The Garbage King

by Elizabeth Laird

Overview

When Mamo's mother dies, he is abandoned in the shanties of Addis Ababa. Stolen by a child-trafficker and sold to a farmer, he is cruelly treated. Escaping back to the city, he meets another, very different runaway. Dani is rich, educated—and fleeing his tyrannical father. Together they join a gang of homeless street boys who survive only by mutual bonds of trust and total dependence on each other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509802951
Publisher:	Pan Macmillan
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth Laird is the multi-award-winning author of such children's books as Kiss the Dust, A Little Piece of Ground, and Shahnameh. She has been shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal six times.

Editorial Reviews

"The harsh reality that faces countless children in developing nations is confronted head-on in this powerful and moving novel. . . . Readers are sure to become involved in this compelling story, and teachers will find a wealth of inspiration to lead their students in further research." —School Library Journal


"It's the elemental friendship story of fear and hope that will draw in readers." —Booklist

From the Publisher

This workmanlike novel clearly portrays the grim options facing street kids in Ethiopia. After the death of his drunken, abusive mother, on the verge of eviction from the home he shares with his sister, Mamo is kidnapped by a man masquerading as his long-lost uncle and sold into slavery on a farm, then escapes back to the city. Spoiled, wealthy Dani takes to the streets when his lackluster performance in a private school so enrages his father that he plans to send Dani to live with his tough old Somali servant ("If anyone can make a man out of you, Feisal can"). While Laird (Jake's Tower) faithfully sketches the dangers facing these protagonists, many relationships seem superficially developed. For example, Mamo's sister is said to have raised him and cared for him ("She'd staggered around with him on her hip, though she was hardly more than a toddler herself"), but she reacts to his disappearance with relief and feels guilt ("although she hardly knew why") only when she learns he has joined a gang of godana, street kids, "the lowest of the low." The hierarchical, communal relationships between the boys in the gang prove stronger if a bit stereotypical. While the resolution, especially Dani's return to his family, glosses over many of the problems Laird has introduced, her cautionary tale warns readers about the experiences awaiting runaways of any nationality. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 8 Up-The harsh reality that faces countless children in developing nations is confronted head-on in this powerful and moving novel, as is the gross disparity between the haves and have-nots. Set in Ethiopia, it brings together the stories of two very different boys whose lives converge and are changed forever. After his mother dies, Mamo, 13, is tricked by a slaver and sold to a farmer in the country miles away from the only home he has ever known. After months of brutal treatment, he escapes and makes it back to Addis Ababa where he meets Dani, a chubby boy who has spent his life cloistered in the world of privilege. He is a talented writer, but other areas of his studies elude him, leading his strict father to send him away to be disciplined. Dani runs away to avoid this fate and meets up with Mamo. They meet a gang of street children, led by a boy named Million. Street life with this group is difficult and dangerous, but the boys become a family and both their tragedies and triumphs are painted in vivid, authentic, and often horrific detail. Background for the story's inspiration is included in an introduction and an afterword. Readers are sure to become involved in this compelling story, and teachers will find a wealth of inspiration to lead their students in further research.-Genevieve Gallagher, Orange County Public Library, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal