Yay!! Betsy and Joe finally marry and we get to see the first 3 years of their married life. I enjoyed every bit of it. A wonderful book to end a great series.

Favorite parts: Joe. :-) Betsy's experience of Aunt Ruth coming. Tacy being a mother! The "reunions" of The Crowd. Betsy learning to be a homemaker. Tib finding a husband. Hmm--I guess that makes it the whole book, huh?

2/17/16-2/20/16 Reread! What a perfect book to re-read, especially when no other books are tempting. I had read a bit about what was Maud's real life, so I enjoyed knowing that as I read through this time. So much love for these characters and their experiences. I enjoyed this even more after recently going through my Goddess weekend--this book fits that perfectly!

I absolutely LOVE this series! Maud Hart Lovelace perfectly captures, childhood, teenage years, young adult/college years, and adult years. I definitely appreciated and understood books 5-10 a lot more reading them now as a Young Adult. I don't think I would have liked them as much or appreciated them as much had I read them when I was a young girl. My mom read books 1-4 to me when I was little bit didn't read the other books in the series. I'm glad she didn't because I wouldn't have liked them or appreciated them then as I do now. I loved reading about Betsy and seeing her grow up as the series went on. I love Betsy's side thoughts, personality, and spunk. Even though Betsy/Maud Hart Lovelace lived in a different time period than I do right now I felt that I could relate to some of Betsy's experiences and side thoughts. I love that this series of books is mostly based off of the author's (Maud Hart Lovelace) life. I hope one day to go to the Betsy-Tacy Historic sites and museum. I felt like in this last book things were wrapped up well and I finished the book and series feeling satisfied. I feel like this is a timeless classic and one I will reread someday.

Such a great ending to such a wonderful series.

A great end to a beloved series!

The final installment of the Betsy-Tacy books has undoubtedly become one of my all-time favorites. I appreciate Maud Hart Lovelace’s decision to dedicate an entire book to Betsy and Joe's happily ever after, rather than just a single chapter. I have never swooned as hard as I did reading the first two chapters. Their reunion in New York City and the heartfelt proposal were sheer perfection. I also found Betsy so relatable in this book as she tried to figure out how to be a good wife to Joe.

One of the most endearing aspects of the series is the deep bond shared between Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. Even though Betsy and Tacy had seemingly figured out their own lives, it was heartwarming to see that they couldn’t truly be content until Tib found her own happiness. Their friendship portrayed throughout the series is one of my all time favorites in all of literature.

In the final chapters of this book, I was an emotions wreck. When the US joined the war, the lives of these beloved characters were changed forever. It was painful to read about Joe and the rest of The Crowd, who had transformed from boys to men, enlisting to fight. I’m in awe of the strength of that generation. Knowing that the author actually lived this herself with her own husband leaving to war, made reading about it that much more meaningful.

Certain characters in books are easily forgotten, while others stay with you forever. Betsy and Joe unquestionably fall into the latter category. As I reached the final page and closed my Kindle, it felt as though I was bidding farewell to a dear friend whom I had witnessed growing up before my eyes. Watching Betsy send her husband off to fight in World War I, uncertain of what the future holds, knowing I will never meet them again on a page of a book, left me with a deep sense of loss. It wasn't simply a moment that brought tears to my eyes; it was a moment that made me weep uncontrollably.

Joe’s arms tightened. “Listen, Betsy! Listen hard! I'm coming back. Do you hear? I'm coming back. And I'll love you even more than I do now, if that could possibly be. I'll miss you so.”

Betsy wept softly.

“Nothing in the whole world could come between you and me, Betsy. We’re…woven together. You know that. And darling, when I come back we’ll have our little home again.”

I promise I’m usually not this dramatic about fictional characters.

This is the end of the Betsy-Tacy series -- and very satisfying. Betsy gets married to Joe and it is fascinating to see what young marriage is like in America 100 years ago. It ends with America joining WW1.

A wonderful romantic finish to the series with charming details about learning to cook and keep house. Knowing that "Betsy/Maud" becomes a wildly successful writer let me overlook the self-deprecating moments. The patriotic fervor of the last few chapters is jarring but true to the time.

So the series ends here and I am definitely feeling blue.

Betsy got very boring after she got married.

I first read this book circa 1978 and weirdly enough didn't read the rest of the series till much later.
If you have not read the others in the series, start at the very least with Heaven to Betsy, the first of the high school books, and better still start all the way back with Betsy-Tacy, the very first book.

The last two book in the Betsy-Tacy series are....not good. Boring as hell, actually. I didn't even READ #9 because I was so bored by page 50. Ah well, you can't win em all. (And frankly, Anne Shirley dips a bit at the end too. Shrug.)

A nice conclusion to the series, with a good sense of nostalgia; the wedding itself is very moving. I still wish Tib had friends who were less dismissive of her.