One Kid’s Trash is a real book, that’s really fun to read

“That’s life, welcome to fourth grade” is what I said in response to my class whining about the amount of work I was giving them. I consider that a precursor to what these students will experience in two years in middle school. The soft, forgiving way in which tests can be retaken again, and students are given a worst-case scenario of 70 are gone. They’ve been replaced with a still very generous, method of being able to re-take a test once, but the score you get is what you get. One Kid’s Trash is not as direct as my teaching methods, thankfully. This is a book for upper elementary and middle school students about life as the way they see it and live it. For those science-fiction or graphic novel readers, that’s not a bad thing.

Lessons, when you learn them from books, are a great way to realistically deal with the curveballs that life throws your way. And life will throw you multiple curveballs, many times on a daily basis, so the sooner you learn mechanisms or habits to wrangle them, the better. Sure the adventures of space pilot Charlie will give you some takeaways and are fun to read. But sometimes it’s great to read some realistic fiction that is more grounded.

Jamie Sumner has a knack for writing books to those ages and does so in a manner that’s not preachy or heavy-handed. Either one of those descriptors is the kiss of non-interest death to books that cross their path. One Kid’s Trash deftly handles the subject of a middle school student who is finding their niche, figuring out what they’re good at, dealing with success, handling a bully, and a family crisis. Whew…when viewed through that prism, One Kid’s Trash sounds like a heavy read, but look at the cover and it’ll reassure you that it’s friendly and one that won’t scare away tween and teen readers.

Hugo is our main character. He lives with his mom and dad who have just moved to Vail from Denver. Their family isn’t rich, even though it costs a stunning amount of money to do anything in that gorgeous mountain town. His father just got a job at the ski school and his mom works with some clients at her office. His cousin Vij, is super cool, slightly older, has interesting hobbies, and gets along well with everyone at their middle school. If you’re a gangly tween who is new to school then he’s the person that you want that’s giving you the laydown.

One day, Hugo’s otherwise useless and obscure talent comes to light. He’s able to look at someone’s garbage that Vij brought him and deduce their basic habits or situation. It’s called Garbology and yes, it’s a real thing and if that’s your profession then you are a garbologist.

It turns out that Hugo’s suspicions based on that person’s trash were 100% correct. Over the next couple of days, he joins the school newspaper-that Vij was already a member of, as well as meeting lots of other fun kids and is slowly making his own impression. Soon, word gets out about Hugo’s unique talent and every kid in school is seeking him out, even the popular crowd.

All of these newfound text messages and friends who want to hang out with him are fun, but how will he handle things with his new real friends, as well as his cousin? There is also the growing specter of the school bully who has his sights set on Hugo. What if Hugo used his powers of observation to dig into the bully’s trash? Surely there’s something in his trash closet (or locker) that could be ripe for an article in the school newspaper.

One Kid’s Trash is a real book, that’s really fun to read.  It gets a little melodramatic at one point, but that’s just a page and a half that feels Hallmarkian. If that’s not a word, it should be. Upper elementary and middle school readers won’t even notice that blip because the book moves at such a natural speed. The characters are normal and will remind readers of someone or a situation they know. Before you can say ‘but I only read graphic novels or science-fiction…’, you’ll be knee-deep in a crash course in garbology and nodding your head in approval.

One Kid’s Trash is by Jamie Sumner and from Simon Kids.

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