Rating: 
Summary: Heart Warming
Review: Another tear jerker by Mrs. Spencer! I would've liked it a lot better if the story wasn't a tad bit slow. It dragged some, but it still had me in tears! I love how she was able to get everyone to come to a closure in the end, but it kind of unrealistic in some ways. How many families do you know who can actually exist in the same town after that kind of scandal?
Rating: 
Summary: AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL READ!
Review: Eighteen years ago, onthe week of his marriage to his pregnant fiancée, Tom Gardner had aone night stand with Monica Arens. Now, a happily married man andfather of two, Tom's world is turned upside down when he meets the illegitimate son he never knew he had, Kent Arens, the product of that night so long. He loves his wife and his children with all is heart and is afraid that he will lose them when finding out about Kent. HOME SONG is a wonderful story about a family's struggle to stay united and confront a problem that may well be a blessing. It is a magnificent read that I know you'll enjoy. Trust me! END
Rating:
Summary: AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL READ!
Review: Eighteen years ago, onthe week of his marriage to his pregnant fiancée, Tom Gardner had aone night stand with Monica Arens. Now, a happily married man andfather of two, Tom's world is turned upside down when he meets the illegitimate son he never knew he had, Kent Arens, the product of that night so long. He loves his wife and his children with all is heart and is afraid that he will lose them when finding out about Kent. HOME SONG is a wonderful story about a family's struggle to stay united and confront a problem that may well be a blessing. It is a magnificent read that I know you'll enjoy. Trust me! END
Rating:
Summary: Another great book by Lavryle Spencer
Review: HOME SONG by LaVyrle Spencer One of my favorite books by LaVyrle Spencer so far, HOME SONG is the story of a family torn apart by an indiscretion from the past. The Gardners are the perfect family. Tom is the principal of the local high school, his wife Claire is an English teacher in the same school, and their children Chelsea and Robby attend the high school in this closely-knit town. They are a happy family, and everyone knows it. Tom and Claire are 100% devoted to their children, and Chelsea, a cheerleader, and Robby, a football player, are well-rounded well-behaved teens that love their parents very much. Right before the school year starts that September, Tom is introduced to a new student, Kent Arens, and after a second look at Kent's mother, Tom realizes Monica Arens was the one-night stand he had a week before he married his wife Claire. And it is obvious to him that Kent was the result. Kent is the spitting image of Tom at that age. Tom had never had a need to let Claire know about his fling, because it happened before he made his wedding vows, and he did not think he'd ever see Monica again. There was nothing between them, no emotional ties. They meant nothing to each other, then or now. What happens the next few months is something out of Tom's worst nightmare, as he struggles with keeping this a secret or letting his wife and family know about the affair. Their world is torn apart as slowly, the rest of the school finds out who Kent really is, a student that was embraced by the student body and as popular with them as Chelsea and Robby. HOME SONG deals with the theme of infidelity and how it impacts a family that seems too strong to be torn apart. LaVryle Spencer as usual creates real characters with real feelings, characters that are also likable and authentic. This reviewer's only complaint is the Hollywood-type ending, but over all, this was another excellent book by Spencer. She has a knack for writing stories that will shock the reader, yet does so in a very realistic manner that makes her stories believable. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Another great book by Lavryle Spencer
Review: HOME SONG by LaVyrle Spencer One of my favorite books by LaVyrle Spencer so far, HOME SONG is the story of a family torn apart by an indiscretion from the past. The Gardners are the perfect family. Tom is the principal of the local high school, his wife Claire is an English teacher in the same school, and their children Chelsea and Robby attend the high school in this closely-knit town. They are a happy family, and everyone knows it. Tom and Claire are 100% devoted to their children, and Chelsea, a cheerleader, and Robby, a football player, are well-rounded well-behaved teens that love their parents very much. Right before the school year starts that September, Tom is introduced to a new student, Kent Arens, and after a second look at Kent's mother, Tom realizes Monica Arens was the one-night stand he had a week before he married his wife Claire. And it is obvious to him that Kent was the result. Kent is the spitting image of Tom at that age. Tom had never had a need to let Claire know about his fling, because it happened before he made his wedding vows, and he did not think he'd ever see Monica again. There was nothing between them, no emotional ties. They meant nothing to each other, then or now. What happens the next few months is something out of Tom's worst nightmare, as he struggles with keeping this a secret or letting his wife and family know about the affair. Their world is torn apart as slowly, the rest of the school finds out who Kent really is, a student that was embraced by the student body and as popular with them as Chelsea and Robby. HOME SONG deals with the theme of infidelity and how it impacts a family that seems too strong to be torn apart. LaVryle Spencer as usual creates real characters with real feelings, characters that are also likable and authentic. This reviewer's only complaint is the Hollywood-type ending, but over all, this was another excellent book by Spencer. She has a knack for writing stories that will shock the reader, yet does so in a very realistic manner that makes her stories believable. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Is Spencer for Real?
