Book Review: The Changing Season by Steven Mancheter

The Changing Season by Steven Manchester
Genre: General Fiction, Young Adult, Coming of Age
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Synopsis
This was supposed to be a simple summer for Billy; one more lazy expanse of time before college began. He'd fill the hours playing with Jimmy – his canine best buddy – going camping and doing all the things he promised Jimmy they'd do before Billy left.

But that was before the accident that shook the entire town.

It was before the summer job that turned into something so much more than a way to get a paycheck.

And it was before Vicki.

This summer was destined to be many things to Billy, things he didn't truly understand until now. But it was definitely not going to be simple.

An enormously touching, richly textured, deeply moving novel of new adulthood, THE CHANGING SEASON is an experience to savor.

Review

When Steven approached me to review The Changing Season, I happily agreed. General Fiction isn't really my usual genre, but I was drawn to Steven's books, they sort of became my guilty pleasure. They're always so heartwarming and enthralling that they manage to get me hooked. I simply love where Steven's books take me. They take each reader from a disaster to a smooth, happy ending that always manages to leave us with a lesson to take with us when we close the book.

The Changing Season is a fascinating tale that revolves around Billy Baker and his dog; Jimmy. The book follows the two on what was supposed to be their best summer yet before Billy goes off to college. It started off with Billy and his friends; Mark and Charlie, on their last week of high school. In just a few days time, they'll be high school graduates and they'll be going off into the real world. But, before that, they've got parties to go to and they've got to make memories that would last a lifetime.

The Changing Season talks about struggles of a freshly graduate young adult, their existential crisis's, first loves, regrets, broken hearts, and most of all, gratitude. In the book, we see how Billy evolves from that naive young adult who struggles with finding his purpose in life to a man going off to the beginning of his fruitful journey. I found myself enjoying the book immensely. Despite the time I took to finish it, the book still managed to capture me.

At first glance at the book and it's summary, I never thought that The Changing Seasons would be much more than what it is. I thought it would be a typical YA novel with a typical happy ending, but The Changing Seasons is much much more. I highly recommend this books to all those who enjoy reading Coming of Age novels with true life lessons.