Miyase Sertbarut
What if the city’s garbage could tell its own story?
Miyase Sertbarut delivers a powerful, unsettling story that blurs the line between grim reality and speculative fiction, inviting young readers to confront uncomfortable truths with empathy and courage.
Set in a divided city, the novel contrasts two starkly different communities: On one side stands Elite City, a hyper-sterile enclave for the privileged, where children are raised in sanitized glass domes. Despite their wealth, these children face a mysterious health crisis as their immune systems begin to collapse. On the other side is Junk Plaza, a slum built atop mountains of garbage, where children like Fırat survive by salvaging what the rich discard.
When it turns out the poor kids’ blood can heal the rich, a morally questionable plan unfolds.
Junk Plaza helps readers think about poverty, fairness, and what it means to care for each other. “If everyone runs from trouble, won’t it only get worse?”
KEY NOTES:
• Encourages critical thinking about waste, recycling, and environmental responsibility.
• Written by renowned Turkish children’s author Miyase Sertbarut.
English translation is available.
Themes: Environment, Recycling, Adventure, Friendship
10+, 136 pages, 13.5 x 19.5 cm