Make Lemonade (Make Lemonade, Book 1)

I read this book when I was in elementary school and I have never forgotten this story. I decided to find it and read it again. I still enjoyed it even though I remembered it a little bit differently. I also had no idea that this book was a three part series. I'm looking forward to reading the other two books in the series because I really enjoy this writers style.

LaVaughn needs to save money to be a first generation college student. She finds part time work babysitting for teen mom of two and high school dropout, Jolly. Often urban youth are grouped together as like-minded; however, through poetic verses’ Wolff explores the differences between these teens’ attitudes toward effort, efficacy, and education, as well as LaVaughn’s internal struggle to keep separate from the drama of Jolly’s life and maintain academic success.

14-year-old LaVaughn needs money to start saving for college. And 17-year-old Jolly has two kids who need babysitting. As LaVaughn begins to watch over Jeremy and Jilly, Jolly’s two children, she finds that she cares for the children and their well-being as well as Jolly’s own well-being. LaVaughn discovers what it is like to be selfless as well as smart as she helps Jolly to turn her life around, and in the end, find herself.Wolff helps to solidify the fact that your life does not have to perfect in order to life. She uses the motif of lemons and lemonade throughout the entire story to show that 1) while somebody may have handed you a lemon without you realizing it at the beginning, you can still turn it into lemonade, and 2) even if you have to wait months and months for the lemon seeds to bloom, they will bloom. Jolly has been handed some of the hardest lemons imaginable, but she is still able to find the humor in her life. LaVaughn is able to see this in Jolly and benefit from this.Wolff’s writing is great. It is a pretty easy read, and she splits up her writing well that helps the reader to not get overwhelmed. She spaces out her thoughts well and is very good at helping the reader get inside the head of the protagonist.I love Wolff’s writing and would recommend this read to anybody who wants an interesting storyline and a good read.

This book is a wonderful introduction to issues in real life. I read the book with my grand daughter and it made it easy to talk about issues I would otherwise wait to even breach with her.

My Resource class is reading "Make Lemonade." I felt that it was a subject that they can possibly identify with, and they are enjoying seeing the way La Vaughn and Jolly handle situations that arise. It is definitely a teachable moments book.

Great book arrived quickly

gift

Loved this book as a teen so I got it for my niece. Mature book they displays real world problems.

An excellent socially conscious story for teenagers, encompassing poverty, single mums, well meaning "paternalism" or helpfulness, and an awareness that relationships matter and can develop from an unlikely situation. It would be a really good book to share in class at school, provoking a lot of discussion. It is very american in style, but so unjudgemental about the characters that it is difficult to place them racially.

高校生が書き手、という構成の物語なので、読みやすい英語で書かれています。アメリカという格差社会の底辺から立ち上がってゆく少女たちの物語なので、模範的な英語ではない部分もあるのですが、ボディのある生きた英語なので、物語に引き込まれてゆきます。最初は細部にこだわらず、読み切って下さい。細かい言葉は二読めに確認し、その後で、翻訳本「レモネードを作ろう」でおさらいすることをお勧めします。冬休み、春休み、夏休み、そんな時に読んで欲しい。きっと見えてくる自分自身の新しい気持ち レモネードを作ろう に出会いますよ。 レモネードを作ろう