Author: Alison Stone
Released: October 26^th, 2021
Received: Review Request

Alison Stone’s latest novel, Trashlands, is one part science fiction and one part dystopian tale. It is heavy and carries with it a critical lesson for us all if we’re willing to hear it.

The coastlines are no longer the familiar forms we know today. They have receded, giving way to the growing oceans. In response, the world has finally agreed to stop producing plastics. What is already out in the world has now become valuable, an ironic twist of fate.

That’s where Coral comes in. It’s her job to hunt for plastic out in the wild. She lives in an area literally known as Trashlands, and she hopes to create a better life for her daughter. She just needs to keep on saving and hoping.

Trashlands is a hard-hitting novel that isn’t afraid to bring in very real elements into a dystopian tale. While that makes it harder to read, it also adds to the impact and reality of the situation. Especially when reading about Coral, a mother struggling to do right by her child in a world that has been so brutally used by humanity.

I love the parental element in Trashlands. I know I should have expected it, having read the book description – yet I was blown away by what happened within these pages; the good and the bad. It all felt so real, and that was more than a little bit horrifying.

The premise of Trashlands feels so familiar to me. I remember reading a book as a kid (the title is almost there – but I can’t quite remember it – help?) – where people were scavenging plastic because it had become so valuable (in that case, it was because they couldn’t produce it anymore, not because the world finally chose to stop).

This is a novel that really makes you stop and think. It doesn’t hold back, but it also doesn’t hold your hand. It’s also very much not a book you can escape from reality in – as reality will chase you right into the pages—all the more reason to read it – and learn from it.