Hope For Garbage

I absolutely loved this book! I just couldn't put it down until I found out what happened to Trevor and Bea. I had high hopes for them. Uncle Frank and the Stewarts, not so much. We could all use a Lorene or a Mr. T. in our lives and some of us are lucky enough to have someone like that.I was very surprised to see that this was the author's first book. I hope she's a fast writer so I can get her next one soon! Great job!

I was pulled into this story initially by two.characters whose lives were the extreme opposite. I disliked that Trevor had such a terrible growing up experience with his own family but loved the fortitude and resilience that could come from a person with such a troubled life. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys seeing how the worst of life's circumstances can mold a character into a remarkable human being.

Revised rating 2.5. I have a number of issues with this story, but first let me say, the plot kept my attention. I wanted to know what happened to Trevor and the author did an excellent job of stringing me along. I was also fond of the characters, Lorene, Mr. T, and Trevor. I never really did take to Bea nor miss her much when she left the story.But ...1) There were too many points of view. I asked myself through the entire novel why the author chose to include the POV of sub-characters. Yes, it worked somewhat, but I still feel by focusing on Trevor, it would have been a better novel.2) There was WAY too much cursing and frankly, it wasn't necessary. I am aware people curse, but it is rarely ever needed in a YA story. This would have been so much cleaner for young people without it.Which brings me to point 3.3) It is written as YA. It flows well in reading. I found no spelling or grammar issues. I think young people will be drawn to the cover and the storyline and want to read it. However, the content, though the ending was hopeful, was way too intense for young people. Yes, kids do have lives as awful as Trevor. No, I don't think we should shield ourselves from the issues. I do feel authors need to be very careful what they want young kids to read. For content alone, I would not let anyone under 16 read this book. Because of the constant cursing, I'd make that higher, more 18.That said, nothing was too graphic. There was sex mentioned, but not described. There was violence described, but not so much you couldn't make it through it. The ending was touching and happy, which is a big plus. A lot was said about environmental issues along the way, but not so much I couldn't stomach it.Overall, I hesitate to completely recommend, but given you have an open mind and are aware of the issues in the story in advance, it will be an enjoyable read.ADDITIONAL COMMENTS & SPOILERAfter sleeping on it, I discovered I was really disturbed by the ending of this book and felt it so strongly I had to return and leave a note regarding the relationship of Trevor, a 17 year old, with Bea's mother. It was beyond inappropriate and I am appalled that no adult in the story bothered to do anything about it, including a professional therapist who should have been more than alarmed and Lorene, who I genuinely liked. I am also bothered by the ending in which the author did not really say directly what happened between them but left the reader wondering and sort of "laughed it off". There is nothing funny about sexual conduct of that nature, nor should all teenage boys be pictured as willing to go through with an affair with an older woman. I'm confident many were raised better. For this reason I have lowered my overall review an entire point, to 2.5.

This book kept me engaged with the interesting cast of characters, a good mix of romance and tragedy, as well as a compelling main character with a mysterious backstory.

Blurb really made me curious. Perhaps it was not as pathetic a situation for Trevor as I imagined, but he sill has a really hard life, and it gets worse the more you read. The dialogue felt a bit plastic and fake until about a third of the way through for some reason, but then picked up well. Characters like Trevor, Mr. T, and Lorene were well written. I could see who they were, and their reasons for doing what they did. Mr. T’s relationship with Trevor is a beautiful one, which I thought was well-done in spite of their age differences. Or because of them?I don’t want to spoil something, but I could not see why a certain character does something to hurt Trevor pretty badly. I didn’t see the reasoning for the way it was handled, even if it did make sense for why it happened. I guess it’s nice to have a happy ending that feels a bit more like real life, not everything working out perfectly.This was easy to breeze through once the dialogue leveled out, and the plot climax isn’t crazy cliffhanger style, but realistically intense. Trevor is a wonderful character who’s good hearted but isn’t an exaggerated phony. You can really feel he’s a conscientious person without having to be told. Finding out the details of his difficult past make your heart ache as they compound with the crappy stuff in his present.There is a wee bit of romance, but it feels like more of a coming-of-age story. I really enjoyed it and though part of me wants another novel continuing the story, I feel satisfied stopping here. Another novel would undoubtedly cause Trevor more pain, so I can live quite well without that, thank you very much. Rather different from the common YA storylines, and all the better for it. Can’t wait to read another book by this author!

My usual staple of novels consists of sci-fi and fantasy; while now and again I’ll try what I think of as mainstream fiction. Most of the time these books feel like my favored genre with all the best bits taken out. ‘Hope for Garbage’ is possibly one of the best ‘mainstream’ novels I've read in a very long time.I was quite unprepared for how the characters and plot would go from a charming story of young love between the Selfless Trevor and the un-cliché’ like Bea, to the tragic narrative of loss. Rarely has a book ever been able to pull at my heart strings so strongly. ‘Hope for Garbage’ is at moments funny, and then so sad, that I had to stop reading for a moment for fear of crying in a public place. It is also very insightful and an extremely satisfying read. This is all due to the incredible writing talent of Alex Tully. She is a master story teller in the truest sense of the word.I told my wife about how amazing this book was, who was surprised to see me reading something different than the above mentioned genres. She asked me, if she thought it was worth recommending it to the book-club, she is a part of. I had no hesitation in replying, that she they would be hard pressed to find a book, as moving and as satisfying to read as ‘Hope For Garbage.’

I took a chance with this book, not knowing the author or much about the book, but I was quickly hooked. In an age when so many characters are just plain evil, it was refreshing to read about someone who was kind, generous and struggling to turn his awful life into something worthwhile. It was heart-warming and, while it could have become predictably corny, it didn't. I wanted this kid to win because he was one of the good guys. It got me hooked and didn't let me go until the last word. Highly recommended.

This book was so good that I can't stress enough how viable it is, especially at a time when we are faced with ongoing atrocities going on in the world today. It sure is inspiring to read something so wonderful! At the premise of this book is hope and kindness ~ regardless of your situation in life. I cried, I laughed, and most of all I was impacted for the better. Kudos to a first time author whose future works I look forward to reading. ***Going into the details of this book, beyond the general description, would give away spoilers which would ruin the experience for the potential reader.***

This book was one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It's such a powerful read...touches on So many emotions...and has an extremely profound message. Life can be So unfair at times & this book tells a story of extreme courage & strength & how important it is to Beleive you can overcome adversity. A definate MUST Read!

Wow!! What a great story for a debut novel. I truly enjoyed this book. It speaks of true friendship and compassion no matter the age difference. It just confirms that through life's trials and tribulations, the strong survive and pay it forward. What a great "feel good" book.