The Candy Smash (The Lemonade War, #4) by Jacqueline Davies

The Candy Smash (The Lemonade War, #4) Reviews

• 
  Samantha

  In this fourth book in the Lemonade War series Valentine's Day is approaching and there's love in the air and a juicy mystery to be solved. Who's been giving everyone in class boxes of candy hearts with personalized messages? And who drew a heart in the girls bathroom professing their love for Evan Treski? Jessie, the self-appointed roving reporter, is determined to find out.
  
  Meanwhile, the class is studying poetry and Evan finds he REALLY likes it, but is embarrassed to admit it. He tries his hand at writing a few poems and creates some true masterpieces, but is reluctant to share them with anyone.
  
  This series is so well written. The characterization is top notch and the author excels at exploring a child's feelings ranging from family relationships to school friendships and everything in between.
  
  The inclusion of poetry in this book was well done. Many fine examples of poetry were shared by some well known poets like e.e. cummings and Sylvia Plath. Highly recommended for grades 3-5.
• 
  Kristen

  This is the only book in the Lemonade Wars series that I've read, and it was okay. A cute, quick read suited for upper-elementary students and reluctant readers. I love sensitive Evan--particularly how he treats his Alzheimers-ridden grandmother--but Jessie wasn't all that likable (to me, anyway.) She's a bit like a child-sized Sheldon Cooper, whom I enjoy, but I was annoyed by Jessie rather that entertained.
• 
  Nancy Kotkin

  In this fourth book of The Lemonade War series, Jessie wants a blockbuster story for the front page of her newspaper. Meanwhile, Evan falls in love with poetry, but is too embarrassed to disclose his new hobby to anyone. Someone is leaving mysterious candy hearts with personalized messages for the entire class and Jessie surveys her classmates about love and crushes, a topic she doesn't grasp at all. The third-person POV alternates between the brother and sister. Poetic terms and newspaper-related concepts are woven into the story.
  
• 
  Katie Fitzgerald

  The Candy Smash is the fourth book in the Lemonade War series about Jessie and Evan Treski, siblings who are in the same fourth grade class. It is February and Valentine’s Day approaches. Inspired by his teacher’s presentation of a poem of the day, Evan starts writing love poems, first about his grandmother and later about Megan Moriarty, on whom he has a crush. In the meantime, Jessie works on her extra credit project, a class newspaper. She hopes to find out not only who is delivering secret forbidden candy to the whole class, but also who in her class has a crush on someone else and how her classmates think crushes should be revealed. As in the other books of the series, Jessie fails to understand basic social cues, while Evan loses patience with his sister when she violates his privacy.
  
  So far, in this series, Jacqueline Davies has taught readers about economics, law, and maps. In The Candy Smash, she focuses on journalism and poetry. Each chapter opens with the definition of a term associated with either newspapers or creative writing, and through Jessie and Evan’s experiences, the reader learns the proper use of these terms. The educational aspect of the story is certainly subtle and does not overpower the plot, but there are lots of great opportunities for classroom teachers to connect this book to their curricula.
  
  This is a largely character driven story, which provides a lot of insight into the personalities of both Jessie and Evan. Only Evan’s character truly seems to develop, though; I keep wondering with each new book when Jessie is going to begin to mature a little bit as well. True, she is a year younger than her classmates, but even so, there should be some changes happening in her worldview and relationships that I haven’t really seen yet. Davies does a great job of depicting Jessie’s innocence and lack of experience, but it’s becoming less believable as she gets older. I was also surprised by how little their grandmother appears in this story. After the events of The Bell Bandit, she has moved in with the Treskis, but we don’t see much of her, even though her presence looms large in Evan’s poetic mind. Also notable is Jessie and Evan’s teacher, who is invested in her students and dedicated to helping them improve as students and as possible. I love the way she uses her cat, Langston, as her class mascot and displays pictures of him around her classroom. I’d put her in the same category as Clementine’s wonderful teacher, Mr. D’Matz.
  
  My favorite thing about this book, overall, is how well it handles the romance theme. Many books for younger middle grade readers introduce dating into their fourth grade characters’ lives as though it is a perfectly natural thing for nine-year-olds to pair off into couples. In my experiences with kids, they are not into dating at that young an age, and this book reflects reality much more closely than a lot of others of this same reading level and genre. Sure, the characters have crushes, but they are still figuring out what that means and how it will impact their friendships. I especially like the way Evan’s crush on Megan is resolved - sweetly, but without tons of adult commitments and middle school-esque drama.
  
  The Candy Smash doesn’t really stand on its own, so I’d recommend starting with The Lemonade War and reading the books in order. Parents should feel comfortable giving this series to their second- and third-graders who are strong readers, and I think even fifth graders can still enjoy the stories. Budding journalists and poets will love the back matter showing the class newspaper and some of the poems the students have written. Though Valentine’s Day has passed for this year, there is lots in this book that’s worth reading any time!
• 
  Ellie Grace

  Jessie can't find a big news story. Then then she finds out that Megan her friend wrote in the bathroom, M.M.+E.T. Megan also gave out the candy hearts and Jessie put it in the news. Later Evan told her it wasn't a good idea. But what my whole point is later Jessie makes a very good newspaper at the end. I enjoyed that. I am a fourth grader and I recommend this book to all 4th graders.
• 
  Becky

  The fourth book in Jacqueline Davies Lemonade War series brings us to February in Jessie and Evan Treski's fourth grade year. Apparently after returning to school, Jessie decided to start a classroom newspaper. The Candy Smash is ALL about Jessie working very hard as a journalist and reporter as she tries to figure out the ethics of publishing. For example, if Jessie *knows* that someone like-likes someone, should she report it? Perhaps if Jessie herself were to have a crush, she'd know the answer to that one. But boys, well, they just don't interest her yet. Evan, on the other hand, well, he is definitely interested in one particular girl. (He has been since The Lemonade War!)
  
