Make Lemonade

Wolff, Viginia Euwer. (1993). Make Lemonade. New York: Scholastic.

Annotation: Fourteen-year-old LaVaughn answers an ad for a babysitting job because she has a desire to save some money so she can be the first in her family to go to college. She is surprised to find Jolly, the mom of the two children needing a sitter, to be only three years older than her. LaVaughn takes the position and finds in her so much love for Jolly and her two small children.

Justification for Nomination: This was a powerful and moving story. You can see how LaVaughn is totally transformed by love for these two kids.

Any teenager who has volunteered or gone on mission trips (which I did a lot of during my adolescence) will totally connect with this book. On those trips, just like the experience LaVaughn had, your eyes get opened to people who experience a different kind of life, and you feel a deep connection and love for the children in these scenarios.

Those experiences in my adolescence really changed me and made me into who I am today. I think this is why I have such a love for little kids now and seeing them become all that they can. I think this book has the potential to spur on an adolescent reader towards pursuing opportunities to help out those less fortunate.

I really liked the verse novel aspect of this book also. I think how the lines were broken up symbolized the brokenness Jolly felt and what LaVaughn was witnessing. The language was very fitting. This book was also a quick read which will appeal to teen readers.

Great book.

Genre: Verse Novel