Make Lemonade, Anthony Euwer; H. Holt

“In order to earn money for college, fourteen-year-old LaVaughn babysits for a teenage mother.”
Robin’s Note: Virginia Euwer-Wolff writes prose poetry novels (so, they are poetry, but the stories are novel-length), and her sense of character and voice are engaging and honest.  Make Lemonade is the beginning of a trilogy, followed by True Believer and This Full House, and each takes place during one year (so by the finish, LaVaughan is 16.)  Other similar authors to check out in terms of voice, realism, and setting,  include Angela Johnson (First Part Last), Rita Garcia-Williams (Jumped), and Nikki Grimes (Bronx Masquerade).