Darrow, Sharon. Trash.

DARROW, Sharon. Trash. Candlewick Press. 148p. 2006. c2006.0-7636-2624-2. $16.99. JSA

Trash is a narrative in poems, a novel in poetry format. Darrow is on the faculty of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College, and her skill as a writer, as a poet, is obvious. Trash tells the story of two foster children, brother and sister--with the motif of trash occurring again and again throughout the narrative. Foster children often feel they have been thrown away, treated as trash by the system. Boy and Sissy do have an older sister, Raynell, who has a small family of her own, and often can't take care of her siblings; then they end up back in foster care. One family they stay with are trash collectors, which is how the children get the idea they too are trash. As they get older, as teenagers, they run away to St. Louis to re-connect with Raynell. There they start roaming the streets drawing graffiti, becoming "taggers," which is exciting, dangerous, and an outlet for their artistic talents. The excitement leads to death for one and prison for the other--however, for Sissy, who gets her GED in prison, the end of the story tells of her going to art school in Chicago, using, of all things, trash to create beautiful art. Excellent poetry, poignant story. Claire Rosser, KLIATT

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.