I had the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of "Trashlands" by Alison Stine, and it deeply pains me to admit that the novel fell short of my expectations. This dystopian narrative had the potential to be an evocative exploration of a post-apocalyptic world, but it ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied and wanting more.

The story is set in a future where the world has succumbed to ecological disaster. Landfills have become the dominant landscapes, and the remnants of humanity must scavenge through the refuse for survival. The premise is intriguing, offering a promising backdrop for a thought-provoking narrative. However, the execution left much to be desired.

Alison Stine's prose is undeniably atmospheric, creating a bleak and grim setting that reflects the desolation of the world she envisions. She paints a vivid picture of a society on the brink of extinction, rife with poverty and environmental decay.

While the world-building is commendable, the characters and their development are where the novel falters. The protagonist, Lani, is difficult to connect with or root for. Her motivations and actions are often murky, and her personality lacks depth. The supporting characters also remain one-dimensional, failing to evoke any emotional investment from the reader.

The pacing of the narrative is inconsistent, resulting in an uneven reading experience. At times, the story drags on without significant plot progression, while at other points, it rushes through potentially impactful moments, leaving the reader yearning for more detail and depth.

The central theme of environmental collapse and its consequences is a compelling one, but "Trashlands" does not fully explore its potential. The storytelling lacks a cohesive structure, leaving loose threads and unanswered questions that ultimately detract from the overall experience.

In conclusion, "Trashlands" by Alison Stine had the promise of a thought-provoking dystopian narrative but unfortunately falls short due to underdeveloped characters, pacing issues, and a lack of narrative cohesion. While the world-building is commendable, it is not enough to salvage a narrative that leaves much to be desired.

I express my sincere gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy of "Trashlands."

This is an engrossing read, to start off. You'll have to excuse me as this is my first review! I'm sorry if the quality isn't the highest.

I grew to really care about the characters we're introduced to. The author uses a multi-perspective approach, writing from multiple characters' POVs each chapter. I found this to be an interesting narrative choice that helped keep things fresh as the story went on. Some characters I would have preferred to get more focused chapters from, but the central set of 7 characters still gave enough context to another to make this complaint not all that important.

My biggest criticism is that I felt like I was being preached at a bit. With this kind of science fiction some element of polemical writing is to be expected, but I didn't feel like there was enough attention paid to the world's "real life" historical context. Also, very of the moment phrases for eternal concepts like prostitution, demographic descriptors were used in places where I didn't really buy into such use; in a world of as much decay as we're otherwise fully enveloped into it would feel more natural to use terms in our current "irl" world that aren't quite as politically correct/squeeky clean. Either "regressive" language or some kind of original vocabulary that is signaled to be a result of the new world the characters inhabit.

Overall I greatly enjoyed this book. I'm more of a non-fiction reader, so considering how well this book kept my attention and drew me in, I can't help but recommend it to others.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Did not finish. Love most science fiction but sometimes the story can get too complicated to follow and enjoy. This was one of those.

I’m sorry that it has taken me so long to finish this book and that is by no means a reflection on Trashlands which is a harrowing look into a possible future ahead of us giving the current climate emergency. I loved coral as a character and the devastatingly real world that she inhabits.

A very unique story that moved me immensely. It was slow to get going but glad I stuck with it picked up after the halfway point.

I finished this a while ago and I'm still thinking about it. How we've destroyed the planet but somehow haven't fixed any of the problems that we foresaw from today. Coral's story broke my heart in ways I didn't expect. This is a wonderful read.

I’m so upset I didn’t enjoy this book. It was one I was super interested in as the premise just sounded so good. I simply just struggled with this book… quite a bit. I didn’t connect with this futuristic setting, there was a lack of world building. I also really didn’t like these characters and the way they talked about certain things: such as plastic. This just wasn’t my kind of book and I didn’t enjoy it.

The best dystopian novel I have read. Not your usual focus on one character. Many distinct and well developed people living in a fairly near future world dealing with the effects of climate change. Easy to relate to and hard to put down,

A few generations from now, the coastlines of the continent have been redrawn by floods and tides. Global powers have agreed to not produce any new plastics, and what is left has become valuable: garbage is currency.

In the region-wide junkyard that Appalachia has become, Coral is a “plucker,” pulling plastic from the rivers and woods. She’s stuck in Trashlands, a dump named for the strip club at its edge, where the local women dance for an endless loop of strangers and the club's violent owner rules as unofficial mayor.

Amid the polluted landscape, Coral works desperately to save up enough to rescue her child from the recycling factories, where he is forced to work. In her stolen free hours, she does something that seems impossible in this place: Coral makes art.

