The Bridge Battle

The Lemonade War #6

by Jacqueline Davies

In this gripping, funny addition to the bestselling Lemonade War series, both Jessie and her brother Evan find themselves unexpectedly cast as outsiders. How they find their way forward makes for a timeless story about the power of courage and kindness.

Evan and Jessie Treski have waged a lemonade war, sought justice in a class trial, unmasked a bell thief, and created a professional magic show. Yet for all their skills and talents, both find them themselves being singled out this summer for reasons beyond their control.

Natural-born leader Evan, who is always good at making new friends, discovers he is at the mercy of a bully on the summer school playground, and is pressured to act in a way he never has before.

Science-loving Jessie just wants to construct the best bridge she can for the competition next month, yet she is stuck in the wrong summer camp, surrounded by kids who believe fairies are more real than physics and a group of girls who tortured her back in second grade. Suddenly, she, too finds herself acting in ways that puzzle her.

Bestselling author Jacqueline Davies once again shows how well she understands her readers in this timely story of how being true to ourselves can help us remember how to treat others.

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Chapter Books, Animals, Realistic Fiction, Juvenile, Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2022

About the author

Jacqueline Davies is the author of both novels and picture books. She lives in Needham, Massachusetts with her three children.

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evan and Jessi Treski are back in this 6th installment of the Lemonade War series. Summer brings new challenges for each of the siblings. Jessie is headed to Summer Fun Exploration Camp where she's stuck in "How to Make and Decorate Fairy Houses" instead of the bridge building engineering session she wanted, to make matters worse she finds herself at camp with three mean girls from a former class. Evan is headed to "real" summer school at the middle school where he finds himself learning a new set of social norms among the older students he was accidentally placed with. Both of the Treskis find themselves dealing with bullies in their new situations and have to make decisions about the right way to respond. In his attempts to avoid being the target of the bully, Evan ends up playing a mean prank on another vulnerable classmate. Jessie outsmarts her bully, but winning Becky's prized possession doesn't feel like as much of a victory as she thought it would. Evan and Jessie learn lessons about courage and doing the right thing and their summer experiences converge in a way young readers won't likely see coming. The book is lightly illustrated, primarily with sketches relating to Jessi's bridges.

This is a sweet story, one that reinforces what it means to stand up for others and be a good friend without feeling preachy.

Recommended, especially where other books in the series have been popular. Grades 4-6, would also be appropriate for many 2-3.

[Josephine Sorrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Installment number six in The Lemonade Wars saga…

Evan and Jessie Treski have waged a lemonade war, sought justice in a class trial, unmasked a bell thief, and created a professional magic show. And now they seem to be, being singled out this summer for reasons beyond their control.
Evan is the Natural-born leader and good at making new friends. Until he discovers he is at the mercy of a bully on the summer school playground, and is pressured to act in a way he never has before.
Jessie, the science girl, wants to construct the best bridge she can for the competition next month, yet she is stuck in the wrong summer camp, surrounded by kids who believe fairies are more real than physics and a group of girls who tortured her back in second grade. Why does this cause her to act in ways that puzzle even her own self.

Another timely story by Jacqueline Davies of how being true to one’s self can help us remember how to treat others.

[Marie Angus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.... Created some opportunities to discuss bullying.

I enjoyed listening to this series with my 10 year old. I think she learned quite a bit. It provides insight into the way different people think and builds empathy for those not just like us.

It has a lot of interpersonal relationships and the characters are faced with many choices. I think it's a good series to listen to with kids and to discuss various situations the children face.

I love the way the author goes back and forth between perspectives of the 2 main characters.... And the way you see inside them.... Feel what they're feeling.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

4.5 stars for The Bridge Battle. As a teacher I absolutely love finding books with great tie-ins to the classroom/standards. This book would be a great start to a unit on bridges and the illustrations make it a great STEM addition to your classroom library. This book is in a series, but you don't have to read the first books to be able to jump into this one, it works as a stand alone. I also like how Evan and Jessie both have to process, and take ownership of, their own actions.

[Sarah Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have loved this whole series. This is a perfect middle grade series that so accurately captures this age, school relationships, and sibling interactions. I do wish this book had addressed some of the fallout of the previous book and the choices the father made. I thought this was an excellent representation of the complicated dynamics of school bullying at this age level as well. We are really hoping this is not the last book in the series.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading the story of Treski siblings. Jacqueline has a unique talent to woven scientific lesson and moral teaching into an entertaining tale, without making you feel being indoctrination. She is such a talented storyteller and I hope to see more of her works coming!

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. The characters are so real and believable, dealing with things we've all dealt with at some point. Both my daughter and I wish there were another book or two left in the series to read!

[Nicole Stanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as the others.

[Chocoland714 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, I guess the message was good, but it was just not so interesting.

[Heidi Eastman Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've read the first few in this series, this was a good listen for the family in the car. Simple with a cute message.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this conclusion to the series. Wish there were more to come.

[Chasity Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot about bridges and a lot about standing up for yourself and others.

Makes me miss the 90s in a big way. I wish my kid could grow up like this.

[Branson H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guiding a bridge to solve a problem they did, NOT EVEN KNOW THEY Were solving spoiler alert

[highwayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book probably would have made me obsessed with bridges as a kid