A review by bickie
Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff

4.0

14-year-old LaVaughn lives with her widowed mother who is active on the residents' board of their public housing complex. LaVaughn tells the story of her interactions with a 17-year-old single mother, Jolly, who hires her to babysit her toddler and baby. LaVaughn tells us about the squalor of Jolly's apartment where everything is grimy and sticky due to a combination of lack of funds for cleaning supplies and sheer exhaustion on Jolly's part. LaVaughn also tells us about the pride Jeremy has in using the potty for the first time and his hopeful hours spent crooning to the cup of dirt with lemon seeds where he expects to see sprouts of a lemon tree. LaVaughn learns about the injustices Jolly has experienced (such as being fired after reporting her boss for inappropriate sexual contact) and how much circumstances and encounters with other people foil even hard-working, well-meaning people's efforts to rise above poverty. LaVaughn also experiences various moral dilemmas including wondering whether she is taking advantage of Jolly by taking money for her so that she can pay for college and escape the same fate. LaVaughn perseveres, not wanting to give up on Jolly or the two children whom she has grown to love. LaVaughn's prose is structured more like an oral story, making it perhaps more accessible to reluctant readers because there are not such dense blocks of words on each page, but the subject matter is weighty. LaVaughn's story is applicable to students from any background, touching on themes of fortitude, industry, and moral choices, and shedding a nuanced, three-dimensional light on two "poor" urban families. Ages 12 and up