“I hope you have a nice life. I hope you make good choices.”
— LaVaughn's internal thoughts about Jolly's future.
Archivist's Choice
Make Lemonade
Virginia Euwer Wolff (1993)
Genre
Young Adult
Reading Time
240 min
Key Themes
See below
Track Your Reading
Sign in to track this book
A determined fourteen-year-old navigates her dreams while helping a young mother find hope amidst life's challenges.
Synopsis
Fourteen-year-old LaVaughn, hoping to save money for college, takes a babysitting job that changes her view of the world. She works for Jolly, a seventeen-year-old single mother raising two young children, Jeremy and Jilly, in a rundown apartment. LaVaughn sees the daily struggles Jolly faces: poverty, little support, and constant stress. As LaVaughn gets more involved in their lives, she cares for the children, offers emotional support, and helps Jolly. She encourages Jolly to pursue her GED and find a better job. Through hard times and small wins, LaVaughn learns about resilience and responsibility, understanding life outside her own protected world. She finds a deeper sense of community and empathy while helping Jolly build a better future for herself and her kids.
Reading time
240 min
Difficulty
Easy
Pacing
Moderate
Mood
Realistic, Thought-provoking, Empathetic, Hopeful
✓ Read this if...
You appreciate powerful, character-driven stories about resilience and social issues, told through unique literary styles.
✗ Skip this if...
You prefer fast-paced plots with complex twists or are not interested in realistic portrayals of poverty and struggle.
Plot Summary
A New Job
Fourteen-year-old LaVaughn wants to be the first in her family to go to college. She looks for a job to save money. She answers a flyer for a babysitter and arrives at the apartment of Jolly, a seventeen-year-old mother of two, Jeremy and Jilly. Jolly's apartment is small and messy, showing her struggle to manage her life. LaVaughn immediately feels responsible and wants to help, despite her first worries about Jolly's age and the demanding job. This first meeting shows the contrast between LaVaughn's hopeful world and Jolly's difficult reality, setting up their changing relationship.
First Impressions and Growing Pains
LaVaughn starts babysitting Jeremy and Jilly regularly. She quickly learns about Jolly's problems: little money, unreliable fathers for her children, and the constant pressure of caring for two young kids while still a teenager. LaVaughn notices Jolly's tiredness, her occasional frustration, and her deep love for her children, even in the chaos. LaVaughn helps with feeding, changing diapers, and playing with the children, often doing more than typical babysitting. These early experiences help LaVaughn understand poverty and the realities of single parenthood, making her face parts of life far from her own.
The Weight of Responsibility
LaVaughn learns more about Jolly's past, including her own difficult childhood and how she became a mother so young. Jolly's mother is often absent, and her relationship with the children's fathers is tense or non-existent. LaVaughn sees Jolly's struggle to find steady work, often taking low-paying, hard jobs that barely cover costs. Some days Jolly is overwhelmed, leaving LaVaughn to take on more responsibility than she expected, sometimes skipping her own schoolwork to make sure the children are cared for. LaVaughn's empathy for Jolly grows, but so does the emotional toll of seeing such hardship.
A Crisis of Care
One day, Jolly leaves Jeremy and Jilly alone for a long time. Jeremy, a toddler, is found playing with an electrical outlet. LaVaughn arrives to find the children unsupervised and possibly in danger. This event deeply troubles LaVaughn, showing the insecurity of Jolly's situation and the risks her children face. LaVaughn confronts Jolly, sharing her concern and fear. This incident marks a turning point, making both LaVaughn and Jolly see how serious Jolly's struggles are and the need for more help, moving their relationship into a more serious, though difficult, phase.
Seeking Help
After the incident with Jeremy, LaVaughn urges Jolly to seek help from social services or other community resources. Jolly is at first against it, feeling ashamed and fearing judgment or losing her children. However, LaVaughn's steady encouragement and support eventually convince Jolly to ask for help. LaVaughn even goes with Jolly to appointments, offering moral support and helping her through the paperwork. This period shows LaVaughn's growth in advocating for others and her commitment to Jolly's well-being, moving beyond just a paid babysitter to a true friend.
Small Victories and Setbacks
With LaVaughn's help, Jolly starts to get resources. She finds a better job, gets a more stable place to live, and begins parenting classes. There are moments of hope and small victories, like Jolly proudly showing LaVaughn her new apartment or feeling confident in caring for her children. Yet, setbacks happen. The children's fathers remain unreliable, money problems return, and Jolly sometimes struggles under the pressure. LaVaughn learns that progress is not constant and that bigger issues contribute to Jolly's challenges, showing the complexity of poverty and social mobility.
