After reading the blurb, I was excited to give this one a read...but to say it wasn't anything like I expected would be an understatement.

Robbie is a super-amazing, over-the-top genius. But he has a problem. His secret project has run out of funds. So, to help out, he creates a very special lemonade stand, where there isn't a flavor that his automatista can't create. It's an amazing stand, and it catches even more attention...and money...than he could have hoped for. When a cute girl opens a very simple lemonade stand across the street, he declares war, especially when she starts winning over customers with her very simple recipe.

It took me a few pages to fall into the flow on this tale. The science fiction is heavy, and Robbie is more of a mad scientist than a kid. So, when this one starts out with a blast into high-tech, a genius Dr. Mama, and a boy, who is more than just a little energetic about inventions...it threw me for a bit. But after I got a handle on the direction this book takes, things flowed much better. Just don't pick up this one and expect any sort of normality because it's not there.

This tale is fast-paced and races from one scene into the next. Robbie is all over the place, but it fits his character well, considering his mind must be one busy space. When he sees competition pop-up across the street, it's understandable that he'd be a bit protective and not overly friendly. Unfortunately, Robbie's head is so much in his own realm that he goes beyond normal rudeness, and despite the girl's positive nature, is simply a big, selfish jerk, who only shows kindness to his mother. It makes him very hard to like even when he does help 'save the world' at the end. He starts as a brat and ends as one, too. The girl is cute, though, and the dog definitely earns bonus points..

As to the illustrations, these are bright, bold and do bring the story to life. The scenes are well placed and allow the visual story to build with the written text. Like the tale itself, these sometimes were on the frantic end...but then, this one doesn't have a calm plot. The text blocks on the illustrations, unfortunately, hit the heavy side. I found myself skipping more than just a couple of them. I'm not sure the intended audience will take the time to read all of them, either. Plus, there are more than a couple heavier, scientific terms, which will be beyond what many of this age group can understand. However, I do appreciate how the author filtered these in with a fun plot. They just will go over some readers' heads.

All in all, this is an imagination packed read, which races through an original and exciting adventure. There are more than a few unexpected twists, and lemonade takes on an entirely new meaning after this book is done. Just don't pick it up with the expectation that it will have anything to do with how usual kids might stage a lemonade stand war.

I was enjoying this until I got about a third of the way through then I lost interest. It was a little too complicated and drawn out. Although it is a graphic novel rather than manga, I think it would appeal to readers who like manga where there is lots of action and you need to fill in some of the gaps.

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

(I received an ARC from Oni Press, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review! Thanks to both for trusting me with 'Lemonade Code')

Awright! So, it's "Lemonade Code" time. In this comic we meet Robbie, a young boy who aspires to be an evil genious but doesn't have the money to fund his Super Secret Evillious Project. So he decides to take an old strategy and give it a twist: he will sell lemonade, although it will be one made with a machine so it can have any and every taste anyone could possibly ask for. But things go askew when the new girl next door, Daphne, sets up her own lemonade stand to sell.... Traditional lemonade! Robbie is certain that such an outdated recipe cannot beat his carefully calculated brewings, but soon enough, he's proven wrong. Customers flock in front of Daphne's stand, while Robbie's is... Not that succesful. How can this be!? Robbie is ready to go to Lemonade War against Daphne for stealing his thunder.

The worldbuilding premise per se wasn't that bad. In a nearby future, intelligence has increased exponentially in the population, so now everyone is a genious and can do anything. I'm saying that it wasn't "that bad" because, although many people may be captivated by it, I'm a Psychology student and I know that this is not plausible. Intelligence levels are different from person to person, and it's just impossible to have the entire human species acquire a single, extraordinarily high level. Individual differences, for both intelligence and personality, are something that can't be erased that easily, so I was highly sceptical about this premise. Also, what everyone showcases in this comics is a remarkable talent to invent gadgets and be super scienscey. But those are not the only activity that intelligent people can do, and intelligence isn't only about science and math.

My small rant having been made, I must say that, beyond the worldbuilding, the plot felt... Uh. Boring, for me. Lots of other people loved it, but I can't count myself among them. One of the reasons why I think that I didn't enjoy this is the main character himself. Robbie is, at his best moments, just meh, and sometimes such a rude boy that I wish I could slap him. What I liked was the bond he shared with his mom, who is the only person that he doesn't treat badly. But I really disliked his attitude towards Daphne. Daphne herself was nice, but her character development was approximately.... None. Zero. Nule.

