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Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff

Alexa, here! So this week’s world comes from an older book I picked up at my library. It’s technically a contemporary I guess, though the copyright date says 1993, and what you call a twenty-two-year-old realistic fiction, I’m not entirely certain.

But anyway.

Though I don’t necessarily advocate it, I do find stories of teen pregnancy and parenthood fascinating. So when I saw this little beauty on the online catalog, from the point of view of the babysitter rather than one of the parents, I decided to give it a go.

makelemonade

Back Cover Description:

“Babysitter needed bad.”

LaVaughn needed a part-time job. Something she could do after school to help earn money for college. Jolly needed a babysitter. Someone she could trust with two kids while she worked the evening shift.

It didn’t matter that LaVaughn was fourteen-years-old–only three years younger than Jolly.

It didn’t matter that Jolly didn’t have a husband–or a mom and dad. Because LaVaughn gives Jolly and her two babies more love and understanding than should be possibly for a fourteen-year-old. Because if she doesn’t, no one else will.

Plot:

The plot of this book is sort of… disconnected. I mean, it’s linear; there aren’t a lot of flashbacks, flash forwards, or flash sideways (looking at you, LOST), but there are a lot of timeskips. Rather than a smooth, flowing stream of a story, this plot is more like the stepping stones in the river: snapshots of LaVaughn’s life–at home, at school, with Jolly and the kids–rather than a straight sequence of events.

Surprisingly though, this style worked well for the story. In it’s own way, it did flow gracefully, clearly, even beautifully, despite the small segments picked out and shown to the reader. Maybe because of them.

Also, the plot was very compelling. I needed to know what happened next, how LaVaughn would possibly pay for school, how Jolly would manage to care for her kids. I got lost in their story and loved journeying with them, all through the breathtaking climax and slightly sad, but worthwhile ending.

Plot: 5 stars out of 5.

Characters:

As I said above, I really enjoyed these characters. They were all interesting and authentic; understandable, if not relatable. My favorites, though, were probably LaVaughn and the kids: LaVaughn for her kindness and poignant honesty, and the kids for their adorable realness.

Characters: 4 stars out of 5.

Writing Style/Setting:

The poetry-style voice and writing struck me immediately. Make Lemonade is formatted like a series of free verse poems, all the lines divided in strategic places to create a certain feel for the scene. And, like I mentioned above, LaVaughn has a very honest voice: she’ll tell it like it is, but not in a sarcastic way, like so many teen books these days (which, don’t get me wrong, aren’t bad). Instead, her honesty was somewhat sad, like she could see all the crappy stuff and knew there wasn’t a point in making a joke of it. But at the same time, she still saw some potential for good to come out of the mess.

Through LaVaughn’s unique voice and style, the backdrops and settings were well-described, raw, and real. I got a really strong feel for the surroundings as her words directed my imagination.

Writing Style/Setting: 5 stars out of 5.

Overall, we come in at about 4 1/2 stars out of 5, so I guess you can guess I enjoyed it. Literally though, the first thought I had when I read the last word was “incredible.” Make Lemonade is a powerful story of understanding and compassion, but I’d recommend it only for older teens and up because of some content things. If, however, you happen to be about 16 or above, I say get thyself to Barnes and Noble right now, and pick it up for $8.99.

Have any of you ever read this book? One like it? If not, what’s been on your reading list lately? See you in the comments!

4 Comments


  1. // Reply

    Not read this one before but I’ll see if my library has it when I return my books next week. Great review!


  2. // Reply

    Not read this one before but I’ll see if my library has it when I return my books next week. Great review!

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