The Bookworm: The Changing Season by Steven Manchester
- Title: The Changing Season
- Author: Steven Manchester
- Format: Hardcover 276 pages
- Publisher: The Story Plant
- Published: 16 February 2016
- Genre: Contemporary Fiction
- ISBN 10: 1611882265
- ISBN 13: 9781611882261
- Source: Gifted for Review
- Buy: The Book Depository|Amazon
In an apple core (The Bookworm’s version of a nutshell)
A heartwarming tale of man’s best friend, and the truth that love knows no bounds no matter what you look like on the outside.
Summary
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.”
My Thoughts
Everyone makes mistakes. That is life. As they always say, “c’est la vie”. But what if this one mistake, made in a time of rage and hatred, becomes too big to erase, too big to fix? Fight or flight. Now that my friends, is the question.
Billy, a new high school graduate, takes center stage in this new Steven Manchester novel. A gamer, lazy bum, and an outright slob. He’s always had his best friend around, a dog he rescued from the pound way back when. After graduation ends and summer holidays begin, Billy has the opportunity to give up his dirty low-paying part-time job for something involving a lot more hosing down. This new job makes him get his hands dirty in another sense of the word, but it also cleans and polishes the rough stone hidden within his heart.
One night was all it took to change a course in Billy’s life. A little accident that created swells, so small at first that he didn’t know how it’d impact him directly, until it did. And when the girl of his dreams walks into his life, he starts having less time for his buddy and his other human friends. Billy now has to juggle having a girlfriend, his friends, his family issues, his dog, and his new job. And unbeknownst to him, the ripples of the waves that were made during that accident, are about to flood and intertwine through his life.
The overall tone of this book is comparatively lighter than Steven’s previous offerings, making this the perfect summer read due to his crisp and simple use of words. Even though the theme touched upon in this book is less serious that its counterparts, it doesn’t make the core message of this book any less poignant or less inspiring. The Changing Season is so aptly named, not just because this story covers a whole season, but because it shows us that it only takes one little season, for our lives to change. For better or for worse.
Steven’s books always evoke a sense of wonder in oneself as he makes us question the important things in life. And this one does just that, except this time, it’s covered in fur and warm hugs.
Steven Manchester is the published author of the #1 best seller, Twelve Months, as well as A Christmas Wish (the holiday prequel to Goodnight, Brian). He has also written Pressed Pennies, The Unexpected Storm: The Gulf War Legacy and Jacob Evans, as well as several books under the pseudonym, Steven Herberts. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early Show, CNN’s American Morning and BET’s Nightly News. Recently, three of his short stories were selected “101 Best” for Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
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Check out Steven’s other books:
miki
May 22, 2016 at 10:53 am (9 years ago)this would perhaps be too moving for me at this time but a dog in included so i will have to remember it at a time or another
thank you for this worderful review
autofinanzierung
May 29, 2017 at 5:44 am (8 years ago)Neimenn, sÃ¥ fnt du har gjort det!SÃ¥ utrolig lekker den blonde kranser var !Kanskje jeg skal rote i noen sekker etter gamle gardiner.. det var en god ide…kransen var med mose og var sÃ¥ nydelig!!! NÃ¥ fikk jeg lyst til Ã¥ prøve meg.. klemmer White vintage. Heidi-anitha