This was a great read! It isn't filled with action packed, high entertaining drama but its low-key adventures kept our attention anyway. I think it's good for kids to be exposed to books that ask them to put a bit of effort into sticking around until the end of a book.The kids really liked this story. And I appreciated how realistic so many of the details were concerning what it takes to get and keep an apple orchard going. It had a great ending and taught my children and I many valuable things - especially the value of and satisfaction in hard work, what it takes to be a good leader, how relationships are so important, how to be respectful to our elders, and how rewarding it is to finish a seemingly endless and impossible task. Debut author Hawkins manages to make a suspenseful and engaging story out of the mundane subject of apple farming. At the center of the tale is 14-year-old Jackson Jones, a boy who knows nothing about tending an orchard but has a strong will and lots of perseverance. When his elderly neighbor Mrs. Nelson offers him ownership of her late husband’s apple orchard in exchange for the first $8,000 in profits from the harvest, Jackson jumps at the offer. What starts as a possible get-rich-quick scheme quickly turns into an adventure of hard work, resourcefulness, and determination. Jackson educates himself as he goes, through the seasons of pruning, irrigating, fertilizing, harvesting, and selling—informing the reader with diagrams and illustrations. He enlists the help of his younger siblings and cousins, building a tenuous bond around a shared vision of moneymaking. The story has a timeless, old-fashioned quality although it is clearly set in 1980’s New Mexico, with historical references to cassette tape players and Shasta soda. This may not be for everyone, but the humor and suspense will keep most readers interested. My own personal value of hard work and my strong work ethic was formed in part from childhood experience as a seasonal cherry picker, so I was rooting for Jackson.
Do You like book The Year Money Grew On Trees (2010)?
Absolutely delightful read...a clean, good, fun summer read. I loved this book.
—Brenna
Have a hard time rating this one - maybe 3 1/2? Loved Jackson's determination.
—adinn
Quick, easy read. Light humor, and good values taught.
—SarahLDow
