Lemonade Mouth

I've been reading this book to my eight year old son who's an aspiring rock n roll drummer; I'm a guitar player; together we're a band: Strange Little Tractors (the father/son complement to Strange Attractors, the grown-up band I've been in for a couple of decades). Lemonade Mouth is the incredibly entertaining and moving story of five kids who stumble onto their shared destiny as members of the band which gives the book its name. More than once, reading of the band's emergence and struggle and triumph I've been near to or actually in tears, which has rather blown my son's mind (in a good way). What a story. And so well told. I recommend it most heartily, and hope there's a sequel in the works.

Have you ever felt like you weren't part of the crowd? Mo, Stella, Charlie, Wen, and Olivia have. In Mark Peter Hughes' young-adult smash, "Lemonade Mouth," the rocking five form an unlikely band inspired by a toothpaste jingle, a broken ukulele, a teacher's cough, and a quiet girl with a soulful voice. The novel unfolds in a variety of first-person narratives, from the band members themselves, to the teacher who encourages the band's formation, all compiled by the self-proclaimed "scene queen" of Opoquonsett High, Naomi Fisher. Each of the members of Lemonade Mouth is an outsider in one way or another, but together, through the emotional lyrics of Olivia, the band gives a voice to the school, and starts a revolution. Fueled by Mel's Organic Lemonade, an "uncool drink," they help the student population realize that despite their social status, they're maybe not that different after all.

"Lonely day After the storm has come and gone There will never be another tomorrow like today. In my own way I wait for the light of dawn I look for a sign of things to come and change to stay." --Lemonade Mouth, "Back Among the Walls," from their CD, Live at the Bash. LEMONADE MOUTH is the story of five socially-struggling high school freshman who come together through a combination of chance and the wisdom of a sorely misused music teacher to form the legendary band, Lemonade Mouth. It all begins on the afternoon when the five students end up in Freshman Detention which is scheduled in the dungeon-like basement classroom of the aforementioned music teacher, Mrs. Reznik. There is Stella who has begun her freshman year at Opoquonsett High in Rhode Island as the new kid in town. A frustrated student in a family of geniuses and step-geniuses, her mom's new research job has taken Stella unwillingly across the country. She has landed herself in detention for an act of rebellion in response to having previously been sent home for wearing a tee-shirt whose artwork had never been at issue in her old school back in Arizona. But the vice principal has told her, " 'Opoquonsett High doesn't have a dress code, exactly. It's just that we have an unwritten line and that shirt crosses it.' " (As my friend Skeezie Tookis would say, "What kind of stinkin' rule is that?") There is Wen who is struggling with his feelings regarding his father's buxom twenty-something girlfriend, Sydney. In regard to the humiliating incident in social studies that has landed him in Mrs. Reznik's room, receiving detention as a result of that debacle is the absolute least of Wen's problems. Mohini must be considered the least likely of the quintet to be in any kind of trouble. The overachieving daughter of immigrants, she has recently exchanged "a lifetime of social obscurity," along with her consistent obedience to her father's strict rules and to her own long-range school and career Plan, for the thrill of being seen around school with an older student who is both a popular soccer star and part of the band Mudslide Crush. It was he who persuaded Mo to skip her Independent Study class; they were subsequently seen and reported. Meanwhile, Charlie is struggling with his obsession over how fate chose him to be born fine while his identical twin Aaron was stillborn as the result of being strangled by the umbilical cord. Charlie perceives Aaron as a harsh voice in his head who constantly points out what a failure Charlie is. In this instance, he has ended up in Mrs. Reznik's room through his failure to properly aim the spitball that was meant to retaliate for the one with which a renowned school bully had just nailed him in the face. Finally, Olivia has spent most of her life living with her grandmother after her mother abandoned the family and her struggling father was convicted of murder in a failed store robbery. She finds herself in detention with Stella, Wen, Mo, and Charl

This energetic book begins as a playful story, but develops into something completely different. Five freshman at Opequonsett High School all have certain unconventional aspects of their lives that pull us in. These five characters create a strong but unlikely bond. As their band Lemonade Mouth blossoms so do they. Wen, Stella, Mohini, Charlie, and Olivia begin a band that changes their school and alomost everyone in it. What begins as fun during detention turns into a serious commitment that will have everyone talking. Although some issues may seem trivial [like an organic frozen lemonade machine, a cat lover's sadness, or probably the first ukele ever used in a rock band], this novel addresses issues that some people are still afraid to face. Mark Peter Hughes once again amazes us all with his talents as a writer: his uncanny knack for worming his way into many teens' minds and ability of turning our daily occurrences into something profound. This is a book is a must-read and will leave everyone cheering for an encore. -elena