Book Review: Lemons by Melissa Savage
Media Type: Ebook (ARC)
Title: Lemons
Author: Melissa Savage
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Pages: Hardcover; 236
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Source: Publisher
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Content Screening: Dealing with loss.
HDB Rating: 4 Keys to My Heart
Recommended to: Readers who enjoy quirky characters, and stories that have amazing messages.
Add it on: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Fans of Kate DiCamillo’s Flora & Ulysses and Katherine Applegate’s Crenshaw will fall in love with this charming adventure story about a girl learning to accept her new life, her quirky detective neighbor, and their epic search for Bigfoot.
Lemonade Liberty Witt’s mama always told her: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But Lem can’t possibly make lemonade out of her new life in Willow Creek, California–the Bigfoot Capital of the World–where she’s forced to live with a grandfather she’s never met after her mother passes away.
Then she meets eleven-year-old Tobin Sky, the CEO of Bigfoot Detectives Inc., who is the sole Bigfoot investigator for their small town. After he invites Lem to be his assistant for the summer, they set out on an epic adventure to capture a shot of the elusive beast on film. But along the way, Lem and Tobin end up discovering more than they ever could have imagined. And Lem realizes that maybe she can make lemonade out of her new life after all.
Lemonade Liberty Witt is the kind of character that I fall instantly in love with, every time. She’s quirky, fiesty, and strong in a way that only young people who have suffered an unexpected loss can be. At the same time, she’s every one of us no matter what our age. She’s lost, confused, hurt, and feels like she may be drowning in her own sorrow. Tough on the outside, hurting on the inside, and just trying to make it all okay. I felt for her so deeply, and loved her all the more for it.
On the flip side is darling Tobin. Dealing with his own loss, in a completely different way, and just as quirky and original as Lemonade. When these two met, I just knew exciting things were going to happen. The fact that the backdrop of this story includes Bigfoot hunting? Well, that just made it all the more perfect. I wanted to believe in them just as much as Tobin did, and I wasn’t at all disappointed.
Honestly though, I could gush about this book for paragraph upon paragraph. I loved the relationships between the characters, the unexpected friendships that were made, and the fact that everyone seemed to care so much for one another. I won’t lie, I teared up more than a few times while reading this. It’s tough not to when you’re remembering the good times about people who have passed. Whether they are happy tears or sad tears, well, I’ll let Lemonade school you on that.
I highly recommend this book to any young reader out there, and think it would make an excellent parent-child buddy read. Give it a shot! You might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.
FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.