I must also mention the scientific slang and technical explanations. Although it does show that the author has made an effort to learn about what he's writing about, it doesn't really belong in the story.. I feel like it would be too much if kids are the ones reading the graphic novel. Considering that it doesn't add much to the plot... It was almost as dense to read as the text boxes. There was a LOT of text, and sometimes it really begged me not to read on. Besides, the art style isn't right up my alley, so I couldn't enjoy it much.

I give it a second star, though, because of the diversity (the MC and his mom are BIPOC) and the lovely doggo.

I didn't really read the blurb for this one, so I wasn't really sure what I was going to get. And while there are some unique and interesting pieces (a world where mad scientists reign supreme, a lemonade stand-off, crazy technology, a rap battle with a swarm of robot bugs), I just didn't enjoy the story that much.

It seems aimed at young readers, but some of the science is so complex and advanced that even I, as an adult, felt my eyes glazing over at times. And sure, maybe it's supposed to be aimed at readers who know a lot about science, but it's disappointing that it couldn't appeal to those who are just interested or maybe not as science-oriented.

Not sure I'll purchase this one for my library. I can see many of my students being excited by the artwork and then completely skipping all of the written words.

3 stars

super cute about how these 2 kids set up a stall to sell lemonade in their town.
I did not know that you have to be so precise in terms of how much lemons you need to put in.

This was a hilarious book and i enjoyed the illustrations though it was small at times.

Thank you Netgalley for making this arc book in an exchange of a honest review.

Robbie is a budding mad scientist in the year 20xx, and is putting his skills to use by creating a lemonade stand that can produce any and every flavor imaginable. Business is great, until newcomer to the neighborhood Daphne opens up a stand selling simple, old-fashioned lemonade. Or is her lemonade that simple? Robbie's efforts to find out Daphne's secrets nearly lead to the end of the world.

The wacky mad science, Robbie's touching relationship with his mad scientist mother Dr. Mama, the spirited rivalry between the lemonade sellers, and the fantastic drawings make this a fun, hilarious read with surprising depth.

This was amazing! It's been a while since I've read something cover to cover in one sitting. I am left with a satisfying ending and want to read even more. This author is definitely going on my favorites list. I love how the science parts are explained in proper and layman's terms. Anyone could understand the worldbuilding. I am absolutely going to request that my local library gets a copy on hand as soon as it's out.

Lemonade Code is set in some undefined distant future where technology and science rule, and follows Robbie, a young 'evil' genius who's out to make money selling lemonade that can taster like anything. His plans take a turn, however, when a neighbour girl starts selling regular lemonade, that proves to be a hit with others.

I think this is a book with a very niche audience, one who would enjoy the silliness and weird humour presented here, along with people who have a good grasp of tech and science. Even as someone who's a science fiction fan I found little in this techno future to grab my interest, and found huge swaths of the book quite dull, and I spent so long desperately wanting something, anything to happen.

I'm sure there are some people who will love this book, sadly, I wasn't one of them.

This story was not what I was expecting. I don’t know exactly what I was imagining but I know it wasn’t that. The story is quite interesting overall but I wasn’t convinced by it. The characters are quite cute and funny but I didn’t get attach to them. Robbie has to learn from his mistakes but I am not sure he does by the end of the book. Moreover, the character of Daphne is not developed enough I think, even though she is one of the main secondary character. The story happens in a futuristic world and even though the boy is young, he knows about a lot of scientific things. Hence, there is a quite a few scientific explanations such as what is string theory so I am not sure middle grade readers would be interesting and would understand everything. At the same time, the story is a bit confusing. That is why I am not sure I would recommend it; I am not sure which audience would read it. On a more positive note, I enjoyed the drawings, this cartoonish style that suits the comic well. Overall, I liked this graphic novel but I wasn’t completely hooked.
3/5

Robbie Reynolds a super SUPER genius hasn’t got enough money to found his project. He really loves this project and wants to found it by opening a lemonade stand.
He really goes a long way, he makes an automated lemonade-stand! You can choose any flavor you want – which is great ;)
He isn’t the only one… Daphne Du-Ri – his neighbour – steps it up and goes far beyond what Robbie does. This is where the war starts – Robbie tries to find out what Daphne’s secret recipe is because her lemonade can’t be just like any lemonade!!!
Something must be in it so people keep buying it – he needs to find out!!

