Full of It

by Wendy French

Lauren Peterson has a brand new life, but no idea what to do with it.

After calling off her engagement, she's single for the first time in years and ready to take on the world. Instead, she discovers that starting over isn't all it's cracked up to be.

When a spinster aunt she barely remembers bequeaths her a house in Portland, Oregon, Lauren intends to fix it up and flip it for a tidy profit. However, her big mouth (which is always a step ahead of her brain) has other ideas, and before she knows it, she's moving in.

As Lauren takes on the task of making the house into home, she discovers plenty of surprises and colorful neighbors to shake things up. From faulty wiring and a new sinkhole in the living room, to the salty curmudgeon next door, Lauren's new life is heading in unexpected directions. Her friends and family think she's making a grave mistake, but for the first time ever, it might not be Lauren's mouth, but her heart that will finally come out ahead.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Adult Fiction

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Wendy French was raised in Vancouver, Canada, where she was certain her parents unwittingly cursed her writing career with a happy and stable childhood. In an effort to overcome her unfortunate beginnings, she sought artistic torment at the University of Victoria, but despair eluded her. Hoping for worse luck south of the border, she moved to Oregon with her husband, David, but happiness continued to stalk her, day and night. Finally, she conceded defeat, abandoned her quest for misery, and began writing humorous women's fiction.

Reviews

[Stephanie]

This book was okay for a very light read... but not great. We're constantly told that the main character has this flaw where she "blurts" what she's thinking... and she keeps getting in trouble for it... but I don't really see actual evidence of HUGE! AMOUNTS! OF! BLURTING! that cause the getting into trouble. It's very contrived.

Also, the main characters friends are so whiney. Her best friend is constantly ticked at the main character for being "selfish"... but really? The best friend just comes off as selfish and rude. I don't think that's what the author meant to do, but I just didn't get why the friend was being such a biatch... there wasn't enough evidence provided of the main character really having issues for the best friend to get like that.

So... meh. Not that impressed, but if you need a light read, it's alright I suppose.

[Cory]

This is chick lit about a 26-year-old who is missing that part of her brain that censors what she says. The problem is . . . she's kind of just a jerk. I mean, I kept reading the book because the other characters rocked, but the main character was a jerk. It wasn't even so much that she blurted things out (as it was constantly being described in the book) but that she was so self-centered she honestly didn't think that she was saying bad things. And she didn't so much grow in the course of the story.

[Kourtney]

I wanted to be over the moon by this book, but in the end it just fell short for me. At first all of the characters seemed really mean and very unforgiving to Lauren, and I found myself saying "OK what is she saying that is really so bad?" Then as the story progressed it started getting better for me, but then the end wrapped up a bit too tidy and sudden for me. The best way to describe this book for me is "...meh..."

[Hannah]

Read this while waiting at Sea-Tac airport and while on a plane--it's a very fast read, but I liked it. It avoids some of the most gag-inducing aspects of chick lit. The characters are a little quirky, but not overly so. I think the theme about "starting over" resonanted with me because that's where I'm at right now--new city, new house, new job. It's pretty good for the genre.

[Chelsea]

A light,fun and entertaining read. What a nice change to read this little book. I really look forward to reading ALL of Wendy French's books. Totally a chick book! If you need to escape your life for a day, check this one out. It was a hoot.

[Kristen]

I really wanted to like this book, but instead I really hated it. Trite, trite, trite. Not to mention a main character that you simply could not like. The ending, which was clearly supposed to bring it all together, was lame.

[Tami]

i read this book much faster than most recently. and the moment i was done, i wanted to share it with other people. i handed it to someone at dinner last night and i hope they enjoy it as much as i did.

[Laura]

The author kept saying over and over how Lauren's big mouth gets her into trouble, yet the things that she would say were hardly shocking, stupid or immature, yes, but shocking is pushing it.

If Lauren's friends feeling are able to be hurt so easily then it's time for new friends.

[Cindy]

This book was poorly written. The characters weren't developed enough. It seemed like the last third of it went too fast and it left too many loose ends. I find it hard to believe that any publisher found it worthy of publishing!

[Karina]

The main character was just too annoying for me, as she was probably meant to be, but I couldn't really empathize with her and her situation due to this.

[Kellie]

Really funny, but lots of swearing!

[Allison]

This was some really enjoyable chicklit!

[Missie Ritonya]

This was a great book! It was short so I was able to read it quickly and it has a great story line.

[Emily]

Really sassy and neurotic character. Great read for a laugh :)

[Paige Flotkoetter]

I loved this book. It was a quick, funny, genuine book. I had a great time reading it.

[Jolie G.]

Sep 2, 2008

[Heather Cotton]

I wish there was more to the book because I really like the main character. There needs to be another novel added to finish up the story, really.

[Melanie is on Storygraph]

Full of It by Wendy French (2007)