyone who read this...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Ariana rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: giveaways-won

I firstly want to thank Jayne Fordham for sending me a free copy of this book. I appreciate it a lot. I really enjoyed A Season of Transformation. It has an interesting story line and the character development has been done superbly. The reader can watch all of the main characters change dramatically from who they are assumed to be to the person they really are as well as learning from their experiences. Hoping for a sequel.

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Aug 12, 2012 Rebeccadanielle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, received-from-goodreads-giveaways

I was lucky enough to receive this as a giveaway from Goodreads. I read this in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down. Jayne Fordham has written an exciting teen novel with believable characters. Teen fantasy books have always been popular but it hasn’t been until the last several years until they have become the most popular genre in YA fiction. A Season for Transformation is a fantasy story with romance thrown into the mix and it is a breath of fresh air in the YA fantasy genre. Alth...more

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Jun 22, 2011 Perry Gamsby rated it 4 of 5 stars

A good first novel that caters to a market too often passed by, the Australian YA. While this book and the characters and story can be enjoyed anywhere in the world, it really rings true for the Australian audience. The tone and voice is natural to the Aussie ear yet not too colloquial to alienate the rest of the English speaking world. The reason for this is that the conflicts faced by the characters and the audience are very similar across the globe. Within the text there is a second narrative...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Evie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-tour

*** Originally posted to Bookish Blog

A Season of Transformation by Jayne Fordham is definitely one of my favorite reads this summer! It’s a magical story, full of super likable characters, great action and sweet romance. This book is too charming and entertaining to miss out on!

This great new young adult fantasy/romance novel tells a story of five teenagers from Catherine Vale, Australia. They’re all classmates at the local high school, but that’s about all they have in common. In fact, having...more *** Originally posted to Bookish Blog

A Season of Transformation by Jayne Fordham is definitely one of my favorite reads this summer! It’s a magical story, full of super likable characters, great action and sweet romance. This book is too charming and entertaining to miss out on!

This great new young adult fantasy/romance novel tells a story of five teenagers from Catherine Vale, Australia. They’re all classmates at the local high school, but that’s about all they have in common. In fact, having never really spoken to one another, they neither know anything about each other nor do they wish to. Makeena is beautiful, smart, rich and very popular. Bonnie is a shy “gothic chick” who doesn’t like to stand out. Lucas, abandoned by his biological parents, is the troublesome adopted kid you should stay away from. Ben is the school nerd, the smart kid who always knows the answers to teacher’s questions. And finally, there’s also Adam, the class clown, who turns everything into a joke. So what, you may ask, could possibly bring those five kids together? How about an evil spirit of eighteenth century murderer, seeking revenge on the community of Catherine Vale? Yup! That could work! Makeena, Bonnie, Lucas, Ben and Adam are suddenly drawn to each other. A mysterious power seems to be guiding them, and they discover an antique box buried in the ground. From the message in the box they learn about the dark history of their town and how their ancestors fought and defeated the cold-blooded murderer, Brian Maxvale. They also learn that he vowed to come back every hundred years to haunt and slaughter the members of the small community. How can a group of teenagers stop a vile and blood-thirsty spirit? Well, they’re not just any teenagers! The five of them have innate abilities and strength that have now been activated due to the pending threat. Can they learn to control their powers and work together as a team before the evil spirit of Maxvale returns?

I liked this book a lot! It was a fast and enjoyable read. Although it’s a supernatural adventure, its main focus was on the developing friendship and romance between the five protagonists and I really liked that about it. Thanks to Jayne’s flawless storytelling, the book reads smoothly and before you know it, you’ll hit the virtual back cover. Although there was some awesome action here, this wasn’t an action-packed novel, which is good, because there’s plenty of room for that in the following installments. Bringing the characters to life through vivid and detailed descriptions was, in my opinion, a brilliant move on Jayne’s part. She made them seem so real! I quickly got very attached to them and wanted to know even more about them. I just love stories like that, when you don’t feel that you’re just a passive observer, but you actually get engaged in their stories and feel what they’re feeling.

Another great thing about this book is its solid plot and character development. I really enjoyed seeing the five seemingly unrelated people come together on a quest to save their town. I liked how they were slowly getting to know each other, forming a bond that was growing stronger with every day. The way Jayne tells it is not only believable but also quite lovely and exciting. The romance part was fantastic! Makeena is such a cool chick, and I just loved seeing her fall for Lucas. They’re like the most adorable book couple ever!

