#2 Make Lemonade

Wolff, Virginia Euwer. Make Lemonade. New York: Scholastic, 1993.

Annotation:
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade; you don't really have any other choice. This statement cannot hold more true than it does for Jolly and LaVaughn. Forced into an early adulthood with two children at 17, Jolly takes life as it comes to her, in less than desirable circumstances. LaVaughn, her much younger and immature nanny, only 14, shows her and her children compassion like no one else ever has and teaches her to take her lemons and turn them into lemonade.

Justification for Nomination:
Although this verse novel was coming of age and fit many of the categories and expectations of young adult literature (emotional, teens are in control, finding yourself, fast paced, variety of subjects), I did not find it to be very entertaining. It was easy to read and follow along with, the pages and text were short, for a quicker read, but my adult eye was having a hard time adjusting to accept this particular style of writing. Not to mention that the story was very sad and depressing. Although the emotions were easy to identify with, I don't feel that there was enough description of the characters or the setting. I guess a strategic look to this, is letting your audience think for themselves and create their own visual of the story. Two teenage girls, one a mother, the other her nanny, take life as it comes, trying to make each other better people and figure life out. It's the struggle of life for all young adults, except one is forced to become an adult much quicker. When she does, she does not except herself for what she is worth, and her nanny takes the time, effort and compassion no one else has shown her. Jolly's faith in people is not easily restored, but with the help from LaVaughn, they will get there.

To be honest, although it fit most of the requirements of young adult literature, I was not a huge fan of this novel or style of writing.

Genre Category: Verse Novel, Coming of Age, Realistic/ Edgy