Customer Reviews

That Camden Summer

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"In That Camden Summer," by Lavyrle Spencer, Roberta Jewett has experienced the unfaithfulness of her husband. To rid herself of her past she moves back to her hometown of Camden, Maine. This small town in which Roberta grew up now sees her as a disgrace. A divorce in a small town is seen as a criminal offense and Roberta is the offender. Through many hardships suffered through the actions of her mother as well as the town's citizens, Roberta decides to rebuild her life for her girls and herself. Love is reintroduced to her unexpectedly and her life falls back into place as she learns to have faith in the opposite sex.

In this book irony is the most significant literary element. Roberta is criticized frequently for the divorce she had encountered only months earlier. In the latter part of the book, readers see how ironic it is for her to be criticized while other citizens of the town have the same, if not worse, faults. It also ironic how badly the townspeople treat Roberta after everything she does for others. Throughout the story she is seen as a strong female who puts her life and family back together after a terrible experience. Her fellow citizens see her as a failure creating another ironic instance.

I happened to love most of LaVyrle Spencer's books, but this is my favorite. So rarely do romances tackle the issues that Spencer illuminates in this novel. Finally, a women with spirit who is not a shrew or countlessly doing stupid things.

Roberta Jewitt returns to her home town after divorcing her husband. She brings her three daughters in order for them to become closer to the family she left in Maine when she went away to college in Boston. However, she encounters many things when she returns, not all of them good or pretty to read about.

I felt this book was ultimately about choices. The choices you make, the motives behind those choices, and the rewards and consequences of those choices.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a grown-up romance and not the junior high school stuff that a lot of authors are putting out.

I loved this book!I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fast enjoyable read. This book got me hooked on Spencer's books!

This was the first novel I ever read of L.Spencer's,to say the least this book had me hooked from the beginning. Ms.Spencer has an incredible talent!Her description of the scenery made me feel as if I my self have been to Camden. Since I first read this book, a year and a half ago, I have since read 13 other novels by her.She is a very gifted woman. I highly recommend this book as well as all her others,

Wonderful, wonderful! I agree! LaVyrle Spencer is one of my favorite authors. Her books are about everyday people- lives that touch you. There are times you cry for the characters and times you laugh at them. I enjoy that they are in different settings and times. This particular book is during the early 1900's when automobiles have just come out. Through this story the reader really gets a glimpse of what women went through in the earlier years before women's rights. Roberta Jewitt has had enough of her "playboy husband" who came around when he needed money or a place to stay. After several years of marriage she has filed for divorce and brought her 3 girls back home to renew her relationship with her family. Divorce was not an accepted thing back then especially when instigated by the woman. The townspeople look at her like she is diseased, her mother and sister are furious at the disgrace she has caused them, men think she is "fair game" for their pre-marital affairs (especially her brother-in-law who won't take no for an answere), etc. But she always had her daughters' love and respect.

Gabe Farley is a handy-man around town who is a widow of several years with a teenage daughter. He has made a good life for the 2 of them but he is lonely, still hanging onto the love of his dear deceased wife. Recognizing that fact that Roberta needs his help to get the house she has purchased presentable for her and the girls to live in to- makes a deal to get it in shape. While he is there everyday, he is given a chance to get to know Roberta for who she really is instead of listening to gossip. He comes to appreciate the time they spend together- realizing the void he has had in his life up to now. But what will people say he's seeing a "divorced woman"? It is a story of strong family ties and values, and the sweetest of love stories.

This is a great book! I read it in 2 days. It kept me interested from the beginning till the end. It's another great story of Spencer's about life, love & much more.

Being a LaVyrle Spencer fan, I have to say this is my favorite book out of all her books. I have never loved and hated so many characters, all in one book. Roberta was a strong(sometimes too strong) woman, and Gabe was a man that any woman would be lucky to have. I totally loved his character...such a great guy. I found this book to be totally romantic, and this book made me realize just how lucky, we as women are today. I had a hard time putting this book down, and whenever I got one free moment, I would run for this book.

One of the many things I like about this author is her amazing ability to research historical information and incorporate it into a great storyline. In That Camden Summer, Spencer has a field day with the automobiles of that time period. What a wonderful way to learn history!

Description from the back of book:

The year is 1916. The place is a tiny New England village called Camden - where a newly divorced woman learns that love can be more special the second time around...

When free thinking divorcee Roberta Jewett returns to her hometown of Camden, Maine, she discovers that small-town folk consider a divorced woman little more that a prostitute. Condemned by her mother and scorned by neighbors, she nonetheless perseveres in her struggle to forge a good life for her little girls and herself. Behaving like no "respectable" woman would, she gets a job as a county nurse, learns to drive, and buys her very own Model T. Embittered by her painful marriage to an unfaithful husband, she has no intention of being any man's victim again. So when widowed carpenter Gabriel Farley begins work renovating her house, Roberta's first response to him is blatant resentment. But Gabriel's quiet, vibrant masculinity soon finds a way to soothe Roberta's heart.

And in the ultimate test of will and devotion, she must depend on the man she has grown to love and summon the courage to stand up to the entire town.

* This book was so great. I can't tell you how many times it brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't put it down & it's a definite keeper. The story is wonderful & sad at times but Roberta doesn't let the bad things overrule the life she's worked so hard to keep exciting for her girls. I don't see how anybody wouldn't love this book. I HIGHLY recommend.

This was one of the "newer" novels from Ms. Spencer I read and I was a little hesitant because it was newer..But so far I have read this book TWICE and would read it again in a heartbeat. I always like writers who can pull a reader into the book or novel to the point you see yourself there. That is what happens with this one. I traveled back in time and lived with Roberta and the kids and laughed and cried with them. I would have to say the most enjoyable parts of the book were when Roberta wanted to buy a car (how scandalous!!) and her first driving lesson. This is a love story, but it is also an adventure. Buy this, you will enjoy it.