A Not that Great Book: Trash

                                       

Trash (2010)

Mulligan, Mike

Fiction

2/5 Stars

No Disclaimers

Raphael and Gardo live at a dumpsite called Behala. They've spent their entire lives making a living by finding stuff in the mountains of trash that cover Behala. The "best trash" consists of things like white plastic and metal. Then one day Raphael found something unexpected: a leather bag with an ID, a few photos, and a bunch of money. He thought it was his lucky day... until the cops showed up. The bag was part of a crime that the police were trying to solve. Raphael new it was really important so he went along hiding from the police and figuring out what it all was with the help of his friends.

   The boys in the story are trash boys. People don't really care about them but yet, they got involved in this crime and were able to do amazing things. It just shows that it doesn't matter what your background is, you set your own destiny and can do whatever you want to do if you work at it hard enough which is what I think the theme is.

   Trash is written in kindof an unusual style but it works out alright. It's written in first-person point of view but not completely normal first-person. Each character in the book will tell their version of a part or what they're doing at the same time in a different chapter. So there is usually a different narrator for each chapter. It's pretty good because it shows all of the points and everything thats going on.

   I think that this book was written for middle school age readers because thats about how hard of a level it is and they can relate because they are the same age as the boys.

   I read this book because I thought the cover looked kind of cool and that the name just sounded pretty sweet. But I was wrong. I did not really enjoy the book. It took a while for me to get into it and I just didn't find it all that interesting. School Library Journal says about the book, “Trash is a compelling read. The action is riveting and the secret codes throughout will appeal mystery fans.” I don't really agree with that, I didn't find the book really all that compelling or appealing but there were a few good parts. Publishers Weeklly says about Trash, “This gripping book engages readers both as an adventure and as a social justice story. Readers will be satisfied by the cinematic conclusion and the noble decision the heroes make.” Although they say good things, I didn't really enjoy the style or just the book in general.