I can't say I have been all that thrilled about the books I've read this summer, but I'm happy to say this one was great. It's about a group of 5 high school freshmen who all struggle to fit in at their school until they come together to form a band called Lemonade Mouth. Each of the band members has a unique story, and each tells things from their point of view (so you have to keep track of who is talking). Wen is a nice guy who is struggling with his feelings for his father's sexy new girlfriend. Stella is new to the school and when told she can't wear a certain t-shirt she suddenly develops a reputation as someone who fights against the system. Charlie calls himself a "big fat loser," but he's really a sensitive guy with a talent for percussion. Mo's family is from India and she struggles to live up to her father's strict expectations (while she secretly dates a popular guy). And Olivia, the lead singer, is kind of strange and also so painfully shy she throws up in the bathroom before going on stage. Fate, detention, and a dentist's corny jingle bring the 5 students together, and the music they write speaks to the kids at their school—especially the kids who think of themselves as freaks. This book is funny and clever and the part I love most is the friendship that forms among these 5 kids. It is a high school story, so I recommend it to 7th and 8th graders. An interesting note: this author also wrote I am the Wallpaper, and those characters play a minor role here.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes
I can't say I have been all that thrilled about the books I've read this summer, but I'm happy to say this one was great. It's about a group of 5 high school freshmen who all struggle to fit in at their school until they come together to form a band called Lemonade Mouth. Each of the band members has a unique story, and each tells things from their point of view (so you have to keep track of who is talking). Wen is a nice guy who is struggling with his feelings for his father's sexy new girlfriend. Stella is new to the school and when told she can't wear a certain t-shirt she suddenly develops a reputation as someone who fights against the system. Charlie calls himself a "big fat loser," but he's really a sensitive guy with a talent for percussion. Mo's family is from India and she struggles to live up to her father's strict expectations (while she secretly dates a popular guy). And Olivia, the lead singer, is kind of strange and also so painfully shy she throws up in the bathroom before going on stage. Fate, detention, and a dentist's corny jingle bring the 5 students together, and the music they write speaks to the kids at their school—especially the kids who think of themselves as freaks. This book is funny and clever and the part I love most is the friendship that forms among these 5 kids. It is a high school story, so I recommend it to 7th and 8th graders. An interesting note: this author also wrote I am the Wallpaper, and those characters play a minor role here.
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2 comments:
How Absolutely Horrible for an author to write this kind of garbage gearing it for pre-teen and teens !!! I am appalled from just the 5 pages I read in this book! It was on my child's summer reading list for school, my child actually came to me and said they didn't think they should be reading something like this, and after just reading one paragraph, our family was in an uprage! We immediately called our schools superintendent, principal and so on and after 5 minutes of them reading a few pages online they did an all out scale of warnings on the school's web site and called all the book stores in our area to tell all parents not to get the book for their children that it is off the list and further action will also be taken. For an author to write about a young man getting an erection in class while looking at his father's girlfriends nude self porttaits and then him saying that it's not his fault that his penis, the little bastard, has a mind of it's own and not his fault if "it" has a thing for his dad's girlfriend is completely irrersponsible to put in minds of our adolescents. And for the young "good girl" to see a plus side of letting her passions go free and skip class to make out in the bushes with the "popular guy" will actually make her a "somebody" now, is now what our children should be geared with mentally for junior high, high shcool, and even adult hood. This author needs to get a real life and find out what real society is like where you teach and show acceptance for yourself and others and take responsiblitly for your mind and body. The last time I checked the two were still connected....
kay so, chill mom. your son is probelly already thinking of theese things. you need to understand that theese things to happen in the real world. i understand what you mean at a certain age. if your son is 11 or older, get over it! hes not stupid he knows whats happend. erections do occur! 70% of kid, in class are thinking about sex. if you want to keep him away, think. you cannot control his mind! talk to him, hell understand. but do not keep him from the real world. because when he enters it, he'll live in shock and fear.
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