Lemonade’s mother dies, and she finds herself in Willow Creek, a small Bigfoot-obsessed town, with her grandfather, Charlie. Her new friend, Tobin, owns a Bigfoot detective agency and “hires” Lem to help him sort through and document Bigfoot sightings. Like Lem, Tobin has also lost a parent; his dad went MIA during the war and although brought back alive, has mysteriously disappeared in transit. The two friends struggle together through their losses and grief as they begin to uncover a few surprises. Lem must also reconcile the meaning of home as she decides whether or not to stay with her grandfather or return to her old home via a well-intentioned adoption. A book that questions the boundaries of family, friendship, and heartbreak, Lemons is a beautiful middle grade read for third to seventh graders. Well-written, Savage does not begin the plot heavy with backstory. Instead, she jumps headfirst into Lem trying to honor her mom’s character by embracing the world around her—with a few hesitations. From lonely old ladies, who bake the best cookies, to single parents and grandparents trying their hardest to raise children, fall in love with these small town characters with one Twinkie-loving, hairy obsession. Savage knows how to build strong characters and make them feel like your best friends. Such a feel-good read with one of my favorite beasts.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Crown Books for Young Readers for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. Lemons is set to publish May 2, 2017.

Review by Christine Frascarelli

I've been reading some real heavy subject matter books lately, and I'll admit that this one had me at Bigfoot. Yes, this is exactly what I needed to lighten my minds mood. Then I started to read it and found a girl having to move from San Francisco where,

" the air smells like ocean mixed with car exhaust and the glorious crispy fried egg rolls from Mr. Chin's restaurant on the corner" to a place where there are "tall pines instead of skyscrapers, dirt instead of sidewalks..."
And then I knew this might not be as light hearted as I hoped. Still a character I could relate to, and so I kept reading. It is set around 1975, and I enjoyed reading a book that is historically accurate from that time period. Lemonade "Lem" Witt uses the phrase "sadness quicksand, ."" and that is so accurate for how deep grief sometimes feels. Still, there are plenty of light-hearted hijinks as Lem teams up with Tobin, a boy who is investigating Bigfoot sightings and gets hired as his "assistant." In the end, there is a newly imagined happily ever after for all involved and plenty of cryptozoological adventures.

Liberty Witt is a wonderfully strong character. After her mother's death, she is sent to her grandfather's house to live, a relative she didn't even know she had! Melissa Savage's excellent description of the setting makes for a believable story. Even the minor characters (Mrs. Dickerson) are essential to the story of how Liberty reclaims herself in Willow Creek. It was a heart-warming read.

Please pardon this pun - Lemons is a refreshing! The characters are interesting and well developed, the setting is believable and detailed, and the exploration of grief, relationships, and Bigfoot are engaging. As an adult reader, it's difficult to not forecast most of the plot twists and resolutions. However, overall, Lemons is a touching, nicely written, and honest middle grade adventure with a lot of appeal.

"Sadness Quicksand"

"Sadness Quicksand" is a phrase employed a few times by our heroine, Lemonade "Lem" Witt, and it is a concise but not entirely fair way to summarize this remarkable book. You adventurers know that the proper way to escape quicksand is to abandon struggling and flailing. Rather, one needs to relax, embrace the quicksand, and then slowly and calmly float and swim out of it toward firmer ground. Well, that basically is what all of the characters in this book do.

While plot summaries aren't usually helpful or even welcome there is some benefit in sketching out the main players in this book, since the entire book is one group character/family/friendship study. We start with Lem. She has just finished watching her mother die a slow, agonizing death from untreatable cancer. Her father disappeared even before she was born and plays no part in the story. Since Lem is now essentially an orphan she is sent to live with her maternal grandfather, Charlie. Lem's mom and he were completely estranged, so Lem is headed into completely unknown territory, and just for an extra spin on the sadness wheel, she has been uprooted from friends and everything she knows in San Francisco and finds herself in a tiny farming burg in Northern California. So, Lem is grieving her mother's death. Grandfather Charlie is grieving the fact that he will never be able to reconcile with his now deceased daughter. Their estrangement arose as a consequence of the death of Charlie's wife, (Lem's grandmother), so the general outlook at the outset of the book is grim.

Within a few pages Lem meets and befriends Tobin, an odd, slightly OCD, boy who is funny, serious, quirky, precise and charming. Tobin's father is MIA in Vietnam. So, Tobin and his mother, (who is also an important character), are dealing with a missing, presumed dead, father/husband. Rounding things out is Mrs. Dickerson, a retired teacher who is sort of a benevolent Yoda figure to the kids, but who is also grieving the death of her husband.

Now, this could have been a tone deaf, awkward, or unrelentingly teachable moment sort of pop-psych bit of kitchen sink drama. It isn't. First off, the slightly twee frame here is that the town is the center of Bigfoot sighting activity. Tobin is obsessed with seeing and recording a Bigfoot creature and he ropes Lem into being his assistant. Tobin's search for Bigfoot may be a metaphor for his emotional search for his missing dad, but that is never dwelt on. Rather, the whole Bigfoot angle gives this just enough of a fabulous and magical-realism touch that you understand that the story is more of a fable than a stab at a realistic drama.

I kept waiting for the story and all of the characters to sink. They don't. They get close, but everyone, in one way or another, is delivered to firmer ground. It can be wrenching, but the book is founded on a certain kindness and gentleness and toughness that makes it clear that while the dead are honored and remembered, life goes on, and family and friends who remain have to stick together.

I know this review is a bit long, but the blurbs and the book's cover make this story look like a funsy- Bigfooty adventure lark, and it seems fair to observe that it's a lot more than that. Lem's mother's death is not simply an event that starts some sort of summer adventure rolling forward. That death is the heart of the entire story. The book is ambitious and rewarding, (and often very dry and funny), even if it does cheat a bit in bringing everyone home safe and sound. It's aimed at middle graders. It addresses big issues. It invites thought and invites kids to relate to and reflect on these amiable and decent people. It's entertaining and worthy. How's that for a nice find?

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

A fun and cute story of a couple of ten year old Bigfoot hunters. It also touches on some more difficult topics like moving to a new city/school, dealing with a parent's death, PTSD, bullying, and acceptance of others. Good for 3rd-5th graders.