Trash

by Andy Mulligan

Raphael is a dumpsite boy. He spends his days wading through mountains of steaming trash, sifting it, sorting it, breathing it, sleeping next to it. Then one unlucky-lucky day, Raphael's world turns upside down. A small leather bag falls into his hands. It's a bag of clues. It's a bag of hope. It's a bag that will change everything. Soon Raphael and his friends Gardo and Rat are running for their lives. Wanted by the police, it takes all their quick-thinking, fast-talking to stay ahead. As the net tightens, they uncover a dead man's mission to put right a terrible wrong. It's three street-boys against the world...

• ISBN10: 0606330607
• ISBN13: 9780606330602
• Publish Date: 11 October 2011 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 13 September 2023
• Imprint: Turtleback Books
• Edition: Bound for Schools & Libraries ed.
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 232
• Language: English

Reviews

[nannah]

This book was okay, it had a really good message, a fantastic setting, and intriguing characters, but I think the execution took me out of the story most of the time.

Most of all it's the multiple POV's that bug me. Normally I don't actually mind multiple POV's, but only when they're done well and they actually contribute to the story in some way. The POV's here seemed almost random, and I feel the idea wasn't introduced as early as it should have, to get me acquainted with the idea. Also, the POV's didn't have a consistent or even separate voices, they all were written more or less the same as the others, despite that one of the storytellers was one of the dumpsite kids and another an educated person from a different country. There were very, very few indications of voice. And sometimes the boys would use really formal language that removed me from the scene.

The setting though, is phenomenal. I think that's what really shined in this book. I could imagine everything perfectly, in all its stinking and hideous glory. I loved that Mulligan didn't soften any details down, he didn't lessen the poverty or the filth in which the three main boys lived.

But all in all, an okay read. I wasn't particularly drawn into the storyline but the setting and the boys kept me reading.