Make Lemonade

Wolff, Virginia Euwer.  Make Lemonade.  Perfection Learning (2006).  ISBN 9780756968175

Plot Summary

Jolly feels stuck in her surroundings and the fortuitous meeting with LaVaughn helps her see how life could be different. Looking to make some money to attend college, LaVaughn answers a babysitting ad and becomes Jolly's babysitter and friend.  Jolly needs a push to make better choices and to accept help when she really needs it and LaVaughn is the perfect person to push her.            Jolly soon starts getting a tentative grasp on her life that consists of two young children fathered by two different men.  LaVaughn encourages Jolly to do things to better herself and her situation and in the process, LaVaughn learns some life lessons, too.

Critical Evaluation

This story makes the reader want to do something. I feel like I wanted to jump into the pages and help scrub Jolly's house clean and hug those little kids. The name of the book comes from making the best out of the circumstances life has given you.  This is a story that makes the reader want to do better.  It makes the reader want to look out for those people in their lives that need their attention and a little guidance.   The story is told in free verse which makes it a very quick read.  The story is compelling enough to keep the reader’s attention, too. 

Often times, whatever a teenage is experiencing seems like the end of the world.  This book can put into perspective how bad things can get but, at the same time, help them develop empathy towards others.  It is a novel that will hopefully spur its readers to action and develop those basic human instincts to help others in need.

Reader’s Annotation

Come make lemonade out of the bitter lemons dealt to single mother Jolly with some help from her new babysitter LaVaughn. 

Author’s Information

Virginia graduated from Smith College and became a high school English teacher.  She started writing children’s books when she was 50 years old and is still writing today.  Her website is here: http://virginiaeuwerwolff.com/.

Genre

Realistic Fiction

Book Talking Ideas

This has some insight into what it would be like to be an uneducated single mother of two.  Learn who she copes with the stresses of making enough money to live on and any other problem life feels like throwing at her. 

Reading Level/Interest

12/14

Challenge Issues

There is some mature content in this book.  Teen pregnancy and sexual harassment are the two big ones.  Nothing is graphically told so as far as books to be challenged, this will probably be low on the list.

Why Include This Title?

I liked the way this book was written, in free verse.  It gave it more of a realistic feel, as if we were experiencing the events just as the characters were.  The message is very appropriate for teenagers to read about and think about.