I AM LEMONADE LUCY!

In this novel, a new international
student at a commuter college in Ohio ignites questions of racism, nationalism,
and history for a small town.

Fresh from the Paris suburbs, Azza
Amari arrives at Northwestern Ohio State College wearing a hijab and holding a
bag containing $97,872. “It is my out-of-state tuition, yes?” she responds to
the registrar’s shock. The Tunisian-born refugee has already bought into a
vision of the classic American college experience. But instead of offering a dorm,
programs, and mixers, the small commuter college in Fremont struggles to
accommodate her—eventually renting a cheap motel room and having the assistant registrar’s
teenage son, Kip Beckelhymer, drive her around in his blue hatchback. Azza
becomes intrigued by Kip’s love of history, in particular his obsession with a missing
artifact from the local museum: a 19th-century plaster of Paris European pear. Azza
agrees to help him and his friend Ryan Langham on their treasure hunts if the boys
teach her how to drive. As the unlikely friendship develops, Azza learns more
about Kip’s failed romance while the boys have their eyes opened to Islam and
the world outside Fremont. Meanwhile, others in the town begin to close ranks,
and dangerous clouds of racism and nationalism settle over the campus. Womack (Playing the Angel, 2013) has created a
fun, fish-out-of-water tale with heavy implications about today’s world. He has
carefully drawn, realistic small-town figures—thanks to sharp dialogue from Kip
and Ry especially—to show how quickly open minds can close, building to an
emotional and incensing conclusion. Azza’s overly polite, quizzical nature
provides plenty of bright, comedic moments, but her characterization overall is
perplexing. Her utter naiveté about bank accounts and universities seems to
reinforce stereotypes rather than undo them. It would make more sense for Azza
to be from a tiny, isolated village rather than the mean streets of a global, Western
city—and the whole story would greatly benefit from its central figure being
worldlier.

Despite featuring an outsider who’s a bit too
removed, this book delivers a fast-paced, energetic tale resonating with
today’s most troubling and important issues.