Summary
Make Lemonade is about a 14-year-old girl named LaVaughn who takes a babysitting job, so that she can make money for college. The girl she has to babysit for, Jolly, turns out to be 17-year-old drop out who needs someone to watch her two children, Jeremy and Jilly while she is at work. When Jolly is fired from her job one day, LaVaughn begins to help Jolly see that she needs to get her life together and go back to school so that she can take care of her children.
Theme Focus: Parenthood
Make Lemonade ties in with the theme of parenthood very well. First, LaVaughn's own mother is a single parent trying to do the best she can to provide a safe environment for her daughter. She is a good example of what it means to take responsibility for your child and to do the best you can. Jolly is another representative of single parenthood and the hardships one parent can face. She is a good example of how young uninformed mothers may feel while raising their children and the hopelessness that can entail. Jolly is also representative of teen parenthood. She was pregnant and had two children before the age of 18, which is definitely one of the social issues that could be worth exploring in relation to parenthood. Exploring difficulties you face as a teen parent can be very informative for students who are becoming or thinking of becoming sexually active themselves, but who may not consider the consequences. Another social issue tied into parenthood that could be looked at in this book is the absence of any father-figure in the children's lives. LaVaughn is the first child we see without a father. We find out that her father was shot by a gang in their neighborhood and LaVaughn grieves the loss. This book then would be a good way to bring up the loss of a parent by death, which some adolescents do experience, but may not know how to deal with. The other two children in the book experience the loss of their fathers in another way. Their fathers want nothing to do with raising them and left Jolly before she gave birth. This hits on another social trend, especially among fathers under the age of 18. Sometimes, they don't want to shoulder the responsibility of having to care for a child, fearing that they will be stuck in the situation. The morality of the father's actions in this case could be a great issue to examine in the classroom again because some of the students may face these same dilemmas or have friends who face this dilemma at some point in their young lives. Although the children in the book don't yet recognize their own loss, adolescents would also be interested in discussing this social issue because it could help students sort through their own feelings of anger or grief that they may be feeling because they don't have a father or because their father has moved away.
Literary Quality
Comparing the book to the literary qualities of a good YA book, Make Lemonade seems to be a good match. The story is told from the viewpoint of an adolescent female. Because there is no easy solution to the problems that LaVaughn and Jolly face, the plot is very tense, but also moves quickly. The language is very informal and varied, however it doesn't always use proper grammar. The themes presented in the book are probably its greatest strength. The themes of single parenthood, dropping out of high school, teen pregnancy, absent fathers, and making the best of things are all challenging, but they are presented in a manner that is stays truthful to the real world. Finally, because of the relevancy of these themes to adolescents, this book also offers the students the opportunity to reflect on those issues in their own lives, which is another essential characteristic of a good Young Adult book.
Potential Popularity and Student Interest
This book would probably appeal more towards girls because it is told from a female perspective. Because of the ages of the girls range from 14 to 17, I think it would appeal to girls in that approximate age range and perhaps even as young as 12, depending on the students personal experiences. The absence of any male characters in this book would probably turn adolescent males away, so I don't think they would find this a very interesting read. Another group I think would find this book particularly interesting would be students who have experiences with some of the issues in the book or who can make personal connections to their own lives. This book is a great way to see that issues, that some students feel so defeated by, are experienced by others as well, and it can help them begin to work through those issues. However, I think that for some students, this book would be very uninteresting. I personally read this book in 10th grade, but remember the issues and descriptions having almost no connection to my personal life or experiences. Because I couldn't understand or relate to what any of the characters in the book were going through, I wasn't very interested. I think then as a teacher it would be important to make sure that students can make some kind of personal connection or can relate to the experiences in some way so that they won't feel so disconnected from the book.
Consideration for the Reader
The given Lexile Level for this book is 890. This book could also have several potential challenges for readers. First, the language of the book and lack of proper grammar as well as the poetic form of the book could be difficult for some readers. For example in chapter 45, LaVaughn says "So, I end up not knowing/after I thought about it/no more than I did/in the first place." It is a difficult sentence to read and comprehend because the meaning gets lost in the incorrect use of grammar and separation of the sentence into lines, but to overcome these first two challenges, it might be best to read the book out loud because it sounds more like everyday speech then. Another problem that could keep readers from comprehending the book is the lack of experience with the issues presented in the book. Although the issues are common, some students may feel very disconnected from the characters and places described in the book. Another challenge to comprehension would be the literary devices used. For example, symbolism, such as the lemon seeds as symbols for hope, is present throughout the book. However, students may find it difficult to understand how or why the seeds are representative of that hope.
Potential Uses for the Classroom
This book has a few possible uses in the classroom. The most obvious is of course for the theme of parenthood and teen pregnancy. Another useful theme that could be used with this book could be friendship and family because LaVaughn ends up forming a friendship with Jolly and there is a lot of talk about who their family is or was. Another potential use for this book in the classroom is to teach symbolism. This book has several symbols that could be used, like the lemon seeds and cockroaches, which could help students understand how symbolism is used. One last possible use for this book is to help students examine characterization. Since there are few characters in this book, the characters we get to know about are pretty well developed. Helping students to see the similarities and differences among characters and how some characters can act as foils for other characters, such as LaVaughn's mother acting as a foil to Jolly, would also be another good use of this book in the classroom.
Potential Censor Targets
There are several issues that could be brought up in relation to this book that could be a concern for censors. Teen pregnancy, single parenthood, sexual assault, physical assault, not finishing high school, and poverty are all issues which could be discussed in some way with this book, and they are all possible targets for censors.