This Full House - Virginia Euwer Wolff

First of all, how brilliant is this cover? It's just so pretty! And, those curlicue ribbons aren't just for show, either, but you'll have to read it to figure out what that's all about. I will give you a clue, it has to do with science, something which LaVaughn, the main character in this, the third in the Make Lemonade trilogy, is really, really great at. I have been waiting so long for this book that I thought it might never come, but Virginia Euwer Wolff is not a woman to be rushed because great things take time! I have been getting so lucky with all the new stuff that's coming out lately. I've read the new Mitali Perkins, the new Justina Chen Headley, the new Meg Cabot and now this! Wow! This was totally worth the wait!!!!

Why did I love this book so much?
*It's written in poetry form - a form I really enjoy in novels (see Shark Girl entry, here)
*ALL the important characters from the other books are back - Jolly and her two kids, Jody, LaVaughn's mother. It was like old home week to meet up with them again.
*LaVaughn is a ROCK STAR at science, which is why she gets invited to join the Women in Sicence program which invited only forty-five girls. I love books about smart girls!
*LaVaughn is not perfect, but she's a good person, and I am proud to be her friend in the pages of this novel.

This novel could be read as a stand alone, but I wouldn't recommend it. I think LaVaughn's backstory plays a huge role in understanding a lot of what's happening in this novel and makes this story much richer. Knowing about Jolly and how she has struggled with raising two kids and trying to get her GED makes you cheer that much more loudly when she succeeds, and makes your heart go out to Annie that much more. Knowing about what happened to Jody makes the sweetness of the final pages that much better. Knowing how her mother has felt about her babysitting for Jolly since the start makes you realize the depths of her empathy when she still goes out of her way to bake Jolly a cake for her party.

This novel has a huge ethical dilemma in it which would make it an excellent book to read with another person to try and decide what you might do in LaVaughn's shoes. Does she make the right choices? Would you have done the same if you were in her shoes? I'd be interested to know, so leave me a comment if you've read the book!

Available at Multnomah County Library.

Forever Princess - Meg Cabot

I can't believe it. It's the end of the Princess Diaries series. Admittedly, I have had enough of Princess Mia myself, but it's just that she's been around so long and I've read all of the other books, too, I find it hard to believe there really won't be any more. I'll kind of miss her, actually.

In this book Princess Mia is getting ready to graduate. She'll finally be off to college - but which one, which one? This is a big issue for Mia, who really wants to go to a college that didn't just let her in because she's a princess but because she deserves it. Mia has a boyfriend in this book who takes up a lot of her time, and an ex-boyfriend who's back in town and taking up a lot of her mind. She's still not speaking to Lilly, sister of said ex-boyfriend, and that's another big plot point in this novel. And then there's her whole historical fiction romance novel...So much going on in this book. Mia has grown up a lot over the course of these books, and it's nice to see her being more mature about a lot of things. There are some areas in which she still has some growing to do, but hey, she's just graduating from high school, so of course she does.

Did I mention Sean Penn's in this novel? LOVE Sean Penn. Do not love that Sean Penn sanctions JP's lame, self-aggrandizing play, but still, LOVE Sean Penn.

I read a review that said this, "Mia is where readers love her: insecure and self-deprecating." I think that about sums it up, and I'll be looking forward to whatever Meg Cabot writes next because she's a fantastic writer and you know she's got plenty more great stuff hiding in that oh-so glam girl head of hers!

Available at the Multnomah County Library.

When Irish Guys Are Smiling - Suzanne Supplee

Recently I read Now and Zen, one of the Students Across the Seven Seas books, a fictional series about exchange students which I enjoyed, but I liked this one a whole lot more. Maybe it was because one of the characters was named Mrs. Fitzpatrick?? :) Or maybe it was because I married one of those smiling Irish guys!

In any case, I enjoyed this book a lot, even though I don't think that it was too realistic. Delk Sinclair, a seventeen year old from Nashville, Tennessee just wants to get away from her new stepmother who's about to have a baby,her father and all the debutante balls she's supposed to be attending. What better place to get away than Ireland? There she meets an Irish young man who, like her, has lost his mother, and he helps her to begin dealing with that because she never really has, she just holds it inside. She also meets a lot of great new friends. It was a fun story with a sweet romance. Fans of the teen romance genre and those curious about other cultures are sure to enjoy it (although the culture piece is a little too "typical" to give one a good view of what Ireland's really like).

Available at the Multnomah County Library.