I received this book at no cost from the publisher
Lemons by Melissa SavageISBN: 1524700126
Published by Crown Books for Young Readers on May 2nd 2017
Goodreads
LEMONS
By Melissa Savage
A Crown Books for Young Readers hardcover / on sale May 2, 2017
ISBN 978-1-5247-0012-6 / 320 pages / $16.99 / $22.99 Can.
Ages 8–12
Also available as an audiobook from Listening Library
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.
Summer seems to bring Lem lemons upon lemons as she deals with an entire new life without any of the comforts of her old home—and then she meets Tobin Sky.
Eleven years old and the CEO of Bigfoot Detectives Inc., Tobin 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 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.
Melissa Savage is a writer and a child and family therapist. Her desire to write purposeful, issue-driven books for young people, coupled with her interest in cryptozoology and the mystery of Bigfoot, inspired her to write Lemons. Melissa lives in Minneapolis. You can follow her on Twitter at @melissadsavage, and visit her at melissadsavage.com.
PLEASE WELCOME MELISSA TO BOOKHOUNDS ya
I start every morning with a hot cup of Matcha tea in my Bigfoot “I believe” cup, for cryptozoological inspiration. And if I’m having a day where I can’t think of anything to write, I have my very own Bigfoot close to help inspire me. As you can see, I have many inspirational items and resources at my fingertips. In addition to Thesaurus.com open at all times, my resource books are always within reach. One of my very favorite is The Emotional Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. One thing I’ve learned is that I can never know enough, so I’m constantly reading and learning more to improve my writing skills. Another resource I go back to time and time again is Robert McKee’s resources. One of his books is like a Master’s Degree in and of itself. You can’t possibly absorb everything inside them at once. They are something you need to continue to go back to for guidance. There is a Peanuts comic strip of Charlie Brown and Linus about growing up to find happiness and of course, my son is always close to my heart for inspiration at all times. And finally, the dogs are always underfoot and sometimes front and center when they’ve had enough of me having my eyes glued to a computer screen. They let me know when I’m done for the day. The little one is Gatsby and yes, he is great! The other is a large, red poodle named Sedona who clearly likes to see herself as my co-author.
When Lemonade Liberty Witt’s mother dies, she is sent to live with her grandfather, Charlie in Willow Creek, CA which seems ages away from her wonderful life in San Francisco. Her first encounter is with Tobin, a neighbor boy who heads up the regions Bigfoot detective agency and since this is the place that has the most Bigfoot sitings, things get off to a fun start. The summer before her fifth-grade term is filled with coming to terms with the loss of her mother and how others are dealing with their own loss, especially her grandfather who has now lost his wife which caused a riff between him and his daughter.
As Tobin deals with the loss of his missing father after the Vietnam War, he tends to keep busy with helping Charlies around his Bigfoot store and hunting down clues when anyone in the local community sees anything. Lem is quickly adopted as his assistant and even though she is a bit bossy, she is smart and asks pointed questions to rule out anything that might be something other than a true Bigfoot siting. What really strikes me is that the community finds ways to include these children in different ways. When the sitings start to become more and more truly documented things get more intense for the two kids.
This sweet little book about turning life’s lemons into lemonade should be a favorite of kids of all ages. There is just enough adventure that is honest for children this age to get into and not be a safety issue. The pair is allowed to “camp” in a neighbor’s backyard but face consequences when they don’t follow the rules. It was a bit on the melancholy side to see Lemonade forget her grief at times but only to be pulled back into the quicksand of it. Overall, I highly recommend this wonderful story to everyone.
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LEMONS BLOG TOUR
May 1: Caroline Starr Rose
May 2: Bookhounds YA
May 3: Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!
May 4: Ms. Yingling Reads
May 5: Bea’s Book Nook
May 6: Diving Under the Cover
May 8: Imagination Soup
May 9: Read Now Sleep Later
May 10: Word Spelunking
May 11: My Brain on Books
May 12: YA Books Central
May 13: Cafinated Reads
May 15: Middle Grade Mafioso
May 16: Much Loved Books
May 17: Cracking the Cover
May 18: Oh, For the Hook of a Book!
May 19: Batch of Books
May 20: The Owl
May 22: 5 Minutes for Books
May 23: Awesome Book Nut
May 24: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
May 25: I’d So Rather Be Reading
May 26: Here’s to Happy Endings
May 27: Doodle’s Book Reviews
May 29: Reviews Coming at YA
May 30: Swoony Boys Podcast
May 31: Bloggin ‘Bout Books
June 1: Xpresso Reads
I read a great middle school novel. Lucky Me.
I have read a middle grade book–Izzy Kline has Butterflies.
Looks cute. My grand daughter would like it.
no
Not Lately but I don’t mind them at all and I have middle grade children to read them also
I read Proof of Lies, and although I think it’s ‘rated’ for teens, it really read younger.
I teach 6th grade language arts so I read a LOT of middle grades books with my students.
I’m currently reading the Maze Runner series.