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Jane Packer
, April 17, 2014
(view all comments by Jane Packer)
I first encountered Virginia Euwer Wolff when Make Lemonade was assigned to me in the seventh grade. I was so pleased to reencounter her, this time on a personal level, when she came to Brigham Young University to give a reading 10 years later. Wolff focused mainly on one of her charming, humane short stories, “The Dolls,” during the reading, but after meeting her and listening to more of her work, I wanted to revisit Make Lemonade.
When I first read the book in middle school, I remember it opening my eyes to poverty and desperation, and hope, in ways that I had never imagined. It was gritty and haunting to me, but not disturbing because of the hope that prevails toward the end. The story does not have a “happy ending” per se, but rather takes a realistic approach to a terrible situation in a way that teaches, guides, and lifts.
The first-person narrative is written in poetic stanzas with an almost stream-of-consciousness feel that puts the reader right into the life and perspective of LaVaughn. You can see and feel and smell how poverty affects LaVaughn and her single mother, but not nearly to the extent that you see and feel and smell the poverty that envelopes the life of 17-year-old Jolly and her two children. The reader discovers and feels along with LaVaughn as she copes with her limited but stable resources and grapples with her decision to help Jolly better her situation. Make Lemonade is enjoyable and enlarging: a quick read for adults looking for a wider perspective, and essential for young people learning to expand their horizons in all directions.
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