by Jenn J McLeod
RRP $24.99
Bequeathed a century-old house, four estranged friends return to their home town, Calingarry Crossing, where each must stay for a season at The Dandelion House to fulfil the wishes of their benefactor, Gypsy.
But coming home to the country stirs shameful memories of the past, including the tragic end-of-school muck up day accident twenty years earlier.
Sara, a breast cancer survivor afraid to fall in love; Poppy, a tough, ambitious journo still craving her father’s approval; Amber, a spoilt socialite addicted to painkillers and cosmetic procedures Caitlin, a doctor frustrated by her controlling.
At The Dandelion House, the women will discover something about themselves and a secret that ties all four to each other and to the house – forever.
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Sara, Amber, Poppy and Caitlin, estranged childhood friends have been bequeathed a house in their home town. Gypsy, their benefactor, however has set conditions on this bequest. Before deciding what to do with the property they must each spend a season in the house.
None of them are keen to return to the town they left twenty years ago and which evokes some shameful memories. But they also hold fond memories of Gypsy and Dandelion House. The house provided an oasis and an escape from their various dysfunctional families and Gypsy injected some warmth, freedom and magic into their troubled lives.
In returning to Calingarry Crossing and Dandelion House each of the four women confront their pasts and gain the insight into their lives that allows them to move forward to a more promising and rewarding future. In each of their journeys the women meet people who assist or guide their growth.
And then there is Cailtin’s discovery of a long kept secret that forever changes their lives and solidifies the changes already wrought by the individual stays in Dandelion House.
What kept me intrigued long after finishing the book was Gypsy’s role. How much was she controlling events from beyond the grave? So much planning went into the women’s stays. The letters for each of the women, the name plates on the bedroom doors and the unique decors of the bedrooms that relate to each of the character’s specific issues. Did she organise for Elliot to be there during Sara’s stay and Eli for Poppy’s? Or for there to be no-one there for Amber – just a note to feed the animals so that she needs to enlist Christopher’s help? Did she somehow ensure that Caitlin would find her father’s notebook? And what about the mysterious firm administering the bequest?
Madgick and Associates – Trust Managers
In Madgick we trust
Is the name telling us something?
Gypsy is certainly a fascinating character who I would have liked to get to know better.
The writing could have been tighter and I found over use of colloquialisms annoying. It’s fine in dialogue as it helps to establish character but in the body of the text I found it really irritating. Many of the minor characters don’t seem very real or believable – too one dimensional or stereotypical. Cheryl was the most interesting and well drawn of the minor characters.
I found the book was a little unbalanced. Sara’s section was too long and drawn out. Caitin’s, on the other hand, was too short and she is the major character I got to know the least well. Some of scenes with Cailtin and Alex I also found the most unconvincing and contrived. Amber and Poppy’s sections worked best for me. The ending, although satisfying, seemed a little bit forced and rushed.
Overall House for All Seasons was an interesting and involving book. It was certainly one that I wanted to keep reading as I cared for what happened to all of the four of the major characters. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an enjoyable light read.
What a breath of fresh air this book was! 4 friends are left a letter of instruction by Gypsy (their deceased friends mother) to each spend 3 months (a season) each in Dandelion House in Calingarry Crossing. All 4 women go back to their home town each facing past uncertainties and what continues to haunt them all these years later. Did their friend commit suicide or was it just an accident. Each woman contemplates their roles in relation to their pasts which they now must face head on. Will they come together at the end of the 12 months as Gypsy requested in her instructions when she bequeathed the house to them? So many issues arise for each woman in their present day lives and it is only by going back in time they can examine their lives for what they really are now. Each finds herself questioning whether its their present life they really want or can be fixed by going back to Daffodil House and seek out the life they truly want for themselves. The secret that is revealed could shatter their worlds and split them up forever or is it something that reunites them bringing the realisation to the foreground the Gypsy hinted at in the letter each woman recieved during their stays.
A book I’d definately recommend – it’s a ligt read that keeps you guessing and suprises you at the end.
I thought that this book was ok, but in parts, it tended to drag on.
I liked the four female characters, and the stories they each had to tell.
I enjoyed the setting of the story, but found it a bit difficult to say the storyline was believable.
Sara and Amber were my two favorite characters; I really enjoyed their parts in the book.
But overall, I wasn’t thrilled with this story. It was pleasant enough, but to say that I’d recommend it would be a stretch.
The ending seemed forced and rushed along, it would’ve been nicer to have a bit more insight at the end.
The book tells the story of 4 women, who came from the same town and went to the same school together. An incident happened on muck up day, which torn all of them apart. They went on their own ways until the death of someone closed to them caused their lives to intersect with each other. Each of them had their own secrets and fear that they needed to resolve.
The author is really good in introducing the characters, revealing just enough to make you wonder and keep you going page by page. I felt connected to all four characters. I sympathized with Sara whose both personal and work life were crumbling down, thanks to breast cancer. I could relate to Poppy but at the same time, expected her to have got over her needs to please her father. Amber was the opposite of Poppy, she was her father’s golden girl. Caitlin was in some ways, similar to Poppy, always wanted to please her family.
I think the book would be better off if it was split into 4 mini novels for each season as by the end of the book – winter – it felt a bit rushed. I’m looking at the copy of the book on my desk with the beginning of the season marked, it’s obvious that pages were getting shorter and shorter; Sara’s story is about double of the pages covering Caitlin.