When a reporter from a struggling city on the coast arrives in Trashlands, Coral is presented with an opportunity to change her life. But is it possible to choose a future for herself?

Told in shifting perspectives, Trashlands is a beautifully drawn and wildly imaginative tale of a parent's journey, a story of community and humanity in a changed world.

Original and intriguing premise for this dystopian novel where plastic becomes the treasure rather than the natural resources of the past. Themes of class, family, slave labor, etc. are also explored in a haunting and engrossing story.

This book is extremely well written with a few pacing issues and some slight heavy-handedness. I enjoy dystopian fiction, and I think this is an excellent addition to the genre and I would recommend it. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

There is truth in this book and it is very believable. However, it is very dark and hard to push through. It is the story of a future America, environmental disasters, fires, floods, rivers that run red and the people of Appalachia that scrounge for plastic. It is the story of a bar with dancers and the man who controls a junkyard. It is the story of women who try to make a life when everything they have or make can be taken from them and it is the story of an old school bus.

Stunning novel, with absolutely chilling themes. Love Alison Stine's writing and couldn't think of another novel recently that had as much weaving of environmental and family themes, and one that left me with as much mixed hope and fear.

Thoughtful yet thought-provoking timely powerful tale.

Stine’s latest is a post-apocalyptic climate-change tale, the coastlines of North America have been pushed inland due to floods and tides destroying major cities. Global powers have decided to halt new plastic production so plastic has become the new currency and plastic bricks are needed to rebuild the destroyed cities and areas. So necessity is the mother of invention, often at the cost to the most vulnerable in our society; women are too often sex workers, children are kidnapped as small hands are necessary in factories to make the plastic bricks, and plucking is gritty job of savaging rivers and trash for used pieces of plastic.

The storyline is a searing exploration of the challenging day-to-day lives of those “living” in Trashlands in “Scrappalachia” (the junkyard of America). While the worldbuilding is phenomenal, yet this world felt a little closer to the a soon-to-be reality for comfort. As we will in a world that is becoming more divided and more violent, more inclined to take away rights from women, and have less empathy for anyone other than ourselves. Stine is subtle in her approach of the world falling apart until there is no turning back and she provides her endearing complex characters (except for one vile character) with dignity and a bit of hope.

Top-notch storytelling had me contemplating what this disquieting tale was speaking to me long after I read the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A character-driven and slow-moving plot, this book was reminiscent in tone and prose to works such as Station Eleven,The Last One and Into the Forest. Like those books, it presents a deeply moving and very human narrative of survival and love in a post-apocalypse future.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. I could not get into this book and gave up after the first couple chapters.

This story was an interesting take on where the world may in the future. Plastic has become the form of currency . Its an instense look at how the future can play out. I really enjoyed it.

Interesting concept for a book. It reminded me what it might have been like on earth before the movie WALL-E. It seemed a bit overly graphic in a needless way, but it was a book that was hard to put down.

2.5 stars

This is one of those reads that’s hard to review cause I’m not really sure why I wasn’t feeling this one as much as I wanted to. The premise was what got me and it’s not like the story didn’t start off by describing the setting, cause it did. But for some reason, I wasn’t hooked. It was a bit slow and more character driven. Personally, for a dystopian to work for me, I need an equal amount of plot, character & world building.

This book drops you into a world where pretty much everything we know about our world is gone. In a place called Scrapallachia, people eke out a very meager living by scavenging for the one thing that has remained, plastic. Except for several old-timers that have managed to survive this bleak existence, most people do not remember a time when bottles were full of water, used once, and then carelessly thrown away.
It is inconceivable that there could have been a time when plastic had little value beyond satisfying an immediate need. It is now currency, and the people who pluck it never know when they might find the last haul. Houses, running water, safety, and fun are something most people will never know. To survive, you stay hidden, wary of strangers, who still appear to take your meager belongings, or worse, a loved one or your life.
Coral is one of the lucky ones, though luck is a relative term in these bleak times. Saved by a good man, Mr. Fall, a teacher, and in a relationship with a tattoo artist, Trillium, she is well-liked in this community, known as Trashlands. But there is always sadness behind her smile. Her son, Shanghai was taken in the middle of the night when he was only seven. Coral prays that he was taken to a factory to work, and even after seven years, she hopes to save enough money to free him, or that someone he will find his way back to her.
This was a beautifully written character-driven story, set in a world that honestly, at times, seemed to be a place that was uncomfortably close to our current reality. Not a furious page flipper for me, but a story that I found hard to put down.