Mulligan, Andy. TRASH

Mulligan, Andy. TRASH 
New York : David Fickling Books, 2010 
IL YA 
ISBN 0385752148 

This story, set in Asia, is about 3 three boys whose families survive by picking through the daily mountains of rubbish at an enormous city dump. ... So, why would our kids want to read this? 

One of the boys uncovers something inside a folded newspaper, in the freshly dumped rubbish – a leather wallet with a map, a key, money, and photos. This is real wealth, but also the beginning of real trouble. In just a few hours, the dreaded police arrive asking a lot of questions, for this wallet was tossed in a street bin by a desperate man as he was being chased by the police, and shortly before he died at their hands. It contains clues to an old unsolved murder, and to the man who was sent unjustly to prison for it. The boys are scared. Aside from the money, the wallet's contents are a mystery to them; but, they know the police are corrupt, and trying to cover-up something big. They decide this is one wrong they are going to set right. But they are closing in, and they must disappear, both to protect their families and to ferret out what really happened. 

This story not only takes you to a world we know little about, it also is an action packed, tense thriller told by three interesting and very different boys. Hand it to kids who liked the movie Slum Dog Millionaire, or read and liked I am Number Four, Devil’s Breath, The Last Thing I Remember. 

The author worked in a school in Manilla that was next to an enormous city dump like the one in his book. So the story is based in reality and started when he wondered what if … (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)