Title: Trash
Author: Andy Mulligan
Series: N/A
Published: 1
March 2011 by David Fickling
Length: 210 pages
Warnings: clean
10+
Source: Library
Other info: This
has been shortlisted for the Carnegie 2012 medal, and has won other awards too.
Summary : In an
unnamed Third World country, in the not-so-distant future, three “dumpsite
boys” make a living picking through the mountains of garbage on the outskirts
of a large city. One unlucky-lucky day, Raphael finds something very
special and very mysterious. So mysterious that he decides to keep it, even
when the city police offer a handsome reward for its return. That decision
brings with it terrifying consequences, and soon the dumpsite boys must use all
of their cunning and courage to stay ahead of their pursuers. It’s up to
Raphael, Gardo, and Rat—boys who have no education, no parents, no homes, and
no money—to solve the mystery and right a terrible wrong.
Review: Raphael,
Gardo and Rat have spent their lives searching through the rubbish that comes
to their home of a rubbish tip. They’ve lived like that forever. However, one
day, they find a bag. It has a letter in it, and a string of numbers, and
nobody knows what it means. And then they’re hunted. Round the city they
travel, from prisons, to graveyards to find out what it all means. They soon
end up undearthing seacrets-secrets which have been kept for ages, for good
reasons.
I only read this because it’s on the Carnegie shortlist. It’s
not my normal kind of thing, but I was pleasantly surprised with this.
There isn’t too much explicit world building, but most of
Behala is conveyed via small details that you pick up if you read closely. I’m
not entirely sure where exactly this is, but the way it’s written really gets
the atmosphere of everything across.
My favourite character is Rat. He’s very resourceful, clever,
connectable and just really well written. Olivia, a British girl who came out
and started volunteering, too-believable, lovable and interesting. Rat doesn’t so much develop, as gradually
show what he’s capapble of. The other boys, well rounded with their own voices
and ideas.
The writing of this was really powerful. I really got into
the world that this is set in, sadly realistic with its dumpsite boys, terrible
prisons and corrupt politicians. It became real and this is definitely a world
that I could easily get lost in.
This book has multiple narrators, some narrating the bulk,
some narrating just one short chapter. I like the fact that each person
introduces themself at the start, which is an interesting technique that
somehow made them feel a little more important to you. Each person has their
own voice to narrate in, consistant with the dialogue they have iwth other characters,
and I found it really effective.
Overall: Strength 4 tea to a powerful book where the
best part was the characters. It’d make a good winner.
This doesn't sounds like something I'd pick up, but your review about it now intrigues me. It sounds very powerful and worth reading.
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