Small Town Girl

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL READING - - IT'S A MUST READ
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved all the details about the country singers life. I'm a firm believer in beauty is only skin deep. I liked how Mac came to realize that Kenny (the high school dork) is the love she had been waiting for! I am a huge fan of LaVyrle Spencer. I have read many of her books, and I'm excited to read all the others. I haven't found one yet that I haven't loved.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best!
Review: I am a BIG fan of Ms. Spencer having read most of the books, but was a little hesistant with reading the newer books. Starting with this one maybe because I was afriad it would be as "juicy" as some of the other books. The main thought which made me read it was, "This is a Lavyrle Spencer book, it has to be good." Boy was I ever correct! I enjoyed this book so much I read it in two days! The plot was wonderful, the tension (not only with Mac and Kenny--but with Mac and her sister as well), the clever writing. All these ingridients came together to creat an excellent novel. I'm not a country music person, but I learned a few things in the book about music I never would have thought about. As always Lavyrle put us inside the character to let us know their thoughts and feelings. An added plus was the funny "thoughts" that ran through both Mac and Kenny when they were apart or together. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, it makes enjoyable reading and you might find yourself chuckling when you read some of the antics told in the book. Defenitely a great read!

Rating:
Summary: Small Town Girl
Review: I especially loved reading this book about the twists and turns of passions between Kenny and Tess. It really makes you feel that you should always keep your eyes open for love because you never really know where it is going to come about. It was great reading this book, quick read yet very detailed in what happens!!!

Rating:
Summary: One of Spencer's better efforts
Review: This novel is one of the best La Vyrle Spencer has written in a while. Unlike some of her heroines, Tess Mac Phail is truly a likable person. True, she acted a bit snotty in the book's beginning, but that behavior soon ended as her character developed. The best written characters were Tess's mother ,Mary, and Kenny's soon-to-be ex- girlfriend, Faith. Spencer does an excellent job describing the obsessions of these characters (who are perhaps too detail oriented for their own good). I would have liked it better if Faith had been meaner, though--she doesn't deserve the treatment she got from Kenny. The story begins to fall apart after Tess returns to Nashville with Kenny's daughter in tow. There is literally no conflict from that point on--just a cut and dry happy ending and some details about country music hangouts. A few more plot twist would have turned this pleasant book into a truly great one. Still, it's a fun read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, feel-good read!
Review: I really recommend this book! It has everything a good girl book should have....love, childhood memories, fame, parts that make you laugh, parts that make you cry, parts that make you say "awww" and of course a happy ending.

Rating:
Summary: Too many negatives
Review: I have enjoyed each of Spencer's books, and although this story did keep me going, there were several things about this book that "just plain bugged me".
First of all, I really don't get into books about celebrities that much. I just can't relate to their lives very much and they usually come across as selfish and rather uncaring. No different here. I also do not like to have real-life celebrities mixed in with fictional characters (such as the scenes from Tess's wedding). When I read a fictional book, I like the characters to all be fictional. Which is probably one of the main reasons I don't like celebrity books.
Another thing that irked me was the portrayal of Judy. The scene in the hospital cafeteria was especially annoying, like what you eat makes you the person you are. I am only a size 4, but I still get annoyed at the way society sees skinny people as better than overweight people. No wonder so many teen-age girls have eating disorders. And why did Judy hate Tess so much? We never know.
I also didn't think the author did very much with the character of Kenny, she didn't take me inside his thoughts very much so I really couldn't tell how he was really feeling. The whole book focused on Tess's thoughts and she was a very shallow person.
I also agree with another reviewer that it's hard to get past the fact that the hero was stolen from someone else. Come to think of it, that's very common in Spencer's books. Think of Bittersweet, Separate Beds, Vows, Spring Fancy....
Tess's relationship with her mother was the redeeming quality for this book. I think many people can relate to leaving home for a long time and being irritated by our parents when we return. That was the one relationship in the book that really progressed well. And I also liked the relationship between Tess and Casey, though I do question whether it's realistic or not.
Overall, it's good because it's Lavyrle Spencer, but I don't think I'll be buying this one.

Rating:
Summary: heart warming.....
Review: this author is not known for her exciting stories but for her heart warming and realistic stories. i have read all of her books and all of her books are good. if not great then good. i ve read some of the reviews here people complaining that it wasnt exciting, well this author is not known for that. this book i felt was an original fresh story. its not the same ol same ol, we get from those author who write EXCITING stories. if you read this story, you wont regret it. its a good book. might not be the best but wont make you regret reading it.

Rating:
Summary: NICE STORY
Review: I found this story very predictable. Small time girl, Tess McPhael is a big country singer from Nashville who goes home to Wintergreen, Missouri to take care of her elderly mother who just had a second hip replacement......Everyone in Wintergreen,except her sister Judy, are excited to see her again after many years away. Judy has always been jeleous of her since they were children......The "boy next door", Kenny Kronek always had a crush on Tess, but she taunted him all their growing up years......Kenny is now divorced with a long time girlfriend and a daughter who has always dreamed of becoming a country singer....Guess what? Jess becomes her mentor (surprise, surprise}........Tess becomes a big part of the community during her month's stay in town and guess what again? Her and Kenny become quite "close".....This is kind of a "feel good" story, but no big surprises.

Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: Clever? Not! Boring? Yes. What makes people love authors like this enough to make them bestsellers? I'm mystified. Lavyrle Spencer is enormously popular, yet the characters in this book are unimaginative, many are unlikeable, and most are undeveloped. Most of the relationships between people felt unbelievable, including the one between Tess and Kenny. I felt the relationships between Tess and her family members could've been developed more to the benefit of all of those characters and the reader. And it's quite a boring book. The writing is trite and often wordy - I felt this book could've been written more effectively using about half the pages. The only reason I finished this book is because it was highly recommended by a good friend. I kept waiting for it to get better, and it never did. Right now I'm slightly annoyed with that person - last time I'll take a book recommendation from him! Unless you have absolutely nothing better to do with your time, pick up just about any thing else to read. A road map of Antarctica, something written in a foreign language that uses an alphabet you don't understand , a sociology 101 textbook. Or even watch paint dry - it'd be about as interesting!

Rating:
Summary: Finding Love in the most unlikely places
Review: This is the second book I have read by Mrs. Spencer and all I can say is WOW!! I loved the characters and how they seemed very real. Just like people I would know. The relationship with Tess and Kenny was so wonderful. I loved the fact that they had such a rocky history and how they grew from that. This is a great book for anyone who has fallen in love in the most unlikely places. Also a must read for anyone who has a dream.