I will start right off by saying I did not like this book. I can see what the author was trying to do. I understand why a publisher might decide to have it published, but I personally didn't like it. It is a story about a brother and sister who are only 14 months apart in age. The younger sister is academically gifted and is going to skip a grade. This is really threatening to the older brother who struggles academically. His sister is going to be in his grade and he is afraid she will make him look like a dork. So all of a sudden the two siblings, who have historically gotten along really well, start being very mean to each other. The whole book is one big family fight. The two kids decide to have a contest who can earn the most money selling lemonade. The book, in addition to being a family drama story, is also a math puzzle book. The reader can follow along while the math smart Jesse figures out the profit margin if she sells her lemonade for 50 cents a cup. The reader learns about franchising, undercutting, value adding and a number of other financial terms. It is very education, I'm sure.
Here are the main things that bugged me. 1. The kids were so mean to each other. 2. The sister was so bright, but the brother was academically a little slow. In my experience, when one kid in a family is that bright, the other isn't going to be dumb. 3. At the end the kids make up and everything is all right again. I don't think, after being so mean, kids could get over it so easily. I think in a real family, if two siblings treated each other that badly, their relationship would be damaged for a long time, maybe for the rest of their lives.
Anyway, that was a bit of a rant. The writing wasn't bad, and the plot was well paced. Someone else probably would like it. (173 p)
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