Make lemonade

Make Lemonade is a beautifully written story about 14 year-old LaVaughn's after-school babysitting job for 17 year-old single mom Jolly. LaVaughn and Jolly are opposite sides of a coin: LaVaughn is an excellent student babysitting to save money for college, while Jolly is a high school dropout with two young children from different men. The lessons that they teach each other while learning to care for three year-old Jeremy and one year-old Jilly powerfully relate the value of friendship, hope, family, and perseverance. I loved the “not verse” verse narrative, which was nonetheless highly poetic, and that the quiet, everyday moments of the story are just as powerful as the more plot-driven portions of the novel. The two strong and yet very different protagonists create a potentially broad audience, although the slow, quietness of the plot, fragmented narrative, and verse-like format might be difficult for reluctant readers to stick with through the end.

A novel in verse (I'm collecting great titles for April's display). This one was special for two reasons: it's about teen moms, but not from the POV of the teen mom and the writer really nailed what is so very special about small children. I was in love with the kids as the main character was. There is a great message here about never giving up and, no matter what your situation is, it CAN and WILL get better- but you have to try. There is a point in which the teen mom is so frustrated and exhausted with life that she is willing to sit on the couch and let life roll over her. It's also about the importance of having a tribe, or at least one person who has your back (even if that person is a 14 year old babysitter who just happens to have a great head on her shoulders). I wasn't happy with the ending, but I was satisfied with it. Make Lemonade is realistic fiction at it's best.