A Season of Transformation in Aussie Readers

Apr 26, 2011 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 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 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. ...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Brenda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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

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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