The Magic Trap

The Lemonade War #5

by Jacqueline Davies

Jessie and Evan Treski have waged a lemonade war, sought justice in a class trial,unmasked a bell thief, and stood at opposite ends over the right to keep secrets.
   Now they are creating a magic show—a professional magic show, in their own backyard! They practice, they study, and they practice some more. And who shows up? Their father, who has done such a good job of disappearing over the past few years.
   Just as Evan and Jessie took on running a business in The Lemonade War and a court of law in The Lemonade Crime, in this fifth novel of the bestselling Lemonade War series, they take on the challenges of magic and illusion all while discovering some hidden truths about their own family. Another fresh, funny, emotionally charged novel by the author whom Books for Kids calls, "one of the best writers for the middle grades around."

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Magic, Chapter Books

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

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

Reviews

[Lisa B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifth book in this series. Boy, I sure hope there's more. I love the way the author writes. The stories are fun yet educational - word definitions, math concepts and morals. What a great way to teach young readers.

[Annalise Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magic Trap is all about how even in disaster if people stay together everything will turn out fine. In the beginning of the book it explains how their are two siblings, Jessie and Evan, they have divorced parents. Their mother goes away on a business trip and asks their dad to stay with them. Evan wants to be a magician. Being the cool father that he is his dad decides to make that happens. He builds a stage and helps Even develope magic tricks. On the day of the show their dad leaves for work because their mom will be home later. But after their dad leaves and before their mom comes back a destructive storm comes through. Can Evan and Jessie survive this storm on their own?

This book was very well written. It showed how a community can ban together to help out. I really liked the writing style and how everything was very believable, that is why I rated this five stars.

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this fifth book of The Lemonade War series, Evan practices his magic act to perform a show with Jessie as his assistant. Their estranged dad comes to visit and ends up babysitting his children while their mom goes on a work-related trip. But their dad leaves just before a hurricane hits and the airport is closed; meanwhile the mom's flight home is delayed due to the bad weather, which leaves Evan and Jessie home alone for two days to struggle through the hurricane. The third-person POV alternates between the brother and sister. Magical terms and tricks are woven into the story.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book number 5 in the Lemonade War series. Enjoyed the first books in the series more, but this one was still cute. Good read for 4-5th graders, but younger readers enjoyed having this book read to them. Lexile 680 - Reading Counts: 10 points

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magic Trap is the fifth novel in Jacqueline Davies' Lemonade War series. Her newest book starring Evan and Jessie Treski opens in the month of May. It is almost summer once again, readers have almost spent an entire year with these two siblings.

Mrs. Treski is going on a business trip. She'll be gone a whole week. She's hired a sitter to stay with Evan and Jessie. But hours before she's scheduled to leave and just mere minutes after an unexpected knock at the door, she learns that the sitter has been in a car accident and needs surgery. While she'll be fine, there is no way she'll be able to keep two kids. The knock at the door? Evan and Jessie's father. He just happens to be in town for a day or two; he just happens to be in between stories for the moment; he's a war correspondent. He volunteers to stay with the kids the whole week. She is hesitant. After all, the last visit he stayed just a few hours. He is always in and out of their lives. He rarely stays around longer than a day or two at most. A whole week with the kids?! Is he capable of sticking around that long? Of putting his kids first? She isn't positive. But she goes.

Evan is working on a disappearing act of his own. Evan's new interest? Magic tricks. He's got a handful he's great at. He's working at mastering several more. He's found an old--really, really old--magic book. He needs help, and Jessie and his Dad are ready to help him out. Evan plans a big magic show and everything...

But life doesn't always go according to plan. And Jessie and Evan are about to be severely tested. All week long, their dad has been emphasizing over and over and over again how tough Treskis are and how they can do anything. Jessie and Evan will be given the chance to prove just that...

The Magic Trap certainly has its dramatic moments. Mr. Treski makes Mrs. Treski look like the most responsible, most caring parent ever. Seriously. I still can't believe that he LEFT the children on their own so he could go do a news story! And the fact that he LEFT when there was a HURRICANE on the way, the fact that he was leaving BECAUSE there was a hurricane on the way, that he cared more about escaping the storm himself than taking care of his two kids through the storm, is something.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessie and Evan Treski are over a year apart in age but in the same class at school. Jessie is smart and skipped a grade. They live with their mom in a big, old house that seems to always need something fixed. Mom is getting ready to go on a trip when dad suddenly shows up. Dad has been out of their lives for a while. He is a war reporter and always gone. Since the divorce he might pop in for a day every once in a while but never stays long. When their babysitter has an accident and can't stay with them, dad decides he can handle the kids for a week while mom is gone. The only problem is dad is not real good with parenting. He is always on the phone and does a lot of things mom would not approve of.

