Recycling George [Hardcover]

Stephen Roos (Author)

Book Description

Lots of kids think of running away from home. But what's a kid to do when his home runs away from him?

That's what happens to twelve-year-old George Honiker when his sister and brother-in-law move out of the Versailles Trailer Park while George is at school. Is it the end of George's world? Well, hardly! For the quick-witted, resourceful, and upwardly mobile George, it's the chance of a lifetime.

Faster than you can say "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," George bunks in with his classmate Rennie Whitfield. Rennie just happens to be the richest kid in town. A motorboat for his birthday. Thoroughbred horses. A butler. Really nice clothes. It's life at the top for George, and he's more than ready to have it all...until he finds that the Whitfields have some very big plans for him, too!

Populated with a host of giddy, offbeat characters, Recycling George is a funny, exuberant story that also packs an emotional wallop.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grades 6-8--Twelve-year-old George Honiker's mother is dead and his father is in Florida, unsuccessfully seeking his fortune. So, George finds himself staying with his pregnant sister and brother-in-law in the Versailles trailer park in Ohio. The grim, industrial town is on edge because of a pending environmental lawsuit facing East Siena's polluting factory and major employer. When the court ruling closes down the mill, George comes home to discover that his relatives have driven off with the trailer in search of employment. They have left him some money and told him to catch up, but instead he manages to seek shelter with the richest family in town. The matriarchal grandmother of the Whitfields is so charmed by George and his artistic abilities that she offers to adopt him. The novel ends with the ever-optimistic boy impressing his classmates with his art project made of recycled materials, and choosing to take the bus and join his sister, living the hope that his father will return someday. The elements of the plot take a backseat, however, to the wonderful characterizations. George is simultaneously cocky, confused, fearful, brave, talented, and funny. In short, he is a very real boy. Even the minor characters are memorable. The wealthy grandmother is witty and wise, although occasionally slightly addled. Lizard Artoonian, George's friend from the trailer park, and her mother are eccentric and unafraid of the label "trailer trash." Readers will come away from this novel hoping to hear from George in a sequel.
Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. George lives with his pregnant sister and her husband, Karl, in a trailer in Ohio; his dad's in Florida, looking for work. Karl works at the mill, and when it is shut down the smell doesn't vanish right away, but George's relatives do, leaving him fifty bucks and a note about following them to Pittsfield. George sees the insides of things and finds beauty in drawing their outsides--his art shows how clearly he perceives what's really going on. The richest boy in town invites George to his birthday party, and he's then invited by the boy's grandmother to stay with them. George sees that new clothes and dining from silver serving pieces represent not just wealth but genuine fondness for him. When he finds his dad has left Florida for Canada, again in search of that elusive perfect job, George makes a decision that will surprise his readers, but probably comfort them. Roos' characters are quirky and real, his language is spare but rueful and true. In this offbeat fairy tale, the hero chooses family over finances, leaving readers to ponder the choice. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; First Printing, FEP Removed edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689831463
• ISBN-13: 978-0689831461
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,202,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MIRACULOUS NEW WORK FROM STEPHEN ROOS, March 20, 2002

By 

Kerry Ashton (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Recycling George (Hardcover)

I don't know when I have enjoyed a novel more than my recent reading of Stephen Roos' brilliant new book RECYCLING GEORGE. Like Mr. Roos' previous book, THE GYPSIES NEVER CAME, he writes with a terse style and abundant wit that make the sensitive issue of a child's abandonment all the more keenly felt and understood. The character of George is so believably complex: plucky and unlucky, passive and angrily defiant, brave and scared all at the same time. George trying his hardest to make the best out of the terrifying moment when he returns to his trailer park home to discover that his family has abandoned him and taken the trailer with them. How young George comes to terms with this abandonment reminds one of the resilience and humor of the young hero of J.D. Salinger's Catcher In The Rye. Like Salinger, Roos understands a boy's heart and knows how to reveal this heart to us through humor and searing honesty. Roos' writing style only continues to grow in power and simplicity with each new undertaking he attempts-making him one of the truly great authors writing about and for adolescents today."