I recently was able to reacquaint myself with an old friend... Years by LaVyrle Spencer. I find Spencer's writing to be so thoroughly engrossing that even after finishing a novel, the story of the leads cling to you. In this particular novel, set near the end of WWI in the middle of American farmland, the cast of characters are motley but endearing.

The hero is a young man of 33 years of age.  He has been a farmer and has been content to be a farmer since the age of a young boy. When he was merely 17 or 18 he met and married a young girl of similar age passing through the Midwest on a political campaign. The girl was bipolar and not at all suited to life without constant stimulation. After the birth of their child her despondent mood increased until she up and vanished to the west coast. After the passing of several years, Theodore heard of her passing, but even had he wanted to remarry ninety percent of the women where he lived were related to him.

His son is 17 years old and is anxious to see part of the world and yet perversely content to be a farmer. Kristian's restlessness is not released until after the new schoolmarm arrives to Alamo, North Dakota. His grandmother, Nissa, lives with Kristian and Theodore in their farmhouse and his Uncle John comes by for every meal. John is slow, but not stupid. He's singularly incurious and doesn't feel the need to question things. John by the way is just one of many uncles.

The heroine, Linnea, is a young vivacious woman of just 18 years. She's earned her teacher's certificate and has set her heart on being a teacher (on her own and away from her family.) Little did she know that she was hired because the school board thought she was a man. Theodore is most surprised at finding a girl still wet behind the ears at the train station. His house has always been offered to the teachers because of its close location to the school. Immediately he rebels at the thought of hosting a female in his home - he's had enough heartache and feminine wiles to last him a lifetime. For being a grown man - he still caters to his ma so when Nissa declared Linnea was staying he had no choice but to let her.

To his dismay, Teddy is drawn to Linnea's freshness, spirit, and innocence. His old soul is given new life around her, but he knows his attraction is wrong. He may not be able to read, and he may not know half the words Linnea throws at him when they argue, but he can count... at nearly twice her age, he's old enough to be considered her father. On top of that his son is just a year younger than the pretty schoolmarm, wouldn't it be more accepted to see them pair off? Teddy throws in the path to love as many obstacles as possible because Linnea has an uncanny ability to see to the heart of a matter.

Can love bridge the age gap? This question is met and answered in a timeless story that entwines joys and sorrows.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Buy: Years

Originally posted 2009-02-03 15:00:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Categories:

4.5 Stars, Book Review, Children, Farming, Historical Romance, Regency, S-U, Teacher, United States of America, Virgin Heroine, Wartime, Widow or Widower

Tags:

17 years, 33 years, alamo north dakota, american farmland, being a teacher, dism, end of wwi, farmhouse, feminine wiles, heroine, LaVyrle Spencer, linnea, old friend, political campaign, restlessness, schoolmarm, train station, uncles, vivacious woman, wet behind the ears