The Lemonade Crime

The Lemonade Crime, the sequel to Jacqueline Davies’ The Lemonade War, picks up almost exactly where The Lemonade War left off. Jessie and Evan have just started the fourth grade together, and while Evan is more reconciled to Jessie’s presence in his classroom, he’s still getting used to the idea of having his younger sister around. Jessie, for her part, is trying to figure out how she fits in. Both of them are still angry at Scott Spencer, who stole their lemonade money, all two hundred and eight dollars of it.

When Scott comes to school bragging about the new game system he’s just bought with his own money, that’s the final straw. Evan is certain he paid for it with the stolen money, but he can’t figure out what to do. Fight Scott? Ignore Scott? All he knows is he wants more than justice; he wants revenge.

Jessie convinces Evan that actually what they need to do is bring Scott Spencer to trial. Suddenly Jessie’s precision, love of rules and attention to detail shine. She organizes the entire fourth grade into a court, complete with judge, jury and lawyers. What comes next turns the reader’s expectations upside down, and yet how it all works out is more satisfying than a more predictable ending might have been.

While not every series needs to be read in order, do yourself a favor and read The Lemonade War first, and then read The Lemonade Crime. By the end of the first book, you’ll care so deeply about Evan and Jessie that you’ll want to plunge on to the second without a pause.