make lemonade

1. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA
make lemonade

Written By Virginia Euwer Wolff

Published by Henry Holt and Co., LLC

Published 1993

ISBN 978-0-8050-8070-4

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Jolly is a seventeen year old single mother of two children by different fathers. Seeking help with babysitting, she posts a notice at fourteen year old LaVaughn's school. Wanting to earn money for college, LaVaughn becomes Jolly's baby sitter. Together, these two struggling teens work to discover how hard it can be to reach a goal, or just to set one. Told in free-verse, from LaVaughn's point of view, this tender story is one you won't soon forget.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This concise, poetic novel packs more of a punch than many books twice it's size. Told through the eyes of LaVaughn, a strong, determined fourteen year old, Virginia Wolff uses tight phrases with just the right words to draw the reader into the story. I quickly became wrapped up in LaVaughn's character. A young girl who has already witnessed more tragedy than she should of in her life, but still is determined to go to college to have a better life. Jolly's character is hard to forget as well, and Wolff shows readers that being a mother of two children at age seventeen is not an easy task.

While I have read many excellent free-verse, poetic novels, this book would be close to the top of the list as being one of the best. I am in awe of Wolff's ability to create such imagery with so few words. When describing Jolly's unkept apartment, one could almost feel the dirt and grime beneath their feet. Phrases like, "...a gooey baby in her arms and something gurgles out of that one's nose..." brought images of poor "ragamuffin" children to my mind. I believe if this novel had of been written out in prose form, many of the strong visual images would have been lost on the reader. Wolff's excellent word choice and rhythm made this novel a wonderful read.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*From School Library Journal--"With warmth, humor, and a voice blending street smarts and innocent naivete, Simms' melodious words draw listeners into the world of unwed parenthood, the struggle for a better life, and teh deepening friendship between LaVaughn and Jolly."
*From Kirkus Reviews--"LaVaughn's narrative--brief, sometimes ungrammatical sentences in uneven lines, like verse--is in a credible teenage voice suited to readers like Jolly herself; yet it has the economy and subtlety of poetry."

5. CONNECTIONS
*The imagery in this novel begs for illustration. Share several of the descriptive phrases with students, have them select one and sketch the visualization it brings to mind.
*Students could research different school programs for unwed mothers like the program Jolly is participating in. How are they alike and different. Students could then design a brochure to give to interested teenage mothers to inform them about the program they researched.