Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Book Review - Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff



This is the story of two girls, LaVaughn and Jolly. LaVaughn is fourteen, and ever since the fifth grade, she has known one thing: she is going to college. Which is a pretty amazing goal, since not a single person in her entire apartment building has ever gone to college. She needs to earn some money, because even though her mom has been saving up, they don't exactly have a whole lot of money in the college fund. LaVaughn decides to earn money by babysitting for seventeen year old Jolly's two kids, Jeremy and Jilly. Jolly's apartment is disgusting, the kids are covered in snot and drool, and Jolly's life is a complete mess. But LaVaughn realizes that Jolly doesn't have anyone to lean on, no one to help her out, and she is really close to losing everything. So LaVaughn sticks it out, and becomes inextricably entwined in Jolly's life, and in her children's lives as well.

This is a great story, beautifully written, and heart breaking. It is written in open verse and the lyrical style makes for a quick read. But even though you might finish the book in one sitting, the characters will stay with you for a long time.

3 comments:

gianni said...

This book was amazing and love able and once you start reading it you cant get enough of it. my advice read it aloud it puts you in the mood

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this book. The sequel is True Believer!

Unknown said...

Hello,

I'm writing from the public radio show "Think Out Loud" on Oregon Public Broadcasting.

You might be interested to know that we're interviewing Virginia Euwer Wolff on our show on Thursday.

You can find more information here, and you can also ask a question of Wolff. I might even bring it up on the air:

http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/northwest-passages-virginia-euwer-wolff/

Best regards,
Dave Miller
Online Host, "Think Out Loud"