The Year Money Grew on Trees by Aaron Hawkins

Jackson is a fourteen-year-old boy living in New Mexico in the 1980s. His neighbor, Mrs. Nelson, offers him an intriguing deal. If Jackson can tend to her overgrown apple orchard and pay her $8,000 with the profits gained from the apples, the entire orchard can be his! Knowing nothing about apple orchards, Jackson agrees and enlists the help of his cousins. He conceals the deal from his cousins, who have different strengths to add to the project. The book recounts Jackson’s sheer determination, ingenuity, and grit as he goes through an entire apple season resolved to meet the goal.

Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Read Aloud: Ages 10 and up

This story has a basic plot making it easy for readers to follow. The book details each step of apple season and describes how Jackson overcomes obstacles every step of the way. I appreciated the sketches visually showing the tools and methods described. I also loved how Jackson went from knowing nothing to taking it upon himself to learn all he could to achieve his goal. It certainly inspires the reader to be a dedicated, hard worker even at an early age. Readers who gravitate towards agriculture, entrepreneurship, and determination stories might enjoy this book.

The plot does not have any twists, and a reader who enjoys a deeper story may get bored. Additionally, there is quite a bit of concealing the truth to accomplish the goal. In this book, the lying pays off and all works out, so there are no negative consequences. If your child is struggling with obfuscating the truth, this would be something to consider. This book barely touches on faith. The only time it is brought up is during Sunday school and praying for trees so they don’t freeze. Though Jackson knows prayer isn’t magic, his prayer reads like a wishful plea to a “formal” God he doesn’t actually know. His Sunday school teacher seems apathetic to the kids and not a clear expression of a Christ follower. Lastly, there is a scene when a creepy older man stares at Amy’s body up and down and the details are under the “sexual content” section of this review. It is never stated that this behavior is wrong, just creepy. The two other boys do not say anything to this man to protect Amy. It would be wise to ensure readers understand this behavior is unacceptable and know what to do if they were in that kind of situation.

Note – the publisher is a Mormon company called The Mindful Heart. The Mindful Heart markets themselves as a “Christian Homeschool Curriculum.” I am unsure of the author’s religious affiliation; since he published through Mindful Heart, some proceeds go to the LDS Church. GoodBookMom holds to a Biblical Worldview, and Mormonism is a false gospel, incompatible with the Christian faith. Due to this, GoodBookMom does not recommend this read.

Language:
Name Calling: stupid, jerk, idiot(s), “worthless salesman,” prima donna old lady, genius, knuckleheads, ding-a-ling kids, brain birds, “the ditch witch,” lazy, dummies, dumb, moron, double-crossing old lady (title of a chapter)
Mrs. Nelson to Jackson: “You disrespectful brat,” “You stupid, stupid child”
Dad to Jackson: “doesn’t know the difference between an apple and his armpit,” Jackson
comments that besides his dad, no adult has ever called him names like that before
Descriptive Usage: fat, huge gut, Slim’s slave, Mexicans
Profanity: “Dadgum,” Dad and uncle cursing at carbonaters (no curse words stated); Dad and uncle mildly swear (no swear words listed)
Figure of Speech: “He’s going to kill himself” said by Mom in reference to Jackson working such late hours; Jackson could picture his mom screaming about “killing her baby” to Mrs. Nelson

Questionable Behaviors:
-Mom & Dad Relationship: mom scowls at dad; dad eye rolls at mom; Jackson says the way Mrs. Nelson is talking reminds him of after his parents arguing; argument between mom and dad about how mom irons dad’s shirts; Dad doesn’t want fish dinner and has Jackson lie/manipulate mom into pushing it off another night
-Lying: Jackson conceals the agreement with Mrs. Nelson from his cousins and parents until the end of the book; Jackson puts items on his dad’s line of credit at the general store without permission; Michael takes 750 grocery bags from the grocery store without store’s permission; other instances of concealing the truth
-Attitudes: sarcastic banter, eye rolling, dirty looks, frowns, glances; Jackson yells at his dad
-Luck: mentioned multiple times; Jackson states the reason they are successful is they are lucky
-Siphoning: mentioned quite a bit; sometimes they siphon gas for the tractor from their parent’s cars; other times, it’s in relation to work in the orchards
-Tough Love; Jackson’s parents use tough love and are more distant as parents. One example is when Jackson’s shoes are soiled while he’s responsibly working the fields. He asks mom for next year’s shoes early, and her response is, “It’s your own fault you ruined the pair you had, so you can wait until next fall.”
-Amy makes the boy cousins strip to their underwear so she can wash off the manure fertilizer with a hose
-A story is told of a boy who lit a garbage can on fire then peed on it to put it out
-Amy is marathon watching MTV
-A comment is made that Brother Brown wouldn’t be afraid to cane us in Sunday School
-Tommy says if he were to mow down orchard trees, his deceased dad would probably haunt him

Other Things to Note:
Prayer: While God is not a focus of the book, Jackson asks his Sunday School teacher if praying for the trees helps them not freeze. Brother Brown remarks sometimes it does. Jackson then prays over dinner regarding the trees. He shares that prayer is not magic or wishing, even though he’s treated it like that in the past. He says, “for the first time, I prayed like I was lost, begging for a way home.” He does not expand on what lost or home means, making it work with a variety of beliefs.

-Brother Brown grabs Jackson’s arm right under the shoulder, gives him an awkward shake and keeps walking. Jackson said he felt, “a kind of electricity shot through my body as he touched me with his weathered hand.” This comment is not explained and is just odd. However, if the author is affiliated with LDS, this could be his description of the “burning in the bosom.” This is speculative but would make sense.

Sexual Content:
● In the Safeway grocery store, the middle-aged manager is inappropriate towards Amy, the high school girl. He stares at Amy “creepily and moves his eyes up and down her body.” He continues to stare at her throughout the entire conversation, never taking his eyes off her. He takes one last look at Amy before he walks away.
● When Amy is teaching Jackson how to dance, Aunt Sandy comes in and comments, “you two do know your cousins, right?”
● Jackson lies to Amy that a boy likes her and wants to know if she’s going with anyone. Jackson says he thinks Amy likes this boy. She gushes about who it could be.
● “Aren’t you supposed to be havin’ fun and worrying about school and which girls you like at your age?”
● “You got a date or something?”
● “You’re still not afraid of girls, are you?”
● Amy talks about who likes who and says her friend likes Jackson
● It’s mentioned that Amy got a serious boyfriend and Jackson hates his guts

This review is written by Good Book Mom contributor, Emily. To learn more about Emily, click HERE.