Most importantly the ending was phenomenal! Jayne Fordham skillfully tied up all the loose ends, delivering a satisfying conclusion to a deliciously captivating story. I was amazed at how perfectly balanced the whole thing was, how good it felt to get to know the characters and how fun it was to follow their stories. Hands down, it’s a really great read.

This book definitely tickled my inner geek. I am huge on stories involving supernatural powers, quests to save the world, cool actions, evil villains, revenge, etc .. A Season of Transformation reminds me in part of Heroes (TV Show) and in part of X-Men (cartoon, movies). It also reminds me of my childhood days when I used to watch Sailor Moon over and over again. It’s cool like that! Bewitching, sweet and often touching, this book was pure fun. I am looking forward to the release of the second book in this series!

(less)

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Jun 18, 2011 Ange rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, 2011, young-adult, romance, paranormal

When I first received this book, I was intrigued by the summary because it was unique and interesting. I couldn’t wait to get started! First of all I loved that this book was set in Australia, specifically a small town called Catherine Vale outside of Sydney. Plus I also loved that Aussie lingo was used, which I can definitely relate to being an Aussie myself.
So what is this book about you say?? Well, five teenagers from the same town come together because of one thing, a box. They are all comp...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Kaz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

I received this book through a First Reads giveaway.

Let me start by saying that I was drawn to this book initially by the gorgeous cover. I love the Autumn leaves and I want those clothes is my wardrobe!
I was surprised (in a good way) that this a book about teens with super powers. I always love movies/TV shows/books involving super powers. Also, there's a bad boy/good girl romance which gets another big tick from me.

However, I did have a few problems with the writing - mostly grammatical error...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Brenda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-authors, own-read, read-on-kindle

Makenna, Lucas, Bonnie, Adam and Ben. Five students at Catherine Vale high school on the outskirts of Sydney. They have absolutely nothing in common, don't really know each other (other than to comment that Lucas is 'hot' but he's also a jerk!) Makenna and her best friend, Aliysha have been close since Makenna moved to Catherine Vale with her Mum after her parents divorced, and her Dad moved overseas. She hasn't seen him since she was 13, and she is now 17...

Suddenly one day at school, weird thi...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Kaitlyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-ya, review-books

I like how the cover of this book really represents the autumn season that is so prominent throughout the book.

The five teenagers in this book don’t really run in the same social circle. They haven’t spoken to each other until they feel compelled to do so. I really liked seeing their friendships (and even romances) developed throughout the book. They came about more naturally than some YA books (i.e. no insta-love here). I think A Season of Transformation teaches a pretty good lesson. The main r...more

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Sep 04, 2011 Cassie McCown rated it 4 of 5 stars

A Season of Transformation
By: Jayne Fordham
ISBN: 9781447548
Published March 31, 2011
Available Format: Paperback, ebook

My Rating: ★★★★☆

In Jayne Fordham’s new novel, A Season of Transformation, five teenagers from diverse circumstances and social circles are brought together to save their town from a paranormal menace. In response to this threat and with the help of their clever ancestors, each of the five begins to develop their own supernatural abilities. In addition, each of the teens is struggl...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blog-reviews, aussie-author