Review: I choose books-on-tape to travel with that I might not ordinarily buy and read such as mysteries or authors I've never read before or I'm uncertain about. Spencer was one such author. I can't understand how such poorly written garbage can gather the good reviews this book has generated. It makes one question the system. Very poor plot, characters, dialogue, etc. Also, Spencer should pay someone to do her reading for her. Her delivery only made it worse.
Rating:
Summary: Tom felt like he was looking at his image of 25 years ago.
Review: I first had mixed feelings about reading this one, but then I decided I needed to give it a chance- and now I am glad I did. It's a really good read! Now about the story... Tom Gardner is the principal at the local high school, happily married with his first wife, Claire of 18 years, who teaches English at the same high school and they have 2 good kids of whom are both at the high school. Things change when Kent Arens walks into Tom's office as a transfer student. Tom's first reaction to Kent is like looking at himself 25 years ago. Kent is accompanied with his mother, Monica whom Tom recognizes from college days. And then Tom starts getting a sickening feeling. There was that one night- the night of his bachelor party, the night before his wedding to Claire when he made the fatal mistake of getting drunk and making-out with the pizza delivery girl. He has always felt guilty of that night- the one time he was unfaithful to Claire. And then it was because he had felt cornered into getting married. Claire had come to him and told him that she was pregnant. He had just graduated from college and had been looking forward to having a time of fun and freedom but now he was being tied down. It had been purely an act of rebellion. He had never told Claire but had tried making it up to her by being a good and loving husband... and they were the happiest they had ever been. How could this have happened? Was it possible for him to have another son the same age as his present son that he had with Claire? What was this going to do to his family? How would they react? And what would people there at the school say? Tom was so well thought of and Tom and Claire were thought to have the ideal marriage. What about Kent? He was the ideal son-great grades, out-standing athlete, well-liked and thought of, and his mother's life. He had never known his father-had no idea who he was and what the situation was between his mother and father. How was he going to take having a father step into his life now? The story is so realistic... you can't help but feel for the characters involved, you really feel their hurt. Once again LS makes you really think and get involved in the story. It's a good story and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Expect this one to be a little different....
Review: I have read all of Lavyrle Spencer's books and I have to admit that this one is not my favorite. But there is something about this book that is different from the rest. This book does not focus on a new romance, or rekindling an old one, like the rest of Spencer's books. This is about a happy, well-adjusted family who gets hit by a catalyst and has to deal with the consequences of a mistake the father made 18 years ago.
I liked the all of the characters in this but I did get really tired of the way Claire stayed angry at Tom, not because of what he did, but because she refused to believe that he wasn't fooling around in the present. That just got old after awhile. I really liked the way the kids reconciled at the end, though.
All in all, I did really enjoy this book and would recommend it as a good, light read, just don't expect a romance novel.
Rating:
Summary: Adult characters are well-drawn
Review: I like Spncer's work in general, but she has one flaw that sends a small cloud over her writing, and that is her portrayal of teenagers. Most of her books that I've read just involve adults, and those characterizations are fine, but the ones with teenagers never ring quite as true to me. With "Home Song," this problem is more apparent than in "Bitter Sweet." None of the teenage characters act like any teenagers I've ever been around. I'm 23, so I remember being that age pretty well, and a lot of Spencer's younger characters remind me of stereotypical high schoolers from the 1950's. Everyone is perky and has school spirit and is just wonderful, and the kids that don't fit this mold are portrayed as "burnouts" and losers. Now I realize that the principal's kids might be a little more involved than others, but that whole high school really reeked of squeaky clean fiction to me. Nobody in my high school cared THAT much about homecoming. And one more small beef, the book came out the year I graduated from high school, and big hair (like Chelsea wears) was so out. Aside from those issues, I enjoyed the book overall. I liked the adult characters, and I thought that their dilemmas were well portrayed. And I really enjoyed Monica, it was nice to see a woman as an engineer for starters, and she just seemed to have her head on straight during the whole book. But whatever happened to Ruth and Dean? We never get any information about them after Claire runs out of their house.
Rating:
Summary: My first Spencer book
Review: I like to read for relazation after a busy day at work. This was my first Lavyrle Spencer book and was given to me by my wife as a Christmas present. Since I'm in my late 40's, I found the possibility of this happening very real. A couple who has been married 18 years suddenly finds out that the husband has an illegitimate son, he knew nothing about, that is the same age as one of his children. It's a story about how all involved handle, or mishandle, the situation. A wonderful story and I plan to read many more of her books.
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