Remember when you were a kid and started your own business? Even if you didn't, the image of a kid's lemonade stand should be easily imaginable and what happens in Payback on Poplar Lane goes far beyond a simple drink stand.

While there was a lot of humor in the book, there were also a lot of scenes that made me equal parts sad and frustrated. Peter is overbearing in his business practices and recitations of "business tips", but when it's his turn to tell the story, you get insight into why he is the way he is. His father was laid off and this spurned in Peter the need to be successful, to help his family, and I think he took it a little far and forgot to be a kid, but I understood the feeling. Peter's family might not be as poor as some, but the changes they had to make, such as drinking non-name brands and not having dinner out anymore, would certainly be a shock to a kid's system, their sense of continuity. Peter is so preoccupied with protecting himself, with "stepping up as breadwinner of the family", that he takes on far too much for a child and forgets to experience life as a kid while he still can.

I didn't like Peter at all because he tended to be too harsh and critical, particularly of his father, but I understood where he was coming from.

Where he and Rachel had some similarities was in their worry about how others regarded them. For Peter it was how much money his family had, how they had leftover nights and he couldn't go to the Poplar Prep school. For Rachel, it was in regards to her quite nature and the desire to blend in.

As Payback on Poplar Lane begins, Rachel is really withdrawn, both with her contemporaries and with her best friend. It affects her in relationships, such as the unfortunate one she develops when she becomes Peter's intern. However, her strength starts to shine when she realizes that she wants to matter and it's not just about mattering to others. It's about standing up for herself, for her ideas, and the hard work she puts into what she's involved in, whether a fortune telling business or an interactive "gold" digging adventure.

The kids, from the two main characters to the wide cast of side characters, were fun and modern. They were a pleasure to read about because I didn't get bored or bogged down with any of them. The adults as side characters were not a big part of the story in action, but their presence was felt: Peter's father and his job struggles, Rachel's deceased mother, etc. Everyone had a reason for being on the page and I liked that.

Payback on Poplar Lane was a fun middle grade read that will appeal to a wide readership.





I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.