Leaving New York to attend Green Hill Junior College in South Carolina, Tana rooms with the only African-American student on campus, Sharon Blake.

[1] Ann DeFrango of The Daily Oklahoman said that the novel's heroine illustrated an archetype with Steel examining the "emergence of independent women" without allowing the book to be weighed down by the serious politics of 1960s America.

[5] Alice Osborne of The Breese Journal felt the novel brought to light the complexity in social challenges faced by those who had not previously needed to acknowledge them.

[7] Ethel S. Adams of The Fresno Bee likened it to a Mattel toy, with character emotions, dialogue, and motivations being typical fare for a soap opera, though the language used in some places would be censored by the FCC.

[9] Diana Ketcham of the Oakland Tribune stated that this book represented Steel's attempt to evolve her writing style, to be considered a novelist rather than just a romance writer.

Ketcham also pointed out that Steel has attempted to address the serious concerns of a single mother intertwined with the cultural issues of a quickly-changing society.

[10] Francis J. Thompson of The Tampa Tribune-Times notes that Steel comments a great deal on how much her characters cry while admonishing readers not to bother reading the last twenty pages if they've enjoyed weeping themselves.

[11] Myrna Lippman of the Asbury Park Press summed up her thoughts by calling the story implausible, employing stereotypes as characters, wrapped in sophomoric prose.

[13] Sue Allison, writing for United Press International, admitted that the sales boon for Steel made for unappealing commentary regarding American readers' literary tastes.

[14] Jacqueline Villa of the Arizona Daily Star disagreed, saying that the story is satisfying because it's a fairy tale with a happy ending and relatable characters.

Steel's appeal lies in the fact that her stories don't provide escapism; rather, they impress upon the reader that since everything turns out fine for the heroine in the end that their comparably normal lives are also perfectly acceptable.

[17] Full Circle was adapted by Karol Ann Hoeffner into a 1996 television film starring Teri Polo, Corbin Bernsen, Erika Slezak, Reed Diamond, Eric Lutes and James Read.

Scott also pointed out how the film's intended demographic would be pleased with the offering, and praised Polo's acting, Holdridge's score, as well as the cinematography and editing.

[24] Kirk Nicewonger, writing for United Feature Syndicate, was very brief, stating only that the film is the usual fare expected from an NBC Steel adaptation.

[26] The Washington Post focused on summarizing the plot, only pointing out that Steel films traditionally did well in ratings as they played opposite sporting events.

[27] Knight-Ridder Newspapers' review praised Polo's performance and said that Cramer's work with Steel adaptations showed he knew the target audience well.

[28] Michele Sponagle, writing for TV Times, had little to say beyond pointing out the soap opera feel of Steel's novels translating well to television and the star-studded cast of this film in particular.