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akublik's review
2.0
I was disappointed with this conclusion to the Make Lemonade trilogy. The main plot device - where LaVahn discovers that her favourite mentor is the biological mother of her friend Jolly - is forced, and the book over all is too long, with too much filler.
barbrattybooks's review against another edition
5.0
I am 100% team Patrick. Someone should throw Craig into the sun.
emilymorgan02's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this finale to the adventures of LaVaughn . <3
readwithpassion's review against another edition
4.0
This is a beautiful book in verse. It made me immediately purchase the first two online, as I want to read what happens before this book!
readerpants's review
3.0
Reading This Full House after the first two in the trilogy felt like reading the third of Ellen Emerson White's books about Meg Powers: the drama and (improbable?) coincidence levels just skyrocketed.
WARNING: SPOILERS!!!
Unlike in the other two books, I just had a hard time believing in this one. Not just because of the Dr. Moore - Jolly connection, but also because LaVaughn's actions just seemed so improbable. All of that going on and she didn't talk to her mom about it... and her mom didn't notice that something was up? And would Annie really have attended school up until the end of her third trimester and then given birth in the locker room and there were NO adults around to tell, especially in a school that had enough pregnant students to warrant a pregnancy exercise class? Also, I understand no pay phones, but there are no regular phones to call the principal/office like the kind that a teacher would need in an emergency? And the paramedics come but there are *still* no school adults there? And, whoa, that thing about Dr. Moore giving birth in the utility closet and then finishing a 14-hr shift and there not being any mystery about where the heck this extra baby came from... well. Plus, those are two ultra-fast labors; I'm sure my mom would have loved to give birth in 20 minutes or less.
I found it really hard to believe that LaVaughn is so naive about sexual situations... I mean, they're seniors and Annie is the first one to be kissed? And then Annie goes from "never kissed" to "btw, sleeping with Gary and now pregnant". LaVaughn doesn't have any kind of why-didn't-you-use-birth-control or maybe-consider-an-abortion reaction in her scientist brain? (I understand that Annie would not have wanted an abortion, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't have crossed LaVaughn's mind.) Despite the fact that she's supposedly older, LaVaughn's reactions felt awfully young to me throughout the book, something that I believed when she was fourteen but am resistant to now that she's supposedly going off to college next year.
But other than being pulled out of the story by my skepticism, I still think it will appeal to fans of the trilogy and maybe readers who considered the first books insufficiently dramatic. I have to admit that I skimmed the long sections of science vocabulary -- especially that interminable DNA testing part -- but otherwise the story moved quite quickly. Despite my rant above, I didn't dislike the story or the writing.
WARNING: SPOILERS!!!
Unlike in the other two books, I just had a hard time believing in this one. Not just because of the Dr. Moore - Jolly connection, but also because LaVaughn's actions just seemed so improbable. All of that going on and she didn't talk to her mom about it... and her mom didn't notice that something was up? And would Annie really have attended school up until the end of her third trimester and then given birth in the locker room and there were NO adults around to tell, especially in a school that had enough pregnant students to warrant a pregnancy exercise class? Also, I understand no pay phones, but there are no regular phones to call the principal/office like the kind that a teacher would need in an emergency? And the paramedics come but there are *still* no school adults there? And, whoa, that thing about Dr. Moore giving birth in the utility closet and then finishing a 14-hr shift and there not being any mystery about where the heck this extra baby came from... well. Plus, those are two ultra-fast labors; I'm sure my mom would have loved to give birth in 20 minutes or less.
I found it really hard to believe that LaVaughn is so naive about sexual situations... I mean, they're seniors and Annie is the first one to be kissed? And then Annie goes from "never kissed" to "btw, sleeping with Gary and now pregnant". LaVaughn doesn't have any kind of why-didn't-you-use-birth-control or maybe-consider-an-abortion reaction in her scientist brain? (I understand that Annie would not have wanted an abortion, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't have crossed LaVaughn's mind.) Despite the fact that she's supposedly older, LaVaughn's reactions felt awfully young to me throughout the book, something that I believed when she was fourteen but am resistant to now that she's supposedly going off to college next year.
But other than being pulled out of the story by my skepticism, I still think it will appeal to fans of the trilogy and maybe readers who considered the first books insufficiently dramatic. I have to admit that I skimmed the long sections of science vocabulary -- especially that interminable DNA testing part -- but otherwise the story moved quite quickly. Despite my rant above, I didn't dislike the story or the writing.
agenderberry335's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
hetellama83's review
5.0
LaVaughn is one of the most three-dimensional characters I have ever read; her character voice is incredibly honest and so truthfully written, even down to the way in which she speaks. As in the first two books, I found myself connecting with her on so many levels; she deals with life in realistic ways, and the other characters, too, have their moments in connecting with the reader. Wolff has carefully crafted LaVaughn's coming of age over the course of the three novels in this series, and this third installment not only successfully ties everything up, but also allows LaVaughn to live beyond the page. The reader knows she will be okay, and that she will have the same determination and caring nature throughout the rest of her life. I love this book (and this series) so much.
sc104906's review
4.0
The finale of Make Lemonade series. LaVaughn is a senior in high school and still has many difficult obstacles that she must over come. She is still learning how to be in the same room with chocolate chip cookies. She is trying to do well in school, so that she can go to college. She is helping a friend, who is pregnant. Also, she may just have found someone's long lost mother.
Great finale.
Great finale.
abigailbat's review
4.0
LaVaughn has had one goal on her mind for years now: escape her poor inner-city neighborhood and go to college. Now she's a senior in high school and she's in a Women in Medical Science group... she's finally on her way. But life gets complicated when one of her friends gets pregnant and LaVaughn will struggle to find the meaning of the word "family".
I've been waiting for this book to come out for a long time and I was so happy to live in LaVaughn's world for awhile! Sure, a big plot point was a little over the top and a mite hard to believe, but I love LaVaughn so much that I don't care! Definitely check out Make Lemonade and True Believer before you read this book. It's a very satisfying conclusion to the Make Lemonade trilogy.
Full review on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-this-full-house.html
I've been waiting for this book to come out for a long time and I was so happy to live in LaVaughn's world for awhile! Sure, a big plot point was a little over the top and a mite hard to believe, but I love LaVaughn so much that I don't care! Definitely check out Make Lemonade and True Believer before you read this book. It's a very satisfying conclusion to the Make Lemonade trilogy.
Full review on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-this-full-house.html
showlola's review
2.0
I really wish I liked this more.
I loved the first two books in the trilogy so much - and then waited (and waited) for the third. All that anticipation may have killed this for me. Where the first books felt tender and delicate, this felt hackneyed with hideously unbelievable plot twists. I still love LaVaughn - but she deserved a better send off.
I loved the first two books in the trilogy so much - and then waited (and waited) for the third. All that anticipation may have killed this for me. Where the first books felt tender and delicate, this felt hackneyed with hideously unbelievable plot twists. I still love LaVaughn - but she deserved a better send off.