Parents' Guide to

Trash

By Kate Pavao, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Powerful adventure about dumpsite kids a true treasure.

Book Andy Mulligan Adventure 2010
Trash Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 2 parent reviews

johnny11
johnny11 Adult
September 24, 2020
age 12+

Not for the little ones

Trash is a decent book, but the language is simply not appropriate for primary schoolers. There's one particular interrogation which proves my point. A police officer calls Raphael, the protagonist, a piece of s***. There's also lots of hitting and threatening to throw Raphael out of the window and leave him slowly dying on the concrete. The main characters, which are children, regularly smoke, drink and swear. On the positive side, this novel shows teenagers how fortunate they are, and what really goes on in Third World Countries.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Layla1233
Layla1233 Parent of 11-year-old
January 4, 2016
age 11+

It would be appealing to teens or children 11/12 yr old

I think it was a good book and the children really enjoyed it especially my oldest who is 12yrs old - she absolutely loved it - but I would've given it 5 stars if it didn't have that much violence in it.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Set in the near future, this book follows three boys from a trash dump city who come together when one of them discovers a mysterious wallet. Clues lead them into a huge conspiracy involving a corrupt official at the near top of their government. But the police are already after them: Will they get caught before they can find the stolen money, rumored to be a whopping six million dollars? And what will they do with the money if they find it?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (16 ):

Told through multiple narrators, each with a unique voice, this story will grip teens. Readers will find themselves racing through the adventure with the three boys as they try to sort through opaque clues (and even break a difficult code) before they are caught by the corrupt police. At the same time, they will be swept up in the details of their trash city, known as Behala, where trash "mountains go right from the docks to the marshes" and the boys support themselves and their families by "picking through the stuff this city throws away." Indeed, details about their lives in this futuristic, Third-World city -- and the atrocities experienced by the poor and others, including an elderly justice fighter -- may stick with readers longer than the actual adventure story at its heart.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about books set in the future. Even books that are set in the near future, like this one, often feature dark elements, like corrupt police and governments, and more disparity between rich and poor. Why do you think that is? Do books like this one do anything to prevent these ideas from becoming reality?

  • Why do you think the author decided to keep the exact year and location a mystery? It seems that the story is set not too far from now -- and that it is set somewhere in the Third World. Does it bother you to not know exactly when or where the story is taking place?

Book Details

  • Author: Andy Mulligan
  • Genre: Adventure
  • Book type: Fiction
  • Publisher: Random House
  • Publication date: October 12, 2010
  • Publisher's recommended age(s): 12 - 12
  • Number of pages: 240
  • Last updated: July 12, 2017

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