All About Middle Grade Review: The Scavengers

The Scavengers by Michael Perry, September 2, 2014. 336 pages. Published by HarperCollins. Source: publisher.

When the world started to fall apart, the government gave everyone two choices: move into the Bubble Cities...or take their chances outside. Twelve-year-old Maggie and her family chose the latter. They live in the world that was left behind.

Deciding it’s time to grow up and grow tough, Maggie rechristens herself “Ford Falcon”—a name taken from the beat-up car she finds at a nearby junkyard. This is where Ford’s family goes to scavenge for things they can use and barter with. Thus far, they have been able to survive this brave new world by working together. But when Ford returns one day to discover her home ransacked and her family missing, she must find the strength to survive on her own and rescue her loved ones.

First Sentence:

The old car was sunk to the bumpers when I discovered it, but my first thought was how good it would be to sleep in there and hear the rain drumming on steel rather than splattering against our tattered old tarp.

Sometimes, those surprise review copies can be the best book you'll read all week, which is what happened when The Scavengers showed up on my doorstep one week. I had never heard of the author and had not seen this title, his debut middle grade work, popping up anywhere. So, imagine my surprise when this little surprise of a book was impossible to put down.

One of the things I found myself enjoying immensely when it came to The Scavengers would have to be Maggie, or should I say, Ford Falcon. I really enjoyed reading about her because she was trying her best to survive in the harsh setting she found herself in and to make the most of her abilities. But, what really drew me to her would have to be how she was both strong and yet she had this vulnerable side as it showed just how young she was to be dealing with everything going on. There really is just something about Maggie that makes her a character that you want to come out on top; overall, I thought Michael Perry did a great job capturing her spirit throughout the book.

It was really interesting to see how things played out withing Maggie's family during the book. I loved seeing how their circumstances were all because of the choices Maggie's father had made and his attempt to free them from his mistakes. Although, while I find it interesting to see how the past affected their current circumstances, I would have liked to have seen things go a little differently with her father and his side of the story as I felt he had so much more to learn.
   Even though I do have some problems with the way things went, I really did enjoy the world Michael Perry created in The Scavengers as it showed the toll that they all paid and how things effected each member of Maggie's family. While I enjoyed watching the struggles of the family, it was the strength and oddity of their neighbors that really makes this book. You'll really just have to read this book to know why their neighbors were such fascinating characters to read about-trust me on this.


While I really enjoyed The Scavengers there was one or two things that bothered me about this book. The first being the decision that they made as I felt that neither Maggie nor her parents made a decision that was, well, right. For one thing, I find it incredibly odd that no matter how unhappy they were with their situation that they would willingly split-up. I mean for one thing, if they were so against what was going on, so much so that they left, why would they go back?!?!
  On further thought, it was really that choice for them to go their separate ways that is bothering me. It trumps my other minor annoyance so much that I find it not worth mentioning. I'm just not happy with the one thing even though I quite enjoyed the book.

Final Verdict: The Scavengers- A thoroughly enjoy book that wouldn't let me go.

The Scavengers earns

this book was received in exchange for an honest review