The Crushing Season in Aussie Readers

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Mar 23, 2015 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, contemporary-fiction, 2015-release, reviewing-by-request, own-read, gift-from-author

May, Tate, Alex, Benny and Leah had been best friends since primary school; the day Leah rescued May from the beating by the school bully was the day that began a friendship that would last a lifetime. Now in their thirties with lives of their own, they still made time for their friendships and downtime together. Tate and her husband Nelson had a beautiful three month old daughter Gemima; Tate had just returned to her job as subeditor of the local newspaper. She was twitchy and anxious – she cou May, Tate, Alex, Benny and Leah had been best friends since primary school; the day Leah rescued May from the beating by the school bully was the day that began a friendship that would last a lifetime. Now in their thirties with lives of their own, they still made time for their friendships and downtime together. Tate and her husband Nelson had a beautiful three month old daughter Gemima; Tate had just returned to her job as subeditor of the local newspaper. She was twitchy and anxious – she couldn’t seem to bond with Gemima, and was always fighting with Nelson. Alex and Benny were still single, though Alex had married and divorced with a son he rarely saw. Leah owned a restaurant but was unlucky in love; her track record for picking the “wrong” men was huge. And May, she had troubles and a past of her own – but it was a past she kept from her friends. It was also May who would rally them all together every now and then…

Bundaberg in Queensland saw its share of the continual cane harvesting (the crushing season as it was called) and when the fires burned the friends loved to sit and watch. It was an event they had participated in for years – fun and frivolity. When Tate, Alex, Benny and Leah returned to Bundaberg to spend time with May, they would each visit their families first – then the letting go of life’s tensions and pressures would relax them all for just a few hours before they were back into it again. But when May’s father, who was in a nursing home and deteriorating rapidly, finally passed away it changed something irrevocably for the friends.

Would the lives of the friends who had been together since childhood; been together through the highs and lows of life; ever be the same again?

I thoroughly enjoyed The Crushing Season by Aussie author Peta Jo. A deeply emotional story, it was heartfelt and profound. The love and loyalty of friends; the friendships and how they were tested – it was all written with a perfect blend of compassion and strength. Parts were heartbreaking – parts were uplifting; but the overall result was an excellent story that I have no hesitation in recommending highly. My first by Peta Jo but definitely not my last.

With thanks to the author for my copy to read and review.
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Aug 05, 2015 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: provided-by-publisher, aussie-author, arc-are

Peta Jo's second novel, The Crushing Season, is an engaging story about friendship, family, love and loss.

Leah, May, Tate, Alex and Benny are the best of friends. They met in high school and more than fifteen years later, despite the separation wrought by their busy lives, remain close. When May is hit by a double crisis, her friends rally to support her, but none of them realise how badly she has been affected, until she does the unthinkable.

I became quite attached to all of the Crushing Season ...more

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Dec 22, 2015 Janine marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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