Make Lemonade

The sheer originality of style, content, theme and language should ensure this exceptional and well crafted novel, first published in the US, a place on the shelves. This is one of those books that happens occasionally and you want to recommend it to everyone. To escape from her grotty environment, 14-year-old LaVaughn must go to college. For that she needs money. Babysitting seems to be the answer, but her employer, 17-year-old single mother, Jolly, turns out to be even worse off than LaVaughn. The relationship between the two girls and the learning curve they embark on together, trying to cope with the bitter lemons that life bestows, and to make of them sweet lemonade, is a story that stays in the mind long after the last page is read.