Fourteen-year-old ""dumpsite boy"" Raphael has never found anything valuable in the trash mounds he has combed over since age three. At least not until he unearths a leather bag containing a map, wallet, and key. Keeping his discovery secret from the police, who quickly come looking for the bag, Raphael goes in search of the key's locker, with two friends in tow. Soon they are in the middle of a suspenseful mission involving a secret code, a corrupt politician, and a search for six million stolen dollars. The three authentic boys at the heart of this well-constructed debut novel%E2%80%94sweet Raphael, serious Gardo, and spirited Rat%E2%80%94take turns narrating most of their story (though other voices are also heard); in distinct voices, they provide harrowing details about their lives in the dump. This gripping book engages readers both as an adventure and as a social justice story; clues suggest that it's set in a Third World Latin American country. The story wraps a bit neatly, but readers will be satisfied by the cinematic conclusion and the noble decision the heroes make. Ages 12%E2%80%93up. (Oct.)

Gr 7-10 Three young teens, trash-picker living in the city dump of an unnamed third-world country, discover a mysterious bag one morning, triggering a chain of events that will change their lives forever. Raphael, Gordo, and Rat take turns nar-rating the story of how they uncover a network of political corruption and abuse of the poor. Each puzzle the boys solve leads to yet a new riddle for them to work out. The chase leads them throughout the city, exposing the great disparity be-tween the "haves" and the "have nots," and the huge injustice this represents. Several run-ins with the police make it clear that getting caught means death for the three boys. They face moral dilemmas throughout and, ultimately, make good deci-sions. Their intelligence and characters make the condition in which they live seem even more unfair. While on the surface the book reads like a fast-paced adventure title, it also makes a larger statement about the horrors of poverty and injustice in the world. Occasionally the alternating viewpoints of the book become confusing, particularly when they switch mid-chapter. In spite of this, Trash is a compelling read. The action is riveting and the secret codes throughout will appeal mys-tery fans. Readers will be drawn to this title, and hopefully learn a little about the world outside their own country. Teens who enjoyed the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008) will find much to enjoy here. Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH

Stolen money, homicide, corruption, and socioeconomics are connected to Raphael, Gardo, and Rat, the three boys at the center of this mystery. The boys live in an impoverished, developing country at some point in the future, where they work as rubbish boys. They root around garbage bins through trash and stuppa (i.e., human waste) looking for things to eat, sell, or use. Few residents of Behala have toilets or running water and many live in boxes, so finding items like paper, plastic, cloth, and an occasional zucchini can make a difference for the boys and their loved ones. From the very beginning, the book moves rapidly. Raphael finds a wallet stuffed with eleven hundred pesos, a map, and a key while digging in a Dumpster. His good fortune (or so it seems at the time) changes the boys’ lives and forces them on a journey filled with adventure and danger as they set out to find José Angélico, the owner of the wallet. Some readers might wonder what makes the boys’ society futuristic or different from what some citizens of developing countries face today, while others will simply take in the story, noting the challenges associated with extreme poverty and disenfranchisement. Using multiple narrators, the mystery behind what happened to José Angélico and why police officers are involved unfolds dramatically from several perspectives, including the thoughts of a duped home-mother and a priest. This is an enjoyable novel with fresh, multidimensional characters that will appeal to readers interested in social-justice issues.—KaaVonia Hinton-Johnson.

In an unnamed Third World city, Rat, Raphael, and Gardo live with thousands of other kids like them in a garbage dump, where they dig through the detritus looking for anything that could be profitable. When an important person loses something valuable in the refuse, the three boys embark on an engrossing, sobering mystery characterized by stealing, lying, and police brutality as well as generosity, trust, and ingenuity. Multiple characters describe the adventure, and although the switch between narrators may initially seem disorienting (a priest, housemother, and tombstone maker also provide their integral perspectives), the story flows more smoothly as it progresses, bolstered by the young characters' well-articulated, authentic thoughts, feelings, and voices. Throughout, the boys' significant sense of devotion and morality leads them from lives of desperation to miraculous possibilities. The culminating scenes contribute important elements of Day of the Dead celebrations and Robin Hood themes, further increasing the novel's usefulness for discussion and study.

In an unnamed country (a thinly veiled Philippines), three teenage boys pick trash for a meager living. A bag of cash in the trash might be—well, not their ticket out of poverty but at least a minor windfall. With 1,100 pesos, maybe they can eat chicken occasionally, instead of just rice. Gardo and Raphael are determined not to give any of it to the police who've been sniffing around, so they enlist their friend Rat. In alternating and tightly paced points of view, supplemented by occasional other voices, the boys relate the intrigue in which they're quickly enmeshed. A murdered houseboy, an orphaned girl, a treasure map, a secret code, corrupt politicians and 10,000,000 missing dollars: It all adds up to a cracker of a thriller. Sadly, the setting relies on Third World poverty tourism for its flavor, as if this otherwise enjoyable caper were being told by Olivia, the story's British charity worker who muses with vacuous sentimentality on the children that "break your heart" and "change your life." Nevertheless, a zippy and classic briefcase-full-of-money thrill ride. (Thriller. 12-14)

Trash boys