BookHounds

MY THOUGHTSABSOLUTELY LOVED ITLemon was born to her single mother when Stella was only seventeen. The two have been a team since her birth, always drifting from one town to another when her mother decided she had enough with where they were living or a bad breakup with a current boyfriend. Her unusual name came about because of her mother's artistic inclinations and how she gets hooked on a new color each month. As Lemon drifts through life she decides that she needs to experience sex and her first encounter is with the local stoner boy at her last school. She finds nothing life altering in the act and thinks maybe another encounter would make her "feel". As Lemon picks possibly the worst choice, a 27 year old tattoo artist that she meets when Stella wants new ink, she becomes pregnant. Lemon and Stella move to a new town in West Virginia for her senior year and there Lemon at least makes a friend, Emmy, who will support and encourage her. For all of the hopelessness of Lemon's life, she never seems feel sorry for herself. Instead, she always has a book in her hand and finds the good in small things. She accepts responsibility for the pregnancy and tries to make realistic plans for her and the baby. This baby makes her think about her own father and she wants to make peace with him and that part of her life before moving forward with her own. Emmy and Lemon make plans to go to San Francisco on an adventure and Lemon has hope that she can find her father. As Lemon pages through a maternity book from her mother, she finds a small note with her father's address and finds him once they arrive. Staying at a dive, Lemon also makes contact with Aiden, a boy who cares for her and treats her how she should be treated. The meeting with her father, Ryan, is a turning point for Lemon as she finds traits in herself that are directly from her father. Her love of reading has always been a mystery to her, since her mother never cared much for books. The moment when Lemon discovers books inscribed by her mother to her father is a turning point for her. The growth in character and determination is just wonderful. Her relationship with her mother turns into respect when Lemon realizes that her mother isn't as flighty as she first thought. Even when Emmy must cut the trip short because her father is wounded in the Afghanistan war, the pair support each other. Lemon finding that she is indeed worthy of love and that her mother has always tried to do the best for her was a true revelation. This is just such a beautifully written story that most teens will enjoy. Parents: there is some drinking, language and discussions of sexual situations, but nothing graphic.