Evan has become obsessed with magic and wants to put on a magic show. He needs a big finally however to make the show great. Dad actually helps out when he gets Evan a bunny and a magic box. Jessie volunteers to be the assistant and they prepare for the magic show in the backyard. Only problem is a hurricane is heading up the east coast right for them. Dad needs to catch a plane before the airport closes so he takes off unexpectedly leaving the kids by themselves. Mom's flight home is cancelled because of the hurricane. The kids are left on their own to endure the hurricane and the damage it causes.

I haven't read the rest of this series but I don't think you have to in order to enjoy this book. I liked how resourceful and intelligent Jessie and Evan were. They were fine on their own in incredible circumstances. I thought the dad was a bit over the top. I'm not sure even the worst parent would leave two kids home alone with a hurricane approaching, but you never know. I liked how Evan really worked with Jessie when she got over-excited. I am assuming she is somewhere on the autism spectrum even though it was never stated. I thought it was good that it was portrayed as just a part of their everyday life. Evan knew how to calm her and get her back on track.

[Sienna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very happy and sad. When I was reading this, I had mixed emotions. When the hurricane happened, I was like, "WOAH!!! WHAT HAPPENED? What did I just read? I have to read these chapters again!!!". When they found the bunny under the porch I was jet like, "awww!! That poor little guy!". And in many other situations, I was like that too...

I read this series backward and I hope you guys don't do that too! Start with this book and follow.




And lastly, this book.

[Isaac Bryson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells about two kids, Even and Jessie. Even is a talented magician and when there dad came home he had the urge to put on a magic show for him. After a day their mom left on a business trip and they are left with their dad and on the day of the show their dad leaves again and there is a huge category one storm and now they have to survive floods, earthquakes and rapid winds.

I would recommend this book to some of my friends because it may not be a good book for some people but it was definitely a good book for me. This book shows emotion and the power of independence .

[Juliet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this!! They are the best characters and there is so much action!! I never expected that in the lemonade war books. A definite to-read for everyone.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Put of the whole series, this book actually had something sad in it. And I hate the main characters dad. Period. Just saying, he is like not good at being a parent

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great book and very entertaining, the whole series was great too. I have read every book in the series, one of my most favorite books. I read each book in one day.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series as a whole alright, because I am really fond of the chemistry among the Treski siblings; but I think the book should stop as the trilogy instead of extending to five.

This finale is better than the Valentine's special, but I only like the last half where the Treski siblings are 'abandoned' and left to survive in the middle of storm all by themselves. I think the book should cut out some of the early chapters particularly with those about magic show preparation, and give more detailed descriptions on how the siblings try to live on their own during the weather disaster. That should be the focus.

I get that the author wants to give some depths in the father character, but really, he's a total jerk and the only reason why he's here is so we can have the climax as the siblings are left on their own without grownup nearby. I have no problem with the plot, but just enough problems with the character of the father, and his relationship of his kids. It was done in a very rush way and we barely see him interact with the children more than preparing for magic show. I like when the brother wants to confront his father why he has to leave so early and seems not to care about the children a little more, but the scene is cut short, which is a shame.

Overall, even though the las two of the series in my opinion are not as good as the first three, still I really enjoy reading "the Lemonade War" and deeply appreciate the moving moments I encounter with the series.

[Bert H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book entitled “The Magic Trap” by Jacqueline Davies is an amazing book and the 5th and final book in The Lemonade War book series. The Magic Trap is a book that once you pick up off the shelf you can’t stop reading. This book is so descriptive that you can picture the imagery very well in your mind. The Magic Trap is about siblings Evan and Jessie Treski, when they decide to put on a magic show, an unexpected visitor arrives and changes their life, and because of this a TON of conflicts are set into motion, one including Evan and Jessie being left alone during a category 1 Hurricane! Something that I feel Jacqueline Davies does well in this book is the descriptive language. For example I could picture exactly what the magic show looked like. Something I feel she could have improved on is, having more characters then just Evan and Jessie, their mom, and their dad. They should add more dialogue and conversations with their friends. In conclusion I would recommend this book to people who like cliffhangers and imagery. I would also recommend it to students in grades 4th and up for the words that the author uses.

