Lemons by Melissa Savage

Lemons by Melissa Savage

Cover Courtesy of Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis:What do you do when you lose everything that means anything?

Nine-year old Lemonade Liberty Witt doesn’t know the answer to that question, except what her mom taught her. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. But what if those lemons are so big that you forget how?

How do you make lemonade out of having to leave everything you know in San Francisco to move to the small town of Willow Creek, California and live with a grandfather you’ve never even met? In a town that smells like grass and mud and bugs. With tall pines instead of skyscrapers and dirt instead of sidewalks. Not to mention one woolly beast lurking in the woods.

That’s right, Bigfoot.

A ginormous wooden statue of the ugly thing stands right at the center of town like he’s someone real important, like the mayor or something. And the people here actually believe he’s real and hiding somewhere out in the pine filled forests.

How can anyone possibly be expected to make lemonade out those rotten lemons?

Everything is different and Lem just wants to go back home. And then she meets Tobin Sky, the CEO of Bigfoot Detectives, Inc. and sole investigator for the town. He invites her to be his Assistant for the summer and she reluctantly agrees. At least until she can figure out her escape plan.

Together, Lem and Tobin try to capture a shot of the elusive beast on film and end up finding more than they ever could have even imagined.

My Review: Lemons is such a sweet book! Just look at the pretty cover!

Basically, Lem has just lost her mother (a fact that was mentioned early on in the novel, so don't worry, I haven't spoiled the book for you) and has to go live with her grandfather now. It's a very sad beginning for someone so young, and Lem's sadness is very realistically portrayed. She constantly feels reminders that her mother is gone, even when she tries to be happy and adjust to a new life.

For the characters, Toby is the awkward one that gets picked on for years. I love how much his friendship with Lem helps him, although it was a bit fast for me. It's as if he changes half of his personality in two scenes. Anyways, their friendship isn't perfect, but I like that. Toby really goes through a lot of character development because of it, and so does Lem.

The Bigfoot mysteries are also explained in a lot of detail, but I won't spoil the ending. The author really takes her time to write these parts out and make them believable. I loved reading about Bigfoot Detectives, Inc., and the perfect amount of evidence of the target is given to lure in the reader but also make it believable.

I love watching Lem actually make the most of her life, and this book is really about just that. Through making new friends, trying something new, and adjusting to a new home, she works at turning lemons into lemonade. I give it 4.5 stars and really recommend it! I haven't read a middle grade like this in a long time!