A Glimmer of Hope
Despite the difficulties, Jolly's resolve to improve her life and give Jeremy and Jilly a better future grows. She starts to see the value in education and stability, partly inspired by LaVaughn's own dedication to her studies and future goals. Jolly begins to make more thoughtful choices, putting her children's needs and her own growth first. LaVaughn continues to be a steady presence, offering practical help and emotional encouragement, celebrating Jolly's successes and supporting her through failures. The dynamic changes from LaVaughn simply babysitting to a mutual exchange of support and understanding.
The Power of Education
Seeing Jolly's struggles and her efforts to improve her life strengthens LaVaughn's own commitment to education. She understands, more deeply than before, how important schooling is for creating opportunities and breaking cycles of poverty. LaVaughn continues to do well in her studies, motivated by her experiences with Jolly. The novel highlights the contrast between the choices and opportunities available to LaVaughn because of her focus on education, and the limited options Jolly faces due to her circumstances. LaVaughn's college dream becomes not just a personal goal but a symbol of hope and self-control.
Lemonade Out of Lemons
Toward the end of the story, Jolly has made big progress. She is more independent, more confident in her parenting, and has a clearer sense of direction for her life. While her situation is still hard, she has learned to handle it with more resilience. The idea of 'making lemonade' becomes clear as Jolly turns her difficult experiences into lessons and motivation. LaVaughn observes Jolly's growth with pride, recognizing the impact of her own friendship and support in Jolly's journey. Jolly truly begins to 'make lemonade' from the 'lemons' of her life.
Looking Forward
As the story ends, LaVaughn thinks about her journey. Her time with Jolly has taught her valuable life lessons that no classroom could. She has learned about empathy, resilience, social inequality, and complex human relationships. LaVaughn is more mature, more compassionate, and more determined than ever to go to college. While her direct babysitting duties may decrease as Jolly becomes more self-sufficient, their bond remains. LaVaughn understands that her future, though different from Jolly's, has been deeply shaped by their shared experiences, preparing her for what is ahead.
Principal Figures
LaVaughn
The Protagonist
LaVaughn transforms from an idealistic, somewhat sheltered girl into a mature, empathetic young woman who understands the complexities of life and poverty, strengthening her resolve for her own future.
Jolly
The Supporting
Jolly evolves from a desperate, overwhelmed young mother to a more self-reliant and hopeful individual who actively seeks to better her circumstances for her children.
Jeremy
The Supporting
Jeremy's character remains largely static as a child, serving as a catalyst for LaVaughn and Jolly's actions and a symbol of the innocence needing protection.
Jilly
The Supporting
Jilly's character remains static as an infant, primarily serving to illustrate the demands of motherhood and the care provided by LaVaughn.
LaVaughn's Mom
The Supporting
Her character remains largely static, serving as a consistent source of support and a moral anchor for LaVaughn.
Auntie Mary
The Mentioned
Her character remains static and serves to illustrate the limited external support Jolly receives.
Themes & Insights
The Power of Empathy and Compassion
The novel explores how empathy can connect people and lead to action. LaVaughn, at first an outsider, develops deep care for Jolly and her children. This empathy makes her go beyond her paid duties, helping Jolly and offering emotional support. For example, LaVaughn's choice to go with Jolly to social services, despite her own discomfort, comes from her growing understanding of Jolly's situation. This theme shows that true connection comes from understanding and sharing in another's struggles.
“What does a person do when they have to do what they have to do?”
The Importance of Education and Opportunity
Education is shown as a way to break cycles of poverty and become self-sufficient. LaVaughn's dedication to her college dreams contrasts with Jolly's limited chances due to early motherhood and lack of schooling. The novel suggests that education provides choices and control. LaVaughn's experiences with Jolly strengthen her belief in the power of learning, motivating her to work harder for her future, as seen when she balances babysitting with schoolwork, understanding its long-term value.
“I'm going to college. I just am.”
The Harsh Realities of Poverty and Single Parenthood
The novel shows the daily struggles of those in poverty, especially single mothers. Jolly's story highlights the constant fight with money problems, poor housing, unreliable childcare, and the emotional stress of raising children alone. Scenes showing Jolly's exhaustion, her reliance on public aid, and the dangers her children sometimes face (like Jeremy with the electrical outlet) clearly illustrate these challenges. The theme emphasizes that poverty is a complex issue, often caused by larger problems rather than individual failures, and that even with love, survival is a constant battle.
“Some days it's like trying to hold water in your hands.”
