Warning: spoilers ahead
I recently finished reading Make Lemonade, a novel by Virginia Euwer Wolff. I picked up this book because it was my sister's summer reading assignment and she had enjoyed it greatly, so I wanted to see what her praise was for. After finishing, I can see where her praise comes from. The novel deals with strong themes of determination, poverty, hardships and perseverance.
The novel opens with Jolly, a teen mother with two children whose fathers walked away, struggling to make ends meet. She has a job that doesn't pay well and she didn't finish school so she can hardly read, write, and properly care for her children. LaVaughn, a 14 year old high school student sees an ad on a bulletin board for a babysitter. Coming from a household that isn't the wealthiest, she knows that she needs all the money she can get, especially if she wants to go to college. This is a dream that she has always had. LaVaughn shows her interest in this babysitting job and eventually gets to meet Jolly and her two children, Jeremy and Jilly.
While working for Jolly, LaVaughn realizes the harsh conditions the children live in. The floors are covered in food and other mysterious spills, the dishes are never cleaned, there is hardly enough money to pay for diapers, and the children play in their own filth. As if Jolly's life couldn't get any harder she is fired from her job after being raped in a back room. Jolly refuses to get help from welfare because she wants to care for her children on her own, with some help from LaVaughn. Due to being fired, Jolly can no longer pay LaVaughn the money she needs to save for college.
After much pushing from LaVaughn, Jolly begins going to school while her children attend daycare at the same time. Here Jolly learns the necessary skills she needs to properly care for her children. Here Jolly begins to make lemonade out of lemons life has given her. While in school she learns CPR and is able to use this skill to save Jilly's life when it becomes necessary. LaVaughn goes from working everyday after school at Jolly's house to only an hour day, to not at all.
This novel is a wonderful example of perseverance and determination. It teaches young teens to never give up, even if you are in the worst situation imaginable. A common phrase children are told while growing up is “when life hands you lemons make lemonade”. As a child who heard this phrase repeatedly, I didn't always know what this meant, but Make Lemonade shows great examples of this, including a literal example of making lemonade. Jolly tells a story that she learned in her parenting class of an older blind woman who sets out to get food for her hungry children. She's looking for an orange but because she is blind she doesn't realize that she is given a lemon until she gets home. She feels defeated and knows this won't feed her children. So what does she do? She gathers up ingredients from her house and makes lemonade to give to her children. When I read this, I felt as though this was an excellent example for young teens. It shows how good can come as a result of bad.
The messages of this book are to stay strong, to never give up, and that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel even if it seems to be too dark to see it at the moment. In my opinion, I believe this is an excellent book for young teens. Yes, the novel deals with some mature themes, but it tells an authentic tale. Not everything in life will be smooth and easy. There are terrible things that happen to people everyday. Make Lemonade is an excellent read and I highly recommended it.