A Season of Transformation is a debut paranormal young adult title for Australian author, Jayne Fordham. Five teenagers are inexplicably drawn together and discover a box, hidden a century before. It is revealed that a murderous spirit once terrorised their small country town and the high school students have inherited powers designed to vanquish him. Makenna, Lucas, Ben, Adam and Bonnie must learn to work together and master their abilities before his resurrection on the last day of autumn.
Make...more A Season of Transformation is a debut paranormal young adult title for Australian author, Jayne Fordham. Five teenagers are inexplicably drawn together and discover a box, hidden a century before. It is revealed that a murderous spirit once terrorised their small country town and the high school students have inherited powers designed to vanquish him. Makenna, Lucas, Ben, Adam and Bonnie must learn to work together and master their abilities before his resurrection on the last day of autumn.
Makenna, takes a leadership role among the five teens who barely know each other. The diverse group reminds me a little of the movie "The Breakfast Club" (an eighties classic) where high schoolers from different social sets find themselves in a situation that requires them to associate with one another. Makenna is a fairly typical seventeen year old with some of life's advantages, Lucas is the wild boy - abandoned by his drug addicted parents and raised in foster care, Ben is the nerd, Bonnie is described as a shy goth chick and Adam is considered a class clown. The abilities each develop vaguely relate to their personalities though Fordham tries to show how the characters are more than the stereotypes they portray.
Much of the story is told in the first person by Makenna though Fordham switches to a third person viewpoint briefly to more fully develop the other characters. I felt the author captured the youthful voice of her protagonists well, including some subtle use of slang that ground the story in contemporary Australia. However the writing didn't quite have the polish of a professionally edited piece with some structural and style issues. While the narrative is realistic, I thought it lacked nuance. I would have liked a bit more room to make assumptions and 'see' the story unfold rather than be told what to expect.
A Season of Transformation is very much a character driven story, focusing on the personal issues of the teens and their developing relationships with each other in the lead up to the confrontation. Fordham demonstrates an solid understanding of her characters and their motivations and this aspect is a clearly the strength of the novel. Personally, I would have preferred more balance between character and plot, as the potential was there to include more action or adventure throughout. The final battle scene wasn't quite the climatic moment I had hoped for, however Fordham brought the story to a neat conclusion.
Perhaps best suited to a teenage audience, who are likely to relate well to the protagonists and the straightforward plot, A Season of Transformation is a pleasant and quick read that I enjoyed. (less)

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Jun 03, 2011 Mia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-authors, blog-tour, read-in-2011

Originally posted at Girl about Books

First of all, I want to say thank you to Jayne Fordham for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful book and be a part of this blog tour!

A Season Of Transformation is a quick read with interesting plot and believable characters. Jayne Fordham's writing was also wonderful. She made it easier for the readers to connect with the characters.

My favorite aspect of the story was the way the characters come together despite their differences and how their bon...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Elisabeth Storrs rated it 4 of 5 stars

I do not normally read YA but I very much enjoyed reading this story of teens discovering not only their own strengths but appreciating ( and ultimately empowering) those of others who would not normally be within their friendship circles. The tension built through development of the good vs evil plot made it a page turner, and the growing romance between Makenna and Lucas was deftly drawn. Well done, Jane, for creating such a solid first novel. I hope there will be another.

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Sep 04, 2012 Kristina Franken rated it 5 of 5 stars

I highly recommend this book for anyone

FTC: I received a free copy of this book and was not reimbursed in any other way.

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Jan 22, 2012 Vickie Ramage rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this story. I loved how defeating Maxdale wasn't overdone and the plot mainly focused on the teens relationships with each other. I also liked that they were all from different backgrounds and wouldn't have talked to each other if it hadn't have been for their powers but they then became really close friends. I was pretty sad when it ended and I'm still missing the characters now, particularly Bobbie.

More @ ComaCalm's Corner!

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Dec 26, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Congratulations to an Australian psychologist who has turned her hand to writing a fantasy novel for young adults.I was curious to see the result, and so might you be.
It's rare that I would shy off writing a longer review, but I have read "Kate"'s review on this site which has summed up the book, much as I would have.
There are many interesting discoveries to be made on this site and this has been one of them.

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Jul 19, 2011 Jess - The Tales Compendium rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, aussie, debut, fantasy-scifi-paranormal, middle-grade

In A Nutshell:
A Season of Transformation is a middle grade/young adult fantasy novel set in a small community outside of Sydney. It's a story about looking beyond stereotypes, having confidence, courage, and somewhere to belong.

For my full review please visit my blog:
http://www.thetalescompendium.com/201...

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Aug 06, 2011 Lauren Murphy added it · (Review from the author)

Currently only 99c at Amazon Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/A-Season-Of-Tra...

Jayne

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Dec 13, 2011 Kris rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Received this in a first reads giveaway. Not my kind of read.

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About Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy is a Sydney-based author who writes across many romantic sub-genres. A psychologist by day, Lauren is fascinated by relationships and loves to explore conflict arising between her hero and heroine in her stories.

She resides in South-West Sydney with her doting fiancé and their cheeky cocker spaniel, Buddy.

Her first Christmas romance short story was published by Kellan Publishing in t...more

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