Virginia Euwer Wolff gave Make Lemonade a 14-year-old narrator who is engaging and believable.Written in short chapters of verse, with the cadence of a girl’s spoken language, the text feels authentic and fresh. Published in 1993, this book is not new, but it certainly has plenty of themes that are just as relevant as they were 20 years ago. Some kids aspire to go to college, and others just try to survive their circumstances. And sometimes those kids meet and change each other’s lives.
LaVaughn decided in fifth grade that she was going to study hard and get into college, so she could “live in a nice place with no gangs writing all over the walls.” Part of that plan is to earn and save money toward that purpose. Enter 17-year-old Jolly, who is the mother of two kids trying to make ends meet with her factory job. She needs a babysitter in the evenings, and LaVaughn needs the cash. But what begins as a mutually beneficial financial arrangement turns into a sort of makeshift family of four.
When Jolly loses her job, LaVaughn feels sorry for the kids and watches them even when she knows she won’t get paid. Knowing that her own mother wouldn’t approve of the teenage mom whose apartment is a mess—the mirror is smeared with toothpaste and the high chair corners hide rotting banana—LaVaughn doesn’t share too many details of her job. But the four of them manage to get by and even learn from each other.
The book draws its title from the central metaphor of the book, provided by the lemon seeds that LaVaughn plants for two-year-old Jeremy at Jolly’s.
Jeremy didn’t know what I meant “Wait a while.”
He didn’t know
the lemon blossoms wouldn’t come by Thursday.
I explained.
If you want something to grow so beautiful you could have a nice day just from looking at it,
you have to wait.
Meanwhile you keep watering it
and it has to have sunshine
and also
you talk to it.
Wolff respects her characters, who aren’t perfect but endearing. Though there are several poignant moments in the book, Wolff doesn’t stoop to manipulative plot twists or try to evoke easy tears. Humor mixes with compassion to address the serious issues, and the author never implies that getting out of poverty is an easy fix. But through persistence and personal growth, her characters make a better life for themselves and make lemonade when they can.
The View from a Berkeley Optimist 