FOUR SEASONS OF PATRICK by Susan Hughes

 Rated 4 SEASONS

FOUR SEASONS OF PATRICK

by

Susan Hughes

Expected publication: March 15th 2014 by Red Deer Press

(first published August 1st 2013)

OVERVIEW

(from Goodreads)

It's the start of winter, and Patrick is beginning to feel crowded out of his own family. His father's friend, Linda, and her seven-year-old daughter, Claire, are coming for dinner again. By the time spring arrives, not only is Patrick's father planning to marry Linda, but she and Claire will be coming to live with them at the summer's end. That just won’t do. So Patrick comes up with a big idea. He'll build a tree house where he can stretch out his arms and breathe. But wait. Will his father allow it? Where will he find the perfect tree? Who will give him a hand with the construction? And, most importantly, will his own tree house really be the hideaway he hopes for, especially from the irritating Claire?

As the autumn season arrives, Patrick discovers some surprising answers to these questions – and learns a little about the meaning of family.

REVIEW

This is a short novel which is very easy to read in a half hour or less.  The story is about a family that is going on with life after their mother dies.  The father is moving forward with a new relationship. His young son has to come to terns with this.  He has emotions he has to deal with especially after he finds out his father's new girlfriend, Linda and her daughter, Claire are moving into his house. He feels guilty that there are certain things he can't remember about his mother. He doesn't know and doesn't want to know how to handle the emotions he feels.  He doesn't want to share his home with these strangers.The author has written into the story some valuable lessons that we all face at one time or another. Things change, people change and we all must learn how to accept that and go on with our lives. Patrick comes up with an idea that will give him some freedom from everything that is going on.  He'll build a tree house.  He wonders if his father will let him.  Who is going to help him? Can he keep creepy little Claire away? Every bit of Patrick's life is based on the seasons.  the coldness he felt when his father started the relationship with Linda started in the winter.  the tree house started in the summer right before Linda was to move in.   The seasons are like changes in our lives.  The seasons change and so do our lives.  We have to accept the seasons changing and so is true of changes in our lives.  We must learn to accept them. The author wrote a wonderful little book that is

interesting and includes several valuable lessons.  I hope everyone picks up a copy and reads it with their children, grandchildren or just themselves.  You dont' have to be a child to read it.  It's for the young at heart also.

I would give this book 4 SEASONS.

I was given a complimentary copy of FOUR SEASONS OF PATRICK from the author, Susann Hughes for my personal view.  I received no other compensation.

AUTHOR

Susan Hughes is a writer and editor, and has been writing children's books and articles for nearly twenty years. Susan has always loved writing. When she was in grade five and six, she and several friends had a writing club. They would gather with their poems and stories and read them aloud to one another. It was hard to wait for the responses! The group members always tried to say one thing that was positive, along with a constructive comment.

After finishing high school, Susan studied English literature at the University of Toronto. One summer, before her last year, she went to the job posting board and saw an ad: A children’s publishing house was looking for summer help from students. She answered the ad and was hired. She learned a lot that summer about writing, researching, editing, proof-reading, and working as a team. When she graduated, she worked for a year with the children’s publishing house – then began freelancing, working on her own to find editing and writing work. Soon she was getting calls asking her to do jobs such as write short articles for educational books. While she was doing this paid work, she was also working on her own ideas for books.

Susan writes both fiction and non-fiction. She is often asked to write a book on a topic she knows little about! So she does lots of research and briefly becomes an expert on that subject. Sometimes she works with experts, for example when she wrote about the Megalodon, the prehistoric shark, or Titanic. She often has to do research for her fictional works as well, for example, the Wild Paws series. Susan had to learn a lot about how to care for injured or motherless wild baby animals so that she could make the books realistic and factual, as well as entertaining.

Susan lives in Toronto in a tall house with a red door. She works in her living room at home. She opens the windows wide -- and sometimes the front door too! -- and sits where she can see the trees and the sunlight.

She lives with her three children, her boyfriend, and his two children. One of her favourite parts of the day is when all the kids come home after school and she gets to visit with them and hear stories about their day

http://bemiown.blogspot.com

www.reddeerpress.com

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143301-four-seasons-of-patrick

http://www.susanhughes.ca/

 

http://www.shelfari.com/books/36923884/Four-Seasons-of-Patrick  

 

http://www.amazon.com/Four-Seasons-Patrick-Susan-Hughes/dp/0889955050