Check The Shelf: The Scavengers Review

 I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  That did not sway my opinion in the least.

 Summary (From Goodreads)

I needed a better name.

A stronger name. I wedged my fists on my hips and I announced that Maggie was yesterday, and from this day forward I would answer only to Ford Falcon.

Life outside the Bubble Cities is rough. Electricity is history. The weather can change at a moment’s notice. And the world is short on food but full of trouble.

After her family chose to take their chances Out Bubble, Maggie decided it was time to grow up and grow tough. Rechristening herself Ford Falcon, she spends her days scavenging in a junkyard near her family’s makeshift house, fending off the occasional solar bear attack and keeping her eyes peeled for any Grey Devils that might be lurking around the corner.

Although times are tough, Ford, her parents, and her little brother, Dookie, have been making do. But when Ford comes home from a bartering trip to find the place ransacked and her family missing, she must prove she is brave enough to make it in this wild world alone and face whatever obstacles stand in the way of rescuing her loved ones.

Shannan’s Summary

 Maggie has changed her name to Ford Falcon.  It is a new world, and a new name seems to make since.  In this world, there are two groups: those under bubble, and those out of bubble.  Ford and her family live out of bubble, and every day is a fight to survive.  The scavenge from left over junk piles.  They grow what they can and trade for the rest. And most importantly, they never go anywhere with out a weapon, because you never know what lurks around the next bend.  Ford has excepted this world as her’s and loves it.  But her world was built on secrets and discovering this pulls her family apart and forces them to make decisions Ford never would have imagined existed.

First Off…

I thought this seemed interesting when I saw it on Library Things I requested it and won it.

Thoughts:

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I got this book, but it was the first middle grade Post-Apocalyptic book I’ve seen.  Really, though it wasn’t a true apocalyptic book, as it was a government choice that created the world rather than natural disasters.

 I thought the first half was interesting.  It felt much more like little house on the prairie as it just described how they made it through everyday life.  They obviously live up to the title of the book, as they scavenge from trash dumps that were left after people made the choice whether to go under the city bubbles or stay out.  There is a slight Zombie style element, although these people are not reanimated dead but creatures called Grey Devils, which you learn about in the second half of the book.

 After the first half of the book where you learn about the world Maggie/Ford Falcon lives in, the action enters.  There is a much more complicated element to her life and why her family made the choice to live Out Bubble.  The details of the mystery and revelation of truth is complicated enough to keep my attention, but not so difficult that a kid would have trouble following the details.  I would say the complexity would be similar to Nancy drew and Hardy boy books, the former of which I loved when I was a kid.

 The Voice

I thought Sandy Rustin did a great job reading for this book.  She brought all the characters to life and I think added a level that made me enjoy the book more than I would if I had read it myself.  Always the mark of a good audio-book.

In the End

Good book for middle grade readers.  It has a well developed world with a kid that has to stand up on their own two feet.  Independent kids will enjoy it.

10 Second Summary:

1. Detailed world:  It’s a thoroughly documented world that you enter in this book, full of everyday life details that pull you in.
2. Well crafted story:  While the first half of the book is more details about everyday life in this world, Perry does a great job of weaving in details that make a difference in the second half without you noticing it.
3. Great for younger through middle grade readers:  This story is one that you could read with your child if it’s too advanced for them to read on their own.  But it’s also one that readers will enjoy as well.

If I had read this as a kid, it would have been a hardback for me.  It reminded me of “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” and “Little House on the Prairie,” both books I loved as a kid.  I think it would be great for 4th through 7th grade.