[Kami Danaei]

The magic trap starts with Jessie in her room. She grabbed her locked box in her hiding spot and she had unlocked it looking at all the money she had in there. She had around 80 dollars and was saving up so that she could get 100 dollars and get her own bank account where her money would be safe. Then Evan came to the door and asked Jessie a question. Jessie quickly hid her box under her pillow and went to the door. Evan was holding an old magic book and he was asking Jessie what the book was talking about. The book was showing a magic trick of how to make a rabbit disappear. Jessie and Evan's mom was leaving for a couple weeks because of Evan, there mom was packing up her things. Evan asked Jessie if she could lend him 20 dollars to get a bunny. Jessie was not sure about this since she knew her mom would say no. Jessie said that she would maybe do it if Evan payed a 5% interest every month. Then the door bell rang. There mom told Evan to get the door but Evan told Jessie that he had to look for a rabbit case so Jessie had to go get the door. Jessie closed the door and quickly hid her lock box then headed down stairs. She thought that it was Peggy, her moms best friend. Peggy was going to be the one to take care of them while there mom was gone but she was 2 hours early. When Jessie opened the door she was very surprised who it was and it made her scream. So far in the book, it is not to interesting but I am wondering how Jessie and Evan are going to make a rabbit disappear and I am also wondering who is at the door. This book so far is pretty suspenseful. When I kept reading, Jessie's dad was the person at the door. Her mom decided that there dad can stay with them while she's gone because Peggy had gotten in an accident. When her mom left Evan and Jessie told there dad about how good Evan was at Magic and they came up with an idea of doing a magic show. They decided they would do it on there porch so they put curtains on the porch and chairs in the lawn. Jessie wanted to be the assistant but she had to work for it. She tried to catch a rabbit for the show but instead she traded a mole, but Evan still decided to make her his assistant. Later their dad had given them a surprise which was a rabbit but he forgot that he left it in the car so Jessie and Evan had to go get it. Evan practiced his trick with the rabbit until he perfected it and then he showed it to his dad. His dad wanted Evan to do his finale on something disappearing. Later, Evans dad gave him another surprise, it was a basket that he could do his disappearing trick with. He saw the basket in a magic book and knew how it worked. Evan had Jessie go in the basket but Jessie got scared so there dad did it, Evan wanted to practice but his dad was always on the phone since he was a reporter. He went to his dad in his moms office and he got frustrated so he started yelling, he was mad that his dad was always gone. He had a flash back about the day his dad left him and he didn't like it so he went to his room and locked the door, he stayed in there for the entire evening. The next morning Jessie got up early and went down stairs and saw a note from there dad. She ran upstairs so she could read it with Evan, the note said that their dad had got a flight out and that their mom would be home soon. They were suprised but they went on with there day. Jessie watched tv but the only thing on there was the weather, she yelled at Evan to come downstairs because the weather said that there would be a hurricane in there city, they found out that's the reason why their rabbit was going crazy. A few min later their mom called saying that her flight got canceled because of the storm and she wanted to talk to their dad. They didn't want to say anything about their dad leaving so they said that he went out, so she just assumed that he was getting things for the hurricane. This book is making me want to keep reading right now. At the beginning of the book it got pretty boring but right now I want to see what will happen next. When I kept reading the book they decided that they would survive the hurricane by themselves. They got all the things they needed and for the whole day they were preparing for the hurricane the next day. Right before they went to sleep the power went out and Jessie was scared to go to sleep by her self so they slept in there parents room together. The next morning they heard a loud sound and went to Jessie's room to see that the climbing tree they used to always go on fell right into her room and water was leaking. They fixed the leak with tarps and buckets. They had some canned food and crackers for breakfast but they didn't want to open the refrigerator because they wanted it to stay as cool as possible. They survived the hurricane but there had been so much damage and the basement was flooding, they thought that they had lost their rabbit. They saw that the water was getting lower in the basement and knew that they survived the hurricane by themselves. The next day it was so bright out so they went outside to clean some of the broken branches in the backyard. When they were doing that Megan asked if Evan was still doing the magic show, she convinced him to do it. About 50 people showed up. Evan did all his tricks perfectly and for the finale Jessie would go in the basket, she was very scared but she did it and when she disappeared into the ground she found their rabbit. When the show ended and people started to leave she showed Evan that she found it and then they saw their mom pull up. They ran to her and they had to tell her that they were by themselves during the hurricane. Their mom started crying but she was very proud of them for taking care of themselves, she was mad at herself for leaving them. Evan and Jessie gave her the money they raised from the magic show to use for fixing the house. This book was pretty good. It was kinda random how a hurricane just started and how two little kids could have survived it but it was a good lesson that the book was trying to teach.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this series with one of my advanced and very well behaved 3rd grade students. She reads the book, then I read the book and we talk about the series as we go. I remember the day when she must have gotten to the climax of this book because I actually saw her sneak reading in class. She's the type of girl that is always doing what she is supposed to be doing so I was pretty surprised. Now that I've read the book on own, I can see why she took the chance and kept reading while I was teaching. Even as an adult reading this book, I thought that the Category 1 hurricane survival scenes near the end of the book were intense. I was so angry at Evan and Jessie's dad for a choice that he made too. The ending was perfect and brings you full circle to the beginning of the series where the two kids had lemonade stands. I highly recommend this series to 3rd-5th grade boy or girl readers. My favorite books in the series are books #1 and #5. The books should definitely be read in order.

