This was another book I picked up when I shouldn’t have been buying books waiting for my hair appointment! This one sounded interesting so I just had to read it.

Synopsis (as taken from the back of the book) is as follows:

Landfill has lived his whole life as a scavenger, running with wooflings, swimming with turtles and feasting on whatever he can catch.

Old Babagoo has always looked after him – on one condition. Follow Babagoo’s rules. And the most important rule of all is NEVER go beyond the wall.

But Landfill longs to venture Outside. And some rules are made to be broken.

Ability to read – This book wasn’t smooth sailing to read, I actually found it quite difficult. Between Landfill’s name and the change of names due to Babagoo’s paranoia, it took me a long while to actually make sense of what was happening and to place proper names on the made up names. I did get into the book and I enjoyed the storyline but it was a book that I had to read at a slower pace and one that caused my processing to become more than jumbled.

Characterisation – Landfill is a scamp. He’s a proper young mischievous chap but without any of the attributes you’d associate with being raised in proper circumstances. I loved his curiosity and need to break the rules set for him. I found Babagoo incredibly interesting and as the story focuses on Landfill, you don’t get as much information on Babagoo. I, for one, would have loved to have got more information on Babagoo or learnt some of his background because his character was so complex and I felt that the plot only scratched the surface on him.

Visualisation – For a while I couldn’t visualise anything because I couldn’t understand what I was reading. As I began to understand my visualisation changed and morphed with each gust of wind. For a long time I though the book was set after an apocalypse and then I thought it was perhaps set in a dystopian world. The reality of where it was set both impressed me and disappointed me. I was able to visualise quite well the characters and what they looked like/how they acted and once I got into the book I was able to picture the scenes and how the characters moved about them.

Uniqueness – I have never quite read a book like this or a book told from this P.O.V. so that was interesting to read. The book does have an unusual ending and I say that only because I didn’t really understand it and it left me feeling flummoxed and without a clear ending. I thought the book was different and unique in its setting and characters. I enjoyed reading it for the most part. I don’t think it is a story I shall read again but it is a story I will recommend to readers aged 9-12.