Carnegie Book Award Reviews Trash Andy Mulligan

The deceptively titled Trash is an absolute treasure. This beautiful story revolves around three young boys chasing a dream that turns into a realisation of a destiny they never knew they had. The strength of their individual characters, as well as of their collective friendship and loyalty in the face of unimaginable adversity is admirable something we could all learn from. The story takes from the hellish rubbish dumps of Belhala to the citys forsaken prisons, to the palaces of the rich and powerful, to the elaborate grave yards decorated to celebrate the Day of the Dead. The boys are on a race to follow a set of valuable clues that will lead them to a secret coveted by the authorities. What appears is a battle between generations, with the boys coming out victorious against the corrupt and violent authority figures. This fast-paced action is handled in a very sophisticated style by Mulligan, who passes the story between a set of narrators depending on who deserves to have their say at different points of the story. This only helps to endear you to the characters. Even the sometimes clumsy movements between them, especially between the younger narrators, only add to the distinct voices of the children. They are given ownership of the story, even by the other, older contributors, who are only given a voice by the childrens invitation. The slight pauses as these movements take place also serve to raise the tension between each dramatic event of which there are many. I believe this story to be a masterpiece in young persons fiction or in fact, in anyones fiction. It appears to set a standard for what this type of genre should be; entertaining, graphic in descriptions, emotional in content, enriching a sense of multi-culturalism and social responsibility through the sensitive depiction of a range of hard-hitting issues. Amongst the piles of trash that is readily accessible for young minds, this book is a real find; a shining example of extraordinary and valuable fiction.