A great read – nice characters and a good story, loved it!

Thank you so much to net galley sending a copy of this graphic novel. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it for all interested.

This Graphic Novel is about a young boy, who is a mad scientist, and the new girl living on the street, competing against each other selling lemonade.

The plot was enjoyable and shares the message that Original Lemonade is the best. You don’t always need lots of fancy ingredients, sometimes plain and normal is what people want.

I really enjoyed the art style and use of bright colours in the illustrations.

However, I found there was just a bit too much text boxes. At times I felt they were too much and took over the page, making it look squashed and too busy. They took my attention away from the speech bubbles and illustrations. Also, the science-speak was a bit much and confused me at times, which made me not enjoy the story as much as I could have. By the middle of the book, I was just skimming the text boxes, almost just reading them to get them out of the way.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t something that completely hooked me.
I gave it 3 stars.

Lemonade Code is a cute graphic novel that I would hand to students who are into science fiction, coding, and a bit of action. Read alikes are the Secret Coders series and Once Upon a Space Time. The art is great I especially liked Doctor Mom and Robbie’s looks.

Hilarity and madness run amuck in a story about the cutthroat business of lemonade stands. Kids are going to really enjoy this one. With well-drawn illustrations and diverse characters, this is one story that fans of graphics, science and mad science aren't going to want to miss.

For libraries: Definitely worth purchasing.

Interesting premise, but it all gets a bit confusing and I was a little lost at times. I liked the relationship between Robbie and his Mama, although Robbie himself was a little hard to have sympathy for at times!
The artwork was good, I wish they'd let that tell a bit more of the story instead of lots of text.
There's definitely shelf appeal here for a school library

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ebook to review

Overall This was an enjoyable read. I liked the bright art style and thought it would be perfect for a younger audience. I loved the characters and I think the relationship between the boy and his mama was really cool and unique to see in books for a younger demographic. My only issue was that I found the comic slides were a bit too word heavy for me and I found myself skipping parts and not reading every word.

This was so much fun!
I think this is great for kids and adults alike. Think 'Dexters Labratory' for a new generation.
I found all of the characters instantly likeable and interesting but I especially adored the dynamic between the main character and his mother.
Some of the scientific/coding details got to be a little much for me but overall I really enjoyed it and I think it will be a big hit with tweens.

ARC Review: Lemonade Code by Jarod Pratt

4/5

I received a free copy of this graphic novel from NetGalley.com and the publisher to read and review.

In a future that is full of genius-as-baseline-intellect, mad scientist Robbie just wants to make lemonade. That is, he wants to let his automatista run the lemonade stand he's made that can recreate any taste in the world. In fact, he's offered up a free summer of lemonade for anyone that can outsmart his machine. That should be easy money, but suddenly, there's a new lemonade stand right across the street, run by a new neighbor, Daphne Du-ri. Robbie is worried, and wants to end her, but his Mama (DOCTOR Mama) says no.

But Robbie now had a new arch-nemesis, and her lemonade makes everyone happy. What does that mean for Robbie's lemonade stand? Well, the customers leave, and now he has even more reason to want to take Daphne down.

This was a cute, and intelligent, graphic novel, and I enjoyed it immensely. The art style was impressively done, and I loved the interplay between Daphne and Robbie from the start. They go through a lot, and who's the hero and why might surprise you. All in all, it's a fun little read, and at 164 pages, it won't take too long to get through.

<i>arc provided to me by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

DNF

I really am not a fan of the art style and the actual story wasn’t keeping my attention.

I found our main character to be irritating and I just didn’t feel connected enough to want to finish out this story.

I am still very thankful and appreciative for the opportunity to read this one! I’m sure a younger audience will have a blast with it!

Lemonade code where a boy named Robbie tries to fund his secret project by selling flavoured lemonade. He is genius boy knowing a lot of science and created a machine to serve different flavoured lemonade but there was a girl Daphne who was selling old-style lemonade who became his rival and he was so rude and want to find out why everyone loved her lemonade and rest of the story more of code, fireflies, lemonade dimension, mad music, Robbie calls himself a mad scientist and the world was shown so different it was not the age where smartphones are used, they use VRooms for conversation. Robbies's mama was also doing some secret project. I felt something was missing in the last half of the book. First half was really good and I loved the Illustrations.