I like how the book ends despite it being very brief to my liking. The story got more complicated as I read towards the end. There were so many questions and a few were left unanswered. What happened to Sara afterwards besides the stated obvious? Was Poppy dreaming about both men or were they real? What did Amber do when she found out the truth? I can’t think of anything about Caitlin since her story was very short.
My favourite character would be Amber. She had a very complicated personality due to her circumstances and I find her to be the most interesting compared to the rest.
Overall I really enjoy reading this book. This is one of my favourite so far for this year. People who have moved from places to places will enjoy this book as the highlight of the book is about reconnecting to your roots.
I first have to start this review by admiring the cover of the book which left me with a calming effect before reading.
This book revolves around friendship in a country home town with a tragic end to school muck up day. The book also brings people together. From the first chapter I was learning about the 4 main friends Sara, Poppy, Amber & Caitlin and other characters. I fell in love with Willow who is different from the other girls in that she is disabled and her beautiful kind-hearted mother named Gypsy. It wasn’t hard to shed a tear for Willow. Four friends who would not keep in touch due to their lives going in different directions and each carried the same secret that they could never discuss with anyone else.
Twenty years later the friends are brought together again due to the death of Willow’s mother. The four friends are bequeathed Gypsy’s home which they all find unusual. They learn that they must all stay at the house called The Dandelion House but during different seasons for each character.
Each season sees the story of the four girls and how their lives were when younger and what they were doing as they got older. Amongst the 4 friends there is sadness so tissues need to be on hand. There were moments that I would be in tears especially reading about Sara and Poppy. A box of tissues are definitely needed when reading a letter written to one’s parents by a soldier.
I felt a strong connection to Sara and just as I was getting into her relationship we are then taken to the next visitor to The Dandelion House. Further on with the pages I then began to like Ambers character.
I found this book to be a beautiful, brilliant read about friendship. I was addicted to reading from the first page and could not put it down. I was intrigued to know more. With a lot of the characters I was so deeply moved by their own lives that I just wished I could give them hugs. All of the characters became so real to me and I could also visualise The Dandelion House and surroundings.
I personally loved the ending as they will forever hold their friendship forever.
I will also look forward to reading more novels from Jenn J McLeod because she captured my attention with her writing.
I enjoyed this book but like others it did drag on at times. The relationship that Sara had in her chapter I felt was a bit boring and dragged on too much. Make up your mind Sara!
I liked how each of the characters had their own chapter and you could become more involved in their own individual qualities.
The character of Gypsy was an interesting one. It made me think of questions why and how (in regards to the letters, bedrooms, house etc). I wanted to learn more about her character.
Then there was Willow. Similar to he who shouldn’t be named in Harry Potter haha. It felt like this character was skirted around quite a bit. I would have preferred if they had tackled this character head-on in Sara’s chapter.
Overall a good read.
i aboslutley loved this book, I read in over two days as I just coudnt put it down. I loved each character of the four girls especially Sara and Amber, and how totally different there lives where to each other. I wish the author Jenn McLeod had dediacted a chapter from Gypsy’s point of view at either the beginning or the end of the book as I think Gypsie could have had a lot to offer. There was a quite a few unaswered questions that I found, such as why did gypsie keep the banner, why use Madgick and associates, and what gypsie thought happened to her daughter.
I wonder what all girls lives would have been like 10 years after the reunion and if they drifted apart again, or remain close. What happens with amber – does she find friendship with her daugher, does she work thinks out with here husband Phil?’
As stated earlier, i really thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and want to read more from Jenn MeLeod.
Jenn J McLeod’s debut novel, House for all Seasons, is a rich tapestry of small town life. It interweaves the lives of Sara, Poppy, Amber and Caitlin as they deal with painful memories and confronting secrets.
The themes are wide-ranging, moving from the issues of illness and disability, to teenager pregnancy, domestic violence, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress disorder. That may sound like a truckload to pack into one book, but Ms McLeod doesn’t dwell on the issues or preach. Rather she allows the characters to tell their stories and then leaves the reader to make their own judgments. It makes for an emotional but powerful story.
The cast of supporting characters in House for all Seasons is large and yet they are all vividly drawn. I was reminded of Monica McInerney’s beautifully crafted stories. The benign spirit of Gypsy adds a mystical layer, the animals add extra depth.
The setting of Calingarry Crossing will sound familiar to anyone who’s ever lived in a small community and I loved the mud-map on the opening pages so I could instantly see where the characters were at any time. There are minute details scattered throughout that flesh out the town and its people.
It’s a story that deserves to be savoured and will linger long after you finish reading. I look forward to many more stories from this talented new author.
I found A House for all Seasons to be a jolly good read. The plot is interesting – four childhood friends are left a house in the country town they grew up in. Each woman must spend a season at this house, which means going back to their childhood town and facing the past.
Each character is unique and it was thoroughly enjoyable to explore their younger and current selves. I liked how each character was assigned their own chapter and really brought to life by the author. All the women are on a journey of self discovery and have to contend with the discovery of a long kept secret.
I found the book easy to read and really entertaining. There are many layers to this novel which keep you hooked until the end.
I found the book enjoyable although at times just a little bit slow..
In saying that I would recommend it though.
Being set in Australia just made it for me… I could relate even more cause it sort of hits home with the problems that arise as they are problems that do happen to alot of families.
The characters were all very different and that seemed to make it a rather interesting read.
The author did a great job in explaining what was happening…although I did feel that some questions were left unanswered.
I am hoping that there with be a sequel….so, I’m looking forward to more books from her in the future..