Resilience and the Human Spirit
Despite huge obstacles, both LaVaughn and Jolly show great resilience. Jolly's ability to keep going, to seek help, and to slowly improve her situation, even after many setbacks, shows her inner strength. LaVaughn's resilience is clear in her continued commitment to her goals and her willingness to face hard truths. The 'make lemonade' idea relates directly to this theme, suggesting that even from the hardest circumstances, one can find strength and create something positive. This is especially true for Jolly, who gradually learns to handle her difficult life with more determination and hope.
“You got to make lemonade out of the lemons, LaVaughn.”
Plot Devices & Literary Techniques
Free Verse Narrative
The entire novel is written in free verse poetry.
The use of free verse is a primary stylistic device that shapes the reader's experience. It allows for a raw, intimate, and immediate portrayal of LaVaughn's thoughts and observations. The broken lines, varied stanza lengths, and lack of traditional punctuation create a sense of directness and emotional intensity, mimicking the rhythm of natural speech and thought. This form makes the heavy themes more accessible and personal, drawing the reader directly into LaVaughn's internal world and the stark realities she encounters, enhancing the emotional impact of her journey and observations of Jolly's life.
First-Person Perspective (LaVaughn)
The story is told entirely through LaVaughn's eyes.
The entire narrative is filtered through LaVaughn's fourteen-year-old perspective. This allows the reader to experience Jolly's struggles and the broader issues of poverty and social inequality as LaVaughn herself understands and processes them. Her initial naiveté and subsequent growth are central to the story's impact. This subjective viewpoint creates a strong sense of empathy and allows for a gradual unfolding of complex issues, as LaVaughn's understanding deepens over time. It limits the reader's knowledge to only what LaVaughn observes or infers, making her journey of discovery the reader's own.
Symbolism of 'Lemonade'
The phrase 'making lemonade' symbolizes resilience and hope.
The central metaphor of 'making lemonade out of lemons' is a powerful symbol of resilience, resourcefulness, and optimism in the face of adversity. It encapsulates Jolly's journey from being overwhelmed by her difficult circumstances to actively working to improve them. For LaVaughn, it symbolizes the life lessons she learns outside of school, understanding that even the hardest situations can yield valuable growth. The phrase recurs throughout the narrative, serving as a reminder of the characters' enduring spirit and the possibility of finding strength and purpose amidst hardship.
Foil Characters (LaVaughn and Jolly)
LaVaughn and Jolly serve as contrasting characters.
LaVaughn and Jolly function as foil characters, highlighting each other's traits and circumstances through contrast. LaVaughn represents aspiration, education, and a stable home life, while Jolly embodies the harsh realities of poverty, limited opportunities, and early motherhood. This contrast underscores the societal inequalities and the different paths available to young women. By juxtaposing their lives, the novel illuminates the challenges faced by Jolly and strengthens LaVaughn's resolve, while also demonstrating how their differing experiences can lead to a profound and mutually beneficial relationship.
Critical analysis
Notable Quotes
“It's hard to be good when nobody's good to you.”
— Jolly explaining some of her struggles to LaVaughn.
“You gotta make lemonade out of lemons.”
— LaVaughn recalling her mother's advice about difficult situations.
“I'm just trying to get through this day. That's all I can do.”
— Jolly expressing her overwhelming daily challenges to LaVaughn.
“Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, even if you don't want to.”
— LaVaughn reflecting on her commitment to helping Jolly.
“I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a mother.”
— Jolly asserting her identity and responsibilities.
“It's like a chain, one thing leads to another.”
— LaVaughn observing the interconnectedness of Jolly's problems.
“You can't save everybody, LaVaughn. You can only help who you can help.”
— LaVaughn's mother giving her practical advice about limits.
“I just want my kids to have a better life than I had.”
— Jolly expressing her deep hope for her children's future.
“Being smart is good, but being kind is better.”
— LaVaughn's internal reflection on her values.
“The world don't stop for nobody, not even for babies.”
— Jolly's harsh reality about the relentless nature of life.
“Sometimes you just got to listen, that's all. Not fix, just listen.”
— LaVaughn understanding the importance of active listening.
“I got to find my way, too.”
— LaVaughn realizing her own path and struggles amidst helping Jolly.
“It's not just about the money, it's about the respect.”
— LaVaughn's internal thought about the deeper meaning of work and dignity.
Quiz
Test Your Knowledge
Ready to see how well you understood this book? Take our interactive quiz with 10 questions.
10
Questions
~5
Minutes
?
Best Score
Key Questions (FAQ)
The novel centers on fourteen-year-old LaVaughn, who takes a babysitting job to earn money for college. She becomes deeply involved in the life of Jolly, a seventeen-year-old single mother struggling to raise her two young children, Jeremy and Annie, in poverty.
About the author
Biography coming soon.
