Down and Up the Apple Trees

“What? What?” she unpuckered her lips.

“Are you and Ramon doing the coochi coochi?”

Her clenched fist cam up, her mouth opened wide and she screamed: “Mother…!” Her face exploded into chunks, bits and flakes of green mud. “Come and get this pervert out of my sight!” She ran in her bedroom, crying.

Book Review

     In Raul Salinsa first book, Down and Up the Apple Trees, he takes the young reader through a fantastic narrative of constant conflict and learning experience. His characters are as odd a combination as sweet and sour, yet they grow closer together over the course of one summer, and they all remain friends in the end.

     Roberto, the main character on this journey of discovery, becomes more knowledgeable of his surroundings and  more aware of his family and friends. his best friend is Slinky, a "nerdy" kid who always seems to get them in trouble. Yet Slinky is a math genius who can''t tie his own shoes properly but can solve "trig" problems at the blink of an eye. Through his influence, Roberto begins to understand that numbers are things that will work for you when you give them something to do.

    Our young hero''s mother Josefa, always pushing her children to excel in school at any cost, eventually acknowledges his emerging maturity when she addresses him as Roberto rather than the more familiar Betito. As the young man appears perplexed about women''s behaviors his father, Jesus, attempts to explain why women act so differently from men. Roberto''s sister, Estela, is a farm girl who moves with the family to the city, and vlossoms into a sexy young lady, attracting boys to her like bees to honey. Observing her, Roberto finds girls are too complicated for understanding. Yet she, too, acknowledges his entree into young manhood when she asks him to chaperone her first date with a boy. Roberto''s brother, Rick, is a book-smart researcher who is absorbed in the study of psychology.

     Rounding out the cast of characters are the Zarates, neighbors who become mentors to Roberto and Slinky. Mr. Zarate hires the boys to work in his orchards, then helps them learn through discussion about the realitites of war and social injustice. More in the areas of mathematics and logic. Helen Zarate is an educated woman from Michgan, United States. As an artist and art teacher, she encourages Roberto to consider new perspectives in his drawings. By exposing him to Czech culture and food, Roberto also learns something about multicultural values, their rites and traditions.

     Down and Up the Apple Trees is a metaphor for life. The moral of the story is that no matter how many times we fail, no matter how old we become, we must never stop trying to learn new things. "...Apple Trees" is a good book for children. Its simple story is easy to read as its characters learn important lessons about life by confronting their emotions while the narrative flows smoothly through the conflict of the plot. Finally, the epilogue puts it all together and ties up loose ends as the reader discovers that everybody is different, differences are accptable, and the world never stops changing.

                                                                                                 -Joan E. Coughlin, Psy. D., Assistant Professor

                                                                                                   Palo Alto College, San Antonio, Texas

*Read more about the grown-up Roverto in Salinas'' Short Stories, appearing in the book stores this summer.