Adolescence is always a transitional experience that involves shifting perspectives and finding a sense of personal identity. J.C Burke’s The Story of Tom Brennan explores the first person perspective of Tom, a adolescent who is in a transition into adulthood. However, Tom’s experience of adolescence is shaped by his experiences with death, grief and trauma subverting the normal confronting nature of adolescence into a much more confronting experience for the protagonist. The novel explores transitions using a literal transition into a new town as the catalyst for the more significant cognitive and emotional transformation in the protagonist. The prologue captures the moment of the Brennan’s movement away from the town of Mumbili using significant