Lemonade Mouth is a young adult novel by Mark Peter Hughes, published in 2007 by Delacorte Press. It follows five teenagers who meet in detention and ultimately form a band to overcome the struggles of high school, forming deep bonds with each other and learning to let go of their personal demons with each other's help. The novel was adapted into a television film by the same name starring Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks, Hayley Kiyoko, Naomi Scott, and Blake Michael and premiered on Disney Channel on April 15, 2011. An adapted version of the novel for younger readers was released after the release of the film. The film was well received by both audiences and critics.
Plot
Five teenagers—Olivia, Stella, Charlie, Wendel "Wen", and Mohini "Mo"—meet after all ending up in detention for different reasons. While in detention, they all play and sing along together with a jingle on the radio. They decide to form a band after discussing it. At first, they have trouble agreeing on music, but soon learn to work together and get along.
The group decides to play at the Halloween Bash, but many students who are fans of Mudslide Crush, another band at the school, do not want the group to do the Bash. Ray, a member of Mudslide Crush and the school bully, harasses Olivia because of her band. Mo, Charlie, and Stella get involved to defend Olivia, and Stella spits a mouthful of lemonade into Ray's face. Ray calls Stella "lemonade mouth" and thus, the group takes "Lemonade Mouth" as their band name. Before the Bash, the lemonade machine that inspired the band is taken away as part of an agreement with a sports drink company that is sponsoring the school's new gym. This angers the band, and they decide to fight the decision.
At the Bash, many of the students are surprised at Lemonade Mouth's music when they take the stage because the band uses instruments like trumpets and ukuleles. The bandmates develop friendships and bonds with each other when they arrive at Olivia's house to console her after her cat dies. They gradually open up to one another about their problems: Stella thinks she's stupid and has problems with her parents, Wen's father will be marrying his much-younger girlfriend, Mo, an immigrant from India, feels that she doesn't belong, and Charlie's twin brother died at birth. Olivia reveals that her mother and father had sex when they were in high school, and Olivia's mother, who never loved or wanted her, left Olivia's father, Ted, to raise his daughter by himself until he was convicted of armed robbery and manslaughter. In the meantime, Charlie falls in love with Mo.
With new trust and friendship, the band becomes successful, getting on the radio and performing at a restaurant. However, things go downhill when Stella's ukulele breaks, Wen injures his lip, Charlie burns his hand, Olivia loses her voice, and Mo gets sick. All of this happens just before an annual live battle of the bands. Though the band does not do well in the competition due to their recent problems, their fans support them nevertheless, singing along to their songs to lift their spirits.
Afterwards, Charlie and Mo share a kiss and the two begin dating. Stella makes amends with her parents and finds out she has a learning disability. Wen and Olivia become attracted to each other after Wen gifts Olivia a new kitten.
Characters
Band members/Main Characters
Olivia Whitehead
Olivia is the lead vocalist of the band. She also plays the accordion and writes songs for the band. Olivia is a bookworm, and often becomes nervous before band performances. Although considered shy, Olivia is sympathetic, considerate, and caring. She gets her love of books from her father, Ted. He always read to her and named her after a character from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
Wendel "Wen" Gifford
Wen plays the trumpet for the band. He struggles with the fact his father will be marrying a much younger woman. He feels she wants to take the role of his mother, and is in lust with her. He later becomes attracted to Olivia. Wen seems to be the only one in the band that is able to calm Olivia down. He's usually the joker of the group and tries to laugh things off when the band gets into tough situations.
Stella Penn
Stella was born in Arizona and dislikes the fact that she had to move to a small town halfway across the country because of her mother's new job. She is a vegetarian and is very self-confident. She is headstrong and leads the band when the other members are uncertain. Though rebellious, Stella is a hard worker, and caring to her friends. She plays ukulele and is usually the toughest member of the band.