Saturday, June 27, 2015

Book Review: Lemonade Mouth

Hey guys! Today I'm reviewing Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes for you! If you watched Disney channel when you were younger, you probably saw Lemonade Mouth with the detention kids turned rock stars. But I am here to tell you, this book is definitely not the same as the movie. It is more young adult than child.

The book starts off with Wen, Charlie, Mo, Olivia, and Stella finding themselves in detention on the same fateful day for various reasons (for example, Mo is caught making out in the trees and Wen has a not-so-Disney-esque guy problem in front of his class). None of them immediately click and make a fabulous show tune like in the movie- they actually start by signing/playing to the beat of a commercial. The music teacher, Mrs. Reznik, encourages them to become a band and none are particularly enthralled with the idea. Stella eventually turns their frowns upside down, they give the band a go, and sign up to play at the Halloween Party, much against the competing band's wishes. When Lemonade Mouth comes onto the stage, the crowd is in for a strangely amazing blend of ukulele (Stella), vocals (Olivia), trumpet (Wen), drums (Charlie), and bass (Mo). Everyone falls in love with their music and Lemonade Mouth is instantly famous around town. Now, now, obviously I'm not going to give away the rest, but I will say that, as in every book, the characters have difficulties at home, with each other, and with their classmates. At one point Lemonade Mouth calls it quits. Is it fate or coincidence that this band seems destined to take over the world (or at least the radio)?

Okay. Lemonade Mouth was awesome. Seriously! If you liked the movie please give this a try! The way it was written seemed so, I don't know, fluid. Each chapter had multiple points of view so I felt like I was being told the story by each of the characters. The best parts were when the music was described. It's really hard to explain, but I could practically hear the music! I was also pleasantly surprised by the characters. They were quite different from the movie, which I was not expecting. Olivia is incredibly shy and scared (and a little strange) and she has contact with her father throughout the book. Mo wasn't all that different, so I won't really comment on her. Stella had a stranger home life and she definitely rebelled more than in the movie. The largest change for Wen was that he had a crush on his father's girlfriend, which made things infinitely more complicated for him. Charlie was the most different because he had his dead twin's voice in his head. Eventually he overcame it and the voice stopped, but it acted as his alter ego almost. The part I loved the most was that the wimpy freshmen came together and changed the way people acted at school. Although it is a tad cliché, the message was there and it was definitely well written!
A 5/5 stars!

What did you guys think? Have you read Lemonade Mouth or seen the movie?

Have a great weekend!

Au Revoir!

"How could you ever feel comfortable if no matter where you went you felt like you belonged someplace else?" - Lemonade Mouth

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