Scan barcode
tyler_j's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 stars i'm thinking
still enjoyed it for the most part but had some issues and not as good, imo, as the first 2.
still enjoyed it for the most part but had some issues and not as good, imo, as the first 2.
maxximus's review
4.0
I read this series as a kid and wanted to see if it still held up. After finishing the first two, I hesitated finishing the series. But this book was amazing I’m glad I read it again
falconerreader's review against another edition
3.0
Dislikes:
*A bit TOO much science vocab and facts to keep my interest. I skimmed a few of those chapters.
*Wildly contrived plot, although ultimately touching.
*The author lives about 20 miles from me, yet the book's setting seems to be No Place. The inscription on the skyway at the university is that of PSU's ("Let Knowledge Serve the City") but the character's take different buses to get there and to the museum, which in reality are blocks apart. I suppose it's meant to be universal, but because I know this place, it seems weird and ungrounded. There's not even any weather.
Likes:
*I still love the characters: LaVaughn, Jolly, the kids, the mom, the friends.
*I admire the way LaVaughn has grown up in the course of the three books. Those years between freshman and senior year really do involve big changes, and you see how LaVaughn goes from still-nearly-a-kid to really-almost-grownup while still retaining her essential personality.
*Resiliance. These characters don't have great lives and don't always make great decisions, and not everything works out for the best, but my God are they resiliant, each and every one of them.
*A bit TOO much science vocab and facts to keep my interest. I skimmed a few of those chapters.
*Wildly contrived plot, although ultimately touching.
*The author lives about 20 miles from me, yet the book's setting seems to be No Place. The inscription on the skyway at the university is that of PSU's ("Let Knowledge Serve the City") but the character's take different buses to get there and to the museum, which in reality are blocks apart. I suppose it's meant to be universal, but because I know this place, it seems weird and ungrounded. There's not even any weather.
Likes:
*I still love the characters: LaVaughn, Jolly, the kids, the mom, the friends.
*I admire the way LaVaughn has grown up in the course of the three books. Those years between freshman and senior year really do involve big changes, and you see how LaVaughn goes from still-nearly-a-kid to really-almost-grownup while still retaining her essential personality.
*Resiliance. These characters don't have great lives and don't always make great decisions, and not everything works out for the best, but my God are they resiliant, each and every one of them.
daniellejones's review against another edition
3.0
I nice end to the Make Lemonade Trilogy, but not as tight of writing as Make Lemonade and True Believer, and somewhat a little far fetched in comparison to the first two. Still, Wolff's words are as beautiful as ever.
triscuit807's review
4.0
3.75 stars really. This is the conclusion of the story that began when Verna LaVaughn agreed to babysit for Jolly. She's 17 now and has spent two summers at Science Camp and has decided that she will be a nurse...if she can get into college. She's still somewhat estranged from the childhood girlfriends and the boy she had a crush on. The big news is she's been accepted into a special program that helps underprivileged girls prepare for medical sciences in college. Meanwhile Jolly is working on her final classes for her GED and she has finally met a man who stay. I think this is the weakest of the trilogy, but it does wrap things up nicely while educating readers on poverty, teen pregnancy, fostering, etc. I read this for my 2017 Reading Challenge "read a book with a two word title" (Book Bingo).
emik13's review against another edition
3.0
adding for completeness of my reading history but don't remember enough to review.
satyridae's review
3.0
I'm emotionally invested in LaVaughn & Jolly. I wanted to love this book, but I only like it. It's achingly contrived in parts, although it retains the emotional immediacy of the earlier books. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to buy the central plot point, and I'm sad about that.
falconerreader's review
3.0
Dislikes:
*A bit TOO much science vocab and facts to keep my interest. I skimmed a few of those chapters.
*Wildly contrived plot, although ultimately touching.
*The author lives about 20 miles from me, yet the book's setting seems to be No Place. The inscription on the skyway at the university is that of PSU's ("Let Knowledge Serve the City") but the character's take different buses to get there and to the museum, which in reality are blocks apart. I suppose it's meant to be universal, but because I know this place, it seems weird and ungrounded. There's not even any weather.
Likes:
*I still love the characters: LaVaughn, Jolly, the kids, the mom, the friends.
*I admire the way LaVaughn has grown up in the course of the three books. Those years between freshman and senior year really do involve big changes, and you see how LaVaughn goes from still-nearly-a-kid to really-almost-grownup while still retaining her essential personality.
*Resiliance. These characters don't have great lives and don't always make great decisions, and not everything works out for the best, but my God are they resiliant, each and every one of them.
*A bit TOO much science vocab and facts to keep my interest. I skimmed a few of those chapters.
*Wildly contrived plot, although ultimately touching.
*The author lives about 20 miles from me, yet the book's setting seems to be No Place. The inscription on the skyway at the university is that of PSU's ("Let Knowledge Serve the City") but the character's take different buses to get there and to the museum, which in reality are blocks apart. I suppose it's meant to be universal, but because I know this place, it seems weird and ungrounded. There's not even any weather.
Likes:
*I still love the characters: LaVaughn, Jolly, the kids, the mom, the friends.
*I admire the way LaVaughn has grown up in the course of the three books. Those years between freshman and senior year really do involve big changes, and you see how LaVaughn goes from still-nearly-a-kid to really-almost-grownup while still retaining her essential personality.
*Resiliance. These characters don't have great lives and don't always make great decisions, and not everything works out for the best, but my God are they resiliant, each and every one of them.
More...