The Lemonade Crime (The Lemonade War Series, Book 2)

When money disappears from fourth-grader Evan's pocket and everyone thinks that his annoying classmate Scott stole it, Evan's younger sister stages a trial involving the entire class, trying to prove what happened.

Following the laws of our legal system, Evan and Jessie’s fourth grade class concocts a courtroom on the playground, putting Scott Spencer, alleged thief, on trial. They create a legitimate courtroom—with a judge, witnesses, a jury of their peers—and surprising consequences.

Scott Spencer one of Evan and Jessie's peers, is accused of stealing $208 from Evan. Jessie puts on a court with a jury, witnesses, and of course, a judge of the other 4th grade peers. This book was a great book and you should read "Lemonade War" the 1st book of the series.

Someone stole $203 from Evan, and everyone believes it was Scott. But when Evan's sister Jessie decides to hold a mock trial and the kids in the fourth grade agree to go along with it, the circumstances become really complicated. Believing something and proving it are two different things, as

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Jessie finds out. And even after things seem settled, no one is really satisfied. Jacqueline Davies does a good job of writing a book that includes lessons without seeming preachy, and her definitions of legal terms at the beginning of each chapter are reinforced by the storyline. (

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The series takes a judicial twist in its second installment. I was a fan of the legal elements, but the denoument felt a bit contrived.

Narrated by Stina Nelson. Evan and Jessie believe that Scott stole the $208 they made selling lemonade over the summer. Scott insists he didn’t steal it and there are no witnesses who can say they saw him do it. Jessie decides to hold a court trial on the school playground to unearth the truth,

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with their classmates serving as judge, jury and counsel.

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After $208 went missing from his pocket, Evan and his sister Jessie are convinced fellow fourth-grader Scott stole the money. So convinced that Jessie serves a warrant for Scott's "arrest" and appearance at a mock court to be held on the playground. The stakes are high with Scott needing to give up

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his new Xbox if found guilty, and Evan and Jessie needing to apologize during their class's Morning Meeting if Scott is found not guilty.

This book picks up pretty much right where The Lemonade War ended, so it's best if readers already know that book before starting this one. Whereas The Lemonade War started each chapter by defining an economic concept that would be explored in that chapter, this book starts with a legal term, such as perjury or impartial, which then sets the tone for that chapter. Chapters alternate between told from Evan's perspective or Jessie's, which is particularly nice for those readers who want only a "girls" or "boys" book to read -- they'll get that but they'll also hear from another perspective as well.

There is limited diversity in the cast of characters with a friend named Malik and a couple of friends who are said to be Jewish; in fact, Yom Kippur actually plays a bit of a role in the book. The main characters are also being raised by a single mother.

One thing I wasn't too wild about in this book is that violence seems to be a somewhat acceptable way for the male characters to deal with their emotions, which isn't something healthy to be telling children. Otherwise, there are good morals about coming clean, apologizing, being fair, etc.

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Quick Review:

I wish I had read the first book in this series, because this book was awesome! Who doesn't love a good book about kids getting into a lemonade war? Especially a childhood courtroom! Sure, it sounds dull but it was an amazing premise! It's fun, fast paced and easy to read. It's a great

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middle grade read that adults can enjoy too!

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