Home Song (Paperback)

by LaVyrle Spencer (Author) "Minnesota lay green and vibrant, freshened by a night's rain that rinsed the late August sky to a watercolor blue..." (more)
Key Phrases: Kent Arens, Tom Gardner, Monica Arens (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A seemingly Norman Rockwell-like family is at the center of Spencer's (Family Blessings) latest novel, and, as usual, Spencer reveals the hard truths that lie beneath the bright exterior. On the first day of school, high-school principal Tom Gardner thinks his biggest problem is finding the shipment of textbooks for his wife Claire's English class; but the most difficult ordeal of his life is about to begin. Tom's real troubles start when he meets a new student, Kent Arens, who turns out to be smart, well-mannered, a star athlete-and the illegitimate son Tom never knew he had, conceived during a one-night stand 18 years ago, just before Tom married Claire. Tom swings between fear that Claire will find out about Kent and pride in his newfound son, but when the boy, unaware of his lineage, starts courting Tom's 16-year-old daughter, Chelsea, Tom is forced to reveal his secret. Claire, bitter and angry, asks Tom to move out of their home. Robby, their son, resents his new brother and takes out his anger on Kent on the football field. Chelsea, meanwhile, starts running with the wrong crowd. But while Tom and Claire grow farther apart, the three siblings decide to become friends. Together, they reunite Tom and Claire, restoring family harmony. While the course of events is predictable, the characters are warmly drawn and their dilemmas realistic, and Spencer knows how to tug at readers' hearstrings. Chalk up another likely bestseller, the 11th in 11 years for this consistently commercial author. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selection; film rights to CBS-TV.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
The Longfellow poem that Spencer uses for the title of her new melodrama urges "my heart [to] stay at home." But high-school principal Tom Gardner almost loses home and family because of a long-ago betrayal. When transfer student Kent Arens enrolls at Tom's suburban St. Paul school, Tom realizes that Kent's mother, Monica, is the college acquaintance he took to bed the night of his bachelor party in a brief rebellion against having to marry his pregnant girlfriend, Claire; Kent is the son the principal didn't know he had. Tom delays telling English teacher Claire and children Robby, a senior, and Chelsea, a junior, this secret, until Kent and Chelsea appear to be attracted to one another. There's a hothouse quality to this confrontation: the only major characters who don't spend their time at the high school are Monica, a 3M engineer, and Tom's wise-old-man father; Kent and Robby are rival candidates for homecoming king and bump shoulders on the football team; and Kent is a student in Claire's honors English class. All the characters are such decent folk that it's clear from the start their wounds will heal and they'll find ways to forgive one another. Spencer's latest is as simple but satisfying as the made-for-TV movie it may well become. A main selection of both the Literary Guild and the Doubleday Book Club. Mary Carroll --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Jove (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515118230
• ISBN-13: 978-0515118230
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,149,344 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Is this for real?, August 23, 2003

By	mys_reader "mys_reader" (Fort Worth, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This book made me so angry, I just had to vent. The way that Claire is treated by her husband Tom and her spoiled rotten kids was hideous.

Tom tells her that not only did he cheat on her before they were married, but that he fathered another child. A young man that she has to see every day. A kid who was dating their daughter. Claire is (justifiably) angry at him for this. She (understandably) loses her trust for him. She asks him for a separation. So what happens?

Everyone dumps on her. How can she be so cruel? How can she not forgive him and welcome his former lover (one night stand) and illegitimate child into her heart?

HE cheated on her, and SHE'S the bad guy. HE publically humiliates her by bringing his illegitimate kid into the home, and SHE'S a terrible woman for not being delighted. She's a bad woman for not instantly being delighted at the existence of her "stepson".

Tom, the jerk, plays the wounded victim to the core. "Why do I have such an unreasonable wife?" Considering his violent reaction when a man FLIRTS with Claire, Tom is also a hypocrite.

And her kids. "You are breaking up the family!" Huh. Why don't they tell Dad, "Why didn't you keep your pants on?"

No. They have to act out, so that they can lay a guilt trip on Mom. "You broke up the family, and our lives are going to be ruined!" Huh. These kids are in High School, that's a little old to be playing traumetized child of divorce.

If I had been Claire, I would have dumped all of them. They deserved each other.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another great book by Lavryle Spencer, May 4, 2004

By	Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Home Song (Paperback)

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!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tom felt like he was looking at his image of 25 years ago., July 14, 2003

By	janlouise (Ruston, LA United States) - See all my reviews

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.