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 middle grade read that adults can enjoy too! ( )

This is the second book in the lemonade war series. This book is about how they suspect that a kid at school took a couple hundred dollars out of their pocket from the lemonade stand. Well they ended up taking him to playground court to get everything all sorted out. This is a great book for 5th-8th graders. ( )

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 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. ( )

Evan and his little sister Jessie are both in the fourth grade, not because they're twins, but rather because Jessie skipped a grade. Jessie is particularly good at math, very focused, feels strongly that things should be fair, and believes that rules are meant to be followed.

When one of their classmates, Scott, announces that he now owns a fancy new Xbox 2020, Evan sees red. He knows exactly where Scott got the money for it - Scott stole that money, over two hundred dollars, from Evan's shorts when they were swimming at a friend's house. Evan doesn't have any proof that Scott did it, but it's the only explanation. Then Jessie comes up with a plan: she's going to bring the truth to light in a court of law created by her and her classmates.

I checked this out from my library's Overdrive without realizing that the library owned the first book in audio as well, or I'd have started with the first book instead. It looks like I'll be listening to this series out of order.

And I do plan on listening to the first book. I enjoyed this second book in the series more than I expected to, considering that Middle Grade fiction usually reads too young for me (yes, I know that's the point - I'm not the intended audience for these books and I realize that). Jessie and Evan were great characters, both flawed in their own ways but still good kids.

Jessie didn't quite feel like she fit in. I sympathized with her trouble figuring out where to hang out during recess (or was it lunch? I can't remember). The way she really got into her courtroom plan reminded me a bit of myself. I could imagine her tossing and turning in bed, unable to stop thinking about all the things she still needed to do before the trial. She'd taken on the responsibility of both setting up as realistic a trial as possible and acting as Evan's lawyer.

Evan was really into basketball and had a bit of a crush on one of his classmates, Megan, who was also his sister's friend. I hated the way Evan acted in one particular scene, but the good thing was that he hated how he'd acted too, once it was all over, and took the time to try to do something about it.

This ended in a way that was more peaceful and friendly than I expected, and I liked the layers it added to the characters. The peeks at Scott's home life hinted at his motives, even if Evan couldn't see them, and I'm looking forward to finding out character information I missed by skipping the first book.

One nice detail: each chapter began with a definition of a term or phrase relating to courtroom proceedings (for example, "perjury"). Usually it was something illustrated by a character's words or actions in that particular chapter.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

In this sequel to The Lemonade War, Jessie Treski serves Scott Spencer, and the whole fourth-grade class participates in the trial. The stakes: If Scott loses, he has to give Evan his new Xbox 2020; if Evan loses, he and Jessie have to stand up at Monday morning circle and apologize to Scott in front of the whole class. Jessie assigns the roles: witnesses, jury members, lawyers - though Scott refuses a "girl lawyer" and says he'll represent himself - and audience, and the trial is held on the playground Friday after school. It doesn't go exactly the way Jessie planned - the truth doesn't come out, and justice isn't done - but when Evan visits Scott at his house that weekend, they reach a fairer agreement.

Each chapter begins with the definition of a word or term relevant to the judicial process (e.g. circumstantial evidence), and there is some explanation of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), as well. ( )