Fourteen-year-old Jackson is talked into running his neighbor Mrs. Nelson's apple orchard. The proposal that Mrs. Nelson comes up with is unusual; if Jackson can make at least $8,000 selling the apples, then she will let him keep whatever else he earns and will also give him the deed to the land. Can a boy with no farming experience manage an orchard? And can he persuade his younger sisters and cousins to be his farmhands? Set in 1980's New Mexico, this gentle coming-of-age story starts a bit slowly, but the interest level builds as Jackson deals with one farming challenge after another to produce the crop. The information about farming (including illustrations of things like tractors and irrigation systems) will appeal to some readers more than others.
Awards nominated: 2013 Rebecca Caudill Nominee
Date read: 4/26/2012
ISBN-10: 0547279779
ISBN-13: 9780547279770
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