Lemonade Sky by Jean Ure - Review

My friend Helen sent me this book a few months ago. She sent a little care package to me at some point, and it included this. She knows I like Young Adult and middle grade literature, and she thought I would like this. I picked it up when I finally finished The Book of Lost & Found, and I fortunately read it really quickly which was joyful because I had really slogged through that last book. 

This book is a perfect middle grade book, in my opinion. It deals with some really difficult themes, but in a gentle way - but also a really realistic way. This IS the life that some kids are living and I love that. 

So Ruby is twelve years old and in Year 8 at high school. She has two sisters - Tizz who is ten, and Sam, who is almost six. They live in a basement flat with their mum. She has bipolar disorder. She has pills to take and usually she's okay, but the family is in poverty and struggling at the best of times. Sometimes Mum falls into a huge depression and can't get out of bed, meaning Ruby has to look after her sisters. And then there was the time that she disappeared for ten days... 

And now she's done that again. Ruby wakes up and her mother is nowhere to be found. She knows that she has to get all of them to school, and they have to make sure that their upstairs neighbour, who dislikes the family at the best of times, doesn't find out that their mother isn't around. Because if she does, they'll end up split up and in care, and Ruby cannot let that happen.

They cobble together what money they have and go to Tesco to buy food for themselves. It's nearly Sam's birthday and Ruby can't bear the idea of her having no party food. Ruby only has a couple of friends at school and she can't tell them too much, but her friend Nina comes through for her. I loved their fledgling friendship and would love to see more of it. 

Tizz is certain that their mum will be back after ten days. They just have to keep going and keep themselves together. 

My only criticism is that I felt like the ending happened very quickly. I do kind of get that from a storytelling point of view, because the more interesting part is at the beginning, really, when the girls are struggling to look after themselves. But it did all happen quickly at the end and I would have appreciated just a little bit less of the beginning and a little bit more of the ending. 

I'm giving this four out of five and I liked it so much that I bought another book by the same author - who I've never even heard of before - from eBay, and am looking forward to reading that soon!