[AMY · Rating 2 out of 5]

257 pgs. This is the final book in the Lemonade War series. I was trying to get into it. I tried and tried. I read 100 pages. I have just given up. It is a story about two kids whose dad has been away for so, so long and the family is coping the best way they can. The boy Evan is into magic and works on his project to not only capture a real live rabbit but also work on a project involving wood and building. It has lots of additional information sprinkled throughout on magic tricks and the history of magic. I think if you are into the series you will want to finish with this book. I gave it a good try and I am going to be honest...it was not for me. I really loved the first two. Maybe if I read all the way to the end I might I would find more drama to complete the earlier story. However, I am going to stop here. I am currently too bored with the plot. Sorry...I did try. Recommended for Grades 4-5 only if you are already into the series.

[Samantha Rebman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book The Magic Trap written by Jacqueline Davies, is a spine-tingling tale that hooks you in. It is time that Evan and Jessie are to put on a magic show!! After surviving a hurricane without their parents, they still manage to pull together a magnificent magic show that leaves the whole block astonished. In this book, the authors writing is strong and powerful, using funny language at each bend, to keep you engaged. As I read this book, I was surprised to find only strengths and no weaknesses. Such strengths are how this book how such hilarious language and how it is gripping because of how enchanting the story is.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars due to the amazing storytelling, and recommend that everyone should read this AMAZING book!!!!!! I would recommend this book for grades 2-6.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked by how emotionally invested I got in this last book of the Lemonade War series. In this book, the kid in me enjoyed Evan's latest passion: magic tricks! Who wouldn't love to learn how some of these classics are done? What I didn't expect was the emotions of the kids seeing their dad again and some of the boneheaded moves he made that put them in danger. No spoilers, of course, but wow.

[MaryAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacqueline Davies has stated that she deliberately tries to avoid labels about characters in her books. Although I appreciate the sentiment, it makes it difficult to list her Lemonade War series on a list of children's books that include characters with disabilities. Readers have suspected that one of her characters, Jessie, has high functioning autism. But there are too many unanswered questions. Jessie demonstrates some characteristics but could also be considered quirky.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another incredible book! Loved it like #1 and #4. This doesn't take a particular school subject like math or poetry, but it does deal with real human issues that might be facing children in this age group.
Based on the ending (which I loved!), this could be the last of the series. If so, wow! And if not, well, I'll look forward to more.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed this whole series, but this one may be my favorite. I liked how the author brought the dad back into the picture for Jessie and Evan to have to work out their feelings.
I like how the series tackles a lot of hard topics in age-appropriate ways. I recommend the series for middle grade readers.

[Will White · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 10 year-old-daughter loves this series, and I'm hooked now too. It's a nice read-aloud book For bedtime since it has short chapters. Most of the chapters end on a cliff hanger and make it hard to put down.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book felt more intense than the rest of the series, but it seemed like a fitting end to the series. The main themes covered an absentee parent, disappointment in relationships, and working together to get through hard things. Overall, this is definitely a series I'll share with my kids.

[Kenzie Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last book in the adorable series! This one was probably the most interesting for me since I'm obviously not the target group. I wanted to smack their dad upside the head pretty much every time he appeared, and the ending left me heartbroken and 'awwing' over the absolute cuteness of it all! Recommend for ages 8-12

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great series for upper elementary students! I’ve used The Lemonade War with both 4th and 5th grade and the kids have always loved it! This will be awesome for a Book Group tie-in about performing magic!

[Chocoland714 · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my personal opinion, it’s better than the other books in the series, and very interesting. Who thought writing a book with a magic show and two kids surviving a hurricane on their own would be so interesting? Still definitely kids book, I’d say 8-14, that’s sounds about right.

[Jacks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish the series wasn't over!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story with Jessie and Evan at the center. Some unexpected twists and turns! Great series, sad to see it end.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really great book in the series. I enjoy reading about Evan and Jessie and it was interesting to see their dad finally in the picture and how his presence and absence affects both kids.

[TODD J CUSOLLE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome but sad.

The book is awesome. Some part may be sad, but, they keep you reading, not quitting. I totally recommend this to anyone, especially my best friend.