  The Candy Smash isn't all about journalism. The teacher has started a poetry unit. While some students like hearing and discussing the poems each class day, Evan happens to love it. He tries not to let his love show too much, of course. But Evan's big secret: HE LOVES POETRY. And at home, behind his unlocked "locked" door (there's a sign on the door) he writes poetry of his own. For someone who has struggled with school, Evan's newly discovered gift with words is pure blessing.
  
  The books have been getting more serious as the series progresses. In the Candy Smash, readers learn that Grandma has come to stay with them. I was very relieved to learn that she would not be left on her own. Also, Jessie has started thinking a LOT about her father whom she hasn't seen in over a year. Readers learn that HE is a journalist, that he travels all over the world. I knew, of course, that their mother is a single mom, divorced, but this is the first mention that I can recall revealing details about the dad.
• 
  Lisa

  I didn't enjoy the last (3rd) book in this series as much, however this one was right back up in quality, in my opinion. I really enjoyed reading about Evan and Jessie's class and the Valentine's Day mysteries. Jessie is a great example of how some people just can't "read" others well and how social situations can become awkward for them when they can't pick up on cues and such. It's also interesting to see the maturation of the 'kids in 4-O' and how they are dealing with changing feelings. I look forward to reading the next (and I believe last) book.
• 
  Ann

  I really liked Evan and couldn’t quite get a read on his sister. Is the whole crushes/feelings thing a mystery to her because she’s younger and just not developmentally able? Is it her overly analytical personality? Is there some diagnosis that is being hinted at but not explicitly stated (a la grandma’s implied Alzheimer’s)? It’s definitely obvious that there’s something else going on with her, which made her bearable and sympathetic, if not actually likeable.
  
  The story was cute and it’s a fast read, the only book of the series I’ve read so far. As a nerdy mom I love that it was full of poetry and even had terms defined at the beginning of each chapter. It also led to at least one good conversation with my daughter about right vs. wrong in relation to Jessie’s intrusion into her brother’s personal space and taking something that he had thrown away: is that really stealing? Does how he feel about it change the acceptability of her behavior? Definitely applicable in a real world full of siblings.
• 
  Christian

  Similar to ¨The Lemonade War,¨ this book isn´t the best book I have read so far. Even so, this book is still a step up from ¨The Lemonade War.¨ Characters have a bigger role than in ¨The Lemonade War¨ and Jessie gets a lot more character development in this book as she finally begins to understand Evan´s emotions. The reveal in this book about the culprit for the sudden candy presents was also slightly unexpected, but still understandable. The romantic relationship between Evan and Megan was also an essential key to the whole plot of the story itself. However, some characters still don´t receive any character development at all and are just portrayed as side characters who only have actions that have little to no effect on the story. Again, this story is still an improvement, but needs work.
  
• 
  Amanda Weeder

  I'm sounding like a broken record at this point, but I'm still surprised and impressed with this series -- and this book might be the best of them all so far. Each book has a learning theme (Bk. 1: math, Bk. 2: law, etc.), and this one's is poetry. Even though there are important lessons in these books, they're woven so well into the story that they're not a turn-off. In addition to introducing kids to elements of poetry in an approachable way, this book also has some great insights on crushes, emotional intelligence, and social awareness.
• 
  Ellen

  This was the perfect year to read Candy Smash. Like Evan and Jessie in 4-0, my students are studying poetry this year and light up when they come across terms like onomatopoeia. We just LOVE that word. Evan's deepening interest in poetry is a great contrast to Jessie's immersion in journalism. Love is a theme as well as sensitivity to the emotions of others. Like the majority of this series, this one also lends itself well to literature study.
• 
  Becky

  I have enjoyed listening to some of the books in this series with my son. I think some of the struggles the storyline are relatable to kids in school. I love how an educational element is woven in- this one was elements of poetry (The Lemonade Wars had math). Of course, that is my adult perspective, but my son enjoyed the stories too- not sure if he appreciate the educational elements.
• 
  Samantha Buchheit

  So I was rereading this book as well and wow! There was a lot of stuff I never noticed about it! Although the characters are all eight and nine year olds, I totally forgot all about it while reading. The book tackles topics like autism in an amazing way. I would actually recommend this to anyone!
• 
  MaoMeow1035

  4th to 6th grade review
  This book is the 4th book in the series(you should probably know that)so i would recommend reading the others first. In this book, somebody starts giving away candy hearts causing Jessie to want to figure out who is sending them as a new front cover page of her newspaper.
• 
  Laura

  I read these out of order, and I think I may have liked it even more had I read the books in order.
  I liked the characters. I loved how poetry was shared throughout the book.
  Overall, great book for middle grade readers.
• 
  Joey l

  I liked this book because it relates to me and my sister. I always get in arguments with my sister and we do many competitions against each other. I recommend reading the book Lemonade stand.
• 
  Peter

  i liked it a lot but it was too disappointing at the end. Evan and Morgan are just friends. JUST FRIENDS?
  like,COME ON! it was SO SAD!!!! but other than that it was okay.