Years

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Summary: My favorite Lavyrle Spencer book.
Review: This is the very first Lavyrle Spencer book I ever read ..... and my favorite. Perhaps it is because my mother was a school teacher in North Dakota during the same period as the book. Also, my mother was of Norwegian/Swedish descent and I happen to love Lutefisk - but I also know all about the smell, texture, etc. This book made me laugh, sigh, and cry. I believe I have read, and own, every one of Lavyrle Spencer's books. I am sorry to say that today I finished her last one, Then Came Heaven. Thank you for all the enjoyable hours you have given me over the years !!!

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Summary: A book club review....10/16/2000
Review: This novel is a perfect example of the old adage "You can't judge a book by its cover". I am definitely not a person who goes for lavender, lace and hearts and if I had seen this book on a library shelf or in a store, I would have not given it a second thought. It would have been passed right by. Since I had no choice, but to read the book as the reviewer, I was very happy to find it several notches above its cover. While not the deepest or the most profound book I've ever read, "Years" does have several strong points: 1) STORY LINE - from beginning to end the story remains focused - the growth from a young girl to a young woman. It moves from Linnea's days as an inexperienced teacher, through helping Theodore learn to read, her Christmas visit to her family where she realizes how much she is attached to Theodore and her new life, the wedding followed by the April blizzard, the family loss from the pandemic influenza and finally the birth of her child. 2) SETTING - For those who have never been to the upper midwest, readers would come away from reading this novel with a vivid mental image of North Dakota complete with its unending wheat fields to its fierce winters. The author's descriptions of the area were interspersed nicely with dialogue, so that the reader got a good sense of place without page after page of descriptive writing. 3) CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT - Linnea - enthusiastic, imaginative, strong minded, creative, but with excellent organizational skills - qualities we have all wished for in our own children's teachers. Theodore - a gruff, morose character until the young Linnea appears and bring spark to his life again. Nissa - the mother and human dynamo and the glue that hold the Westgaard clan together. Other less prominent characters in the book were also developed well, though not as fully - the reader is able to get a strong sense of person in Kristen, Teddy's son; John, his brother and Clara, his baby sister. Also Isabelle Lawler, the bawdy, but lovable cook and the Severts - the minister, his wife and Allen, their totally incorrigible son. Ties in with character development was a strong feeling of admirable VALUES - a strong family allegiance and a close alliance with the seasons, the land and nature.

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Summary: annie from bronx
Review: This story is about a young woman trying to make a better and simple life for herself and younger brother. But the deception she portrays finally catches up with her. I really enjoyed this book.

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Summary: A beautiful tale of love .
Review: This story sung to me. It was a wonderful trip back in time. It reminded me a bit of "Little House on the Prairie". The story of a young girl who wins the heart of an older man was touching at the turn of every page. This story brought out good family feelings, too. Just a great LaVyrle book (and I've read many!)

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Summary: Years is a winner!
Review: This was the first Lavyrle Spencer novel I read. This was the book that made me a fan. I thought the story of Linnea & Teddy was touching and sweet. I also enjoyed the description of life in the early part of the last century. I have re-read this book at least five times. I would recommend this book and Ms. Spencer's other novels. I have enjoyed all of her works.

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Summary: You MUST read this book!
Review: What a wonderful, touching, romantic story! This book goes on my top ten list of absolute favorites. You not only get a "real" love story you get a taste of "real" life in the early 1900's. I want to tell you so much about this story but I don't want to give away any of the details and take away from the pure pleasure you are going to get by reading it. I am telling you, you will just love this story. I do want to say, when you reach Chapter 22 go lock yourself in a room without interruption until you finish the story. Its the most griping, emotional, wonderful ending I've ever experienced.

Rating:
Summary: You MUST read this book!
Review: What a wonderful, touching, romantic story! This book goes on my top ten list of absolute favorites. You not only get a "real" love story you get a taste of "real" life in the early 1900's. I want to tell you so much about this story but I don't want to give away any of the details and take away from the pure pleasure you are going to get by reading it. I am telling you, you will just love this story. I do want to say, when you reach Chapter 22 go lock yourself in a room without interruption until you finish the story. Its the most griping, emotional, wonderful ending I've ever experienced.

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Summary: Years is the best book written by Lavyrle Spencer.
Review: Years is a book about love that is free and wild as the horses described on the praire. It captures the world as it was back then. Our time is precious and we need not wait to enjoy life and the ones we love. Spencer's vivid descriptions made me feel the cold of the winter nights and see the brillent purple of the Russian Thistles. Her last paragraph wrapped up the book completely: "But inside, a man and wife lay close, watching their son sleep, thinking of their tomorrows and the blessings to be reaped, the life to be lived to its fullest...the minutes, the days, the years."

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Summary: LaVyrle Spencer's Years is one of the very best books ever!
Review: Years truly will live in one's heart forever. I make it a point to read this book every summer--and sometimes again in the winter. Being both a teacher, and a hopeless romantic, the lessons of life and living that Linnea experiences helps one to relate to one's own life. I've often thought a movie version of this book would be fun. It would never be as wonderful as the book; movies never are. Imagine Mel Gibson as Teddy... who else would be cast????

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Summary: Enjoyable, creative, unique in its own right.
Review: Years was the first novel by LaVyrle Spencer that I had the pleasure of reading. It was exactly what I was hoping it would be. The story was, of course, typical in the line of all romances. Though, there are twists that were unexpected and those certainly brought the book to a higher level than most. It's well worth riding through the slow paced beginning. In the end, it's everything it should be.