“I imagined us flipping over, rolling time and time again by the side of the road in a ditch all bloody, thinking, this is the last party mom and dad will ever let me go to.”


In The Jumping Tree, Rey is a boy in his middle school years. He faces multiple problems that pertain to love, pain, and loss. The main conflict for him is that he has to decide if he is going to be a macho man or become a humble man just like his father.

Some of the problems that occur are that Rey’s best friend has to leave him and go to work in the trabajos up North.
Rey accidentally locks his baby brother, Javi, inside his house. His mom calls the neighbor over and he takes off the window’s burglar bars. Rey gets in and opens the door while his mom rushes to check on Javi.
Rey’s doggy Chito catches a disease called mange, so his family has to get rid of him.
Rey and Ricky, his cousin, are playing a game. While they are playing Ricky makes a bad decision and gets hit in the head, which busts open his forehead.
Rey’s girlfriend, Irene, breaks his heart by breaking up with him, because Rey didn’t pay much attention to her.
Rey’s Tio Angel gets shot to death right before he was going to see Rey.

Rene Saldaña Jr. wrote about the characters in a way that makes you feel like Rey is just like every other guy who constantly gets in trouble and is in love. Also, he is very humorous and arranges the book so that you want to keep on turning the page over and over.

I recommend The Jumping Tree for middle school kids and boys who want to become real men. Rene Saldaña Jr. tells the reader that you don’t need to smoke, have girlfriends, or be a mean guy to become a man. To be a “real” man, you have to be respectful, principled, and take care of you entire family. So if you want to learn how to become a man, read this book.