Official Review: Life in a Trashcan by Steven Valentino

[AlishaKennedy]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Life in a Trashcan" by Steven Valentino.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Steven Valentino's work of fiction, Life In A Trashcan, follows a boy named Victor throughout his life from the time he was 13 to when he reaches adulthood. How should we live our lives? Are some people destined to be less than others? These are just two questions that Victor finds answers to while experiencing life.

Victor faces many struggles throughout his life, starting on his first day of middle school when he is tormented by his classmates at recess. To top it off, his mom has cancer, and Victor finds out that one of his best friends, Patty, that he has begun to develop feelings for is moving away. And what's worse? She didn't even bother to tell him. This book focuses on how Victor develops as a person, and how his perspective on life is changed when he encounters more unexpected challenges in adulthood.

Steven Valentino's writing is simple and for the most part, surface level. I didn't find there to be any phrases or paragraphs in this book that left me wondering, "What does he mean by this?", "Is there a deeper meaning he's getting at?". Although the closing of the book had a few good metaphors, Valentino's writing wasn't very engaging or thought provoking. I also didn't find his writing to be developed, as all of the characters seemed to be written with the same personality. Hoping the book would become better, I continued reading, but was disappointed. The ideas presented in the book didn't seem very realistic to me. For example, Victor is 13 and he is written like he has found the love of his life upon entering middle school. And let's think practically, does that ever really happen? Many things found in the plot didn't make sense. There are hints of science fiction near the end of the book that I don't think were presented correctly. For example, without spoiling the ending, Victor preforms an inhuman feat, but no one around him questions it at all. Also, I found the formatting of this book to be an inconvenience. The book was not organized into chapters of any type, and I came across several grammar, formatting, and spelling errors.

Although the book was not the best written, the theme portrayed was a good one. The author's personal views are definitely apparent through his writing. This book is all about difficult times, getting through them, and living life to the fullest. Victor meets a new friend, Vito, in Italy that explains all of this to him. Victor carries this message with him throughout the remainder of his life. The famous saying "Everything will be okay in the end" sums up this book.

The message of this book is quite simple: live everyday like it's your last, and everything will be okay. However, to say the least, this book was rough around the edges and could have used a bit more editing and planning in my opinion. I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars due to the fact that I did not find it thought provoking or engaging, and that the plot was poorly devised. Therefor, I would not recommend this book to anyone.

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Life in a Trashcan
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Like AlishaKennedy's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

Duly noted. Its a shame that the writing and formatting is bad though; the book sounds like it has the ingredients to become a great one.

Your review is great. It has a pleasant feel to it. Well done.

[bookowlie]

Nice, insightful review. The premise of the story sounds good.

[Tanaya]

The protagonist elicited my empathy just through this review. Poor kid.

I always appreciate honesty in a review. You highlighted a lot of disappointing features of the book. But I do like the concept and what the author was trying to do. Great job!