Trash

Gr 8 Up—Raphael, Gardo, and Rat are "dumpsite boys" who sift through mountains of rubbish in an unnamed country, looking for scraps to sell. Raphael finds a bag containing a key, a map, some money, and an ID for Jose Angélico. Soon the police arrive, offering a reward for the bag. Not trusting the authorities to deliver, the friends hide the bag and attempt to figure out the meaning of its contents. Rat determines that the key opens a luggage locker at Central Station, where they find a letter addressed to an inmate named Gabriel Olondriz containing a string of numbers, dots, and slashes. A little research uncovers that Jose, a houseboy accused of stealing $6 million from the Vice President, died during a prison interrogation. Meanwhile, the police intensify their search and Raphael is arrested and roughed up. Now fully aware of the danger, the boys are determined to deliver the coded message to Gabriel and to hunt for the missing money. Featuring numerous narrators, Andy Mulligan's novel (David Fickling Books, 2010) is well-suited to this full-cast production. Chapters even open with helpful cues ("Raphael again," "Gardo here"). Accents vary, but overall the readings are excellent. Only Rat's thicker accent is inconsistent and sometimes difficult to understand. Reminiscent of Slumdog Millionaire, this unique adventure seamlessly incorporates secret codes, breathless getaways, corrupt bureaucrats, and a subtle moral about kids growing up in a town made of trash but deserving much better.—Amy Pickett, Ridley High School Folsom, PA