Seasons of Change

Grace Restored #1

by C.J. Peterson

Katie MacKenna experienced one storm after another in her life. When Leukemia stole her mother from her and her father, Katie was only seven-years-old, and her father didn’t know how to cope after such a catastrophic loss. His response was to shut down and become abusive. The overwhelming devastation which surrounded Katie throughout her journey in life forced her to shut down just to survive as well.

Trust is a difficult thing for many people, but for Katie it’s virtually impossible. Every life has Seasons of Change. Will those seasons open Katie to new opportunities or will they forever isolate her in survival mode? Will she be able to overcome the storms that have surrounded her to answer a call for help?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Genres: Christian Fiction

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2014

About the author

C.J. Peterson is a ten-time award-winning, multi-genre published author since 2012. She is also a podcaster, blogger, and publisher who knows how to relate well to folks of all ages.
Grace Restored Series, The Holy Flame Trilogy, and the Divine Legacy Series have the characters crossing over storylines. In these books, the spiritual realm crosses into the physical. This adventurous journey will have you holding onto the pages for dear life!
The Sands of Time Trilogy (Appointed Time, Race Against Time, & Out of Time) is an exciting sci-fi series that will have you on the edge of your seat! This series follows a group of teens with abilities as they go through the US to rescue their siblings. The challenger is their sadistic creator who has the money & power to win at any cost.
Chain Reaction follows Trip and Tori as they go through time guiding their ancestors to change crucial decisions. In changing their past to save future generations, will Trip and Tori cease to exist? Take a wild ride through time in Chain Reaction! In Tested By Fire, Robin’s life has been one firestorm after another. But what happens when a fire marshal falls in love with an arsonist? Find out in Tested By Fire!
C.J. has a children's book series. She and her husband take Chief and Sarge on real-life adventures in order to share them with your little one! The Adventures of Chief and Sarge: Every day is an adventure with these two!

Reviews

[Brenda Perlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"To every season, there is change."

Seasons of Change by C.J. Peterson moves at a good pace, captivating my interest right away. This gripping story moved me and I found myself becoming emotionally connected. The coming-of-age aspect was relatable as well as this young girls vulnerabilities. By the end, I was empowered by this girls emotional faith-filled story. Touched and inspired.

The writing is clear, precise and clean. Really easy to fall into the storyline that is packed with humanity and depth.

This is a story of hope, inspiration and true faith.

Quote ~

"That week in school, Katie did her best to hide her anxiety about her bruises. She brushed her feelings aside as best she could, focusing on having fun and forgetting that her home life often resembled a fine dance of walking on eggshells, fearful of saying or doing the wrong thing, and pretending that everything was perfectly normal."

[Lauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and Hopeful

Seasons of Change was truly a heartbreaking story, but it left me full of hope. The main character, Katie, faced so many challenges which made her hesitant to trust in others. Every time she got close to trusting another person, something horrible happened. However, Katie is full of strength and she continues on the hard-fought journey of self discovery and finding faith. This book was truly heartbreaking, but I highly recommend it. I look forward to reading more of this series from C.J. Peterson.

[Victoria Simcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storms encase Katie. She’s had a hard time coping and moving on to face life’s new prospects, which will either make her weaker or stronger. Due to her dysfunctional rearing, she has big-time trust issues. Her dad was devastated at the loss of her mom and didn’t know how to deal with it. He resorted to becoming an alcoholic and an abusive man. I really delved into this story because it dealt with raw relatable issues. The characters were interesting and believable. Suspenseful and shadowed with intrigue, mystery, twists, turns and faith in a sovereign God. An upright, clean read and entirely entertaining.

[Megan Prascher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Distracted to a few typos that slipped through editing, but great story. Can’t wait to read the next book.

[Blaise Ramsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. My heart was tugged every which way. I laughed, I cried. I would recommend this book, this author to anyone!

[Ila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emotional

I would recommend this book to college age upward. Lots of things to think about after finishing the book. Very good.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Major Author Oops

First off, this is a great story at its heart. There's lots to enjoy, even with some bits that are implausible. One, well, based on my work with clients like the main character, it just did not make sense the dad came home to her when he did. The two stars off are for the implausible bits and for the extremely poor way the book ended. There's no resolution and not even a partial resolution plus a cliffhanger. This book? Trauma after trauma with little healing. Then it just calmly stops at the end of the last chapter. That was not a cliffhanger. That was a "bridge out," a fall into nothingness. Major author error.
Some judicious editing, fact checking, and allowing the characters to achieve some personal growth could lift this review to a five star. Content is clean.

[Cynthia Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seasons of Change is a wonderful story about life's up and downs. There were parts that were hard to read, and definitely some parts that I didn't see coming. I was page turning and on the edge of my seat here and there, and that's a good thing. Because this is the first book in a series, it ends on a cliff-hanger, so if you don't like cliff-hangers, you might be disappointed with the ending. It didn't really have closure; it just stopped. That doesn't bother me because I know it's a series. In this book, Peterson tackles tough issues such as alcohol, abuse, disease, and murder, but it's not graphic, which I appreciate. I'll be reading the rest of this series. I received a review copy of this book and my thoughts are my own.

[Cherime MacFarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hardest question any Christian asks themselves or is asked by others is the 'why are good people treated so badly by life'? There is no one answer as each person must resolve the question on their own. The response often made to others and one's self is 'God is good, all the time', which those not acquainted with God often hear and shake their heads at.
That particular question is one the young person in this story is continually asking. At the end of the book, she is still asking, but things are moving forward regardless of her wishes.
It was a very easy read which flowed effortlessly through the seasons of her life. An interesting story and worthwhile reading.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seasons of Change

My emotions where all over the place with this story, I laughed, cried, got angry and I was sad. I'm one of those readers that loves it when the author can make you feel what the characters are feeling and C.J. Peterson was able to do that. She had me rooting for Katie and at the same time there were moments where she had me upset with her. As much I want to dislike her dad, I understood what he was going through. I wanted this family to survive. Oh my! Kate's friends were amazing. But the best part of this story is God's awesome and amazing love. I highly recommend this book.

[Lillie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story kept me reading to the end in spite of some editing issues and repetition.

Then the book just stopped--no warning, no lead-up, no hints of the future--just stopped. I would not have bought the book if I had known it ended in a cliffhanger. When books are in a series, I always read the description trying to determine if the books are standalones. I don't mind if there are loose ends left to lead into the next book, but I expect some kind of conclusion. If there is none, I want to know so I don't buy it. Some people like cliffhanger endings--some, like me, hate them. The reader should be forewarned either way.

[katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb , Encouraging, Sometimes Mighty Hard

It wasn't what I thought it would be, its better. There are so very valid questions here and its so wonderful that the answers really are in Christianity. Life is about choices, learn, study and decide.....then hope and faith are provided in your life arsenal. I must say, if the next books are as good, often they were not, then its worth further investment to purchase.
I just wish many of our current authors would stop making so many books in a series and at thee least put more pages in each book. Money is tight.

[L.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

C.J. Peterson's best book, yet.

While SEASONS OF CHANGE is written with teens in mind, it's a great story for all ages. I found myself immersed in the story, really caring about the characters. Peterson gives the readers a satisfying story, while leaving the door open for the sequel.

[Margaret A Register · Rating 1 out of 5]

For youth

A story that is well-written but in a juvenile form. Probably good for sixth graders. Good content for youth, regarding verbal (and physical) abuse.

[Janice Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

I really liked the story and characters and Christian theme throughout the whole book. I can't wait to read Book 2 in the series.