Sunday 15 August 2010

ARC Review: Trash - Andy Mulligan

I've been picking up trash since I could crawl, and people always say 'maybe one day you'll find something special'.  Then one day I did.

Raphael Fernandez is fourteen years old and part of the slum that barely makes a living on the mountains of the dumpsite.  No education and no prospects: a lifetime of sifting through rubbish.

Then, out of the blue, he finds a key.

Keys open doors, and soon Raphael and his friends are just one step ahead of a desperate and dangerous police force.  The three boys hold the key to a deadly secret.  It leads to corruption, unimaginable wealth, and one man's mission to put right a terrible wrong.

Children can't be children if their lives are at stake...they have to be heros.

Trash releases in the UK on 2nd September 2010 and is a book I'd highly recommend you add to your wish list!

You can find out more about Andy Mulligan on the David Fickling Books website

Review:
Raphael and his friends have grown up in a slum town built amidst a rubbish dump, spending their days sorting through rubbish for anything that they can sell to get money for food.  They have all dreamed of finding something valuable but when Raphael finds a bag containing money, a key and a letter life nothing will ever be the same again.  With corrupt policemen looking for the bag they are now in great danger - it is very easy for street kids to disappear and there is no one who can stop it happening.  Can they solve the mystery before the police catch up with them?  And what could possibly be so important that the police are so desperate to find it?

The world we are taken into in Trash isn't a comfortable one - the descriptions of life at the rubbish dump was realistic and at times quite upsetting reading.  Especially when you think about the thousands of children throughout the world who do actually live like that.  However, Raphael and his friends Gardo & Jun-Jun (also known as Rat) aren't the kind of characters who sit around feeling sorry for themselves - life is tough but it's all they've ever known and they get on with things, finding the positive in things that many of us take for granted. 

I loved all three boys and thoroughly enjoyed the journey they took me on.  The mystery kept me interested and I found the descriptions fascinating.  I was so worried that they wouldn't all survive to tell their tale which just shows how invested I was in the book.  The narrative switches between multiple characters which I suppose could be confusing but I actually enjoyed the fact that you got to see so many sides to the story.  I though each of the voices were well written and it didn't take me long to work out who was speaking.

A great thriller with an ending that I absolutely loved and one I would recommend for boys and girls both young and old.  This is one of those stories that makes you question what is really important and will make you feel grateful for the things you have.  A thought provoking and fun read that will take you on an emotional roller coaster and I'm looking forward to reading more from Andy Mulligan.

Source: Thanks to RHCB for sending me this book to review

Other Reviews:
Chrissie's Corner
Wondrous Reads
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

10 comments:

  1. OMG! I'm gonna love this one! live a lie in a dump site is one thing. and all the mysteries and hunting is quite amazing. thanks for sharing such an amazing book. just want to verify one thing, 2nd Sept 2010 is the release date right? means that it is not come out yet?

    my latest post:
    http://coffeecrackers.blogspot.com/2010/08/movie-wishlist-2.html

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  2. That really sounds interesting! Trash is kind of harsh and I'm very intrigued to read this.

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  3. It sounds sad and suspenseful at the same time. I want to know about that key more and if their live will be better..Great review!

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  4. You are right, this sounds amazingly good, Sarah! I will def put this on my TBR! Thanks for the review!

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  5. I've got this one on my TBR pile to read some time over the next couple of weeks! I'm really looking forward to it now I've read your review :)

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  6. @ cj'alhafiz - It's a brilliant book & I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :o) I'm not sure about the rest of the world but it goes on sale in the UK on 2nd September so not too long to wait!

    @ Darlyn - the life the boys live is harsh but they are such great characters that it isn't a hard book to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it & it was so different to anything I've read before :o)

    @ Nina - It's a fab book, I can't wait to see what you think of it! I'm not going to answer your questions though as I don't want to give anything away LOL

    @ Dwayne - I loved this one & can't wait to see what you think of it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :o)

    @ Chrissie - I think you'll really enjoy this one, can't wait to read your review!

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  7. Thanks for linking to my review :)

    I meant to leave a comment with the link when I posted my review but then the baby woke up from nap and things got hectic... then I forgot all about it! Whoops :)

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  8. You're welcome Chrissie. I'm not surprised you got distracted - babies need a lot of attention :o)

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  9. wow, would you ever believe that this guy was my ENGLISH teacher??? ITS TRUE. he used to work in the philippines, he was absolutely AMAZING

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  10. Hi Stephanie - how amazing that Andy used to be your teacher! I'd love to hear some of the stories you must have to share about him :o) Have you read the book yet?

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