Jorge has been trafficked as a very young child. He is now forced to work for a gang of thieves working the streets and popular tourist sites of Paris. His daily life is horrendous. He has to pickpockets and take money from tourists and then deliver his 'takings' to his minder named Bill. If he has not gathered enough money he is punished. He also rarely receives any money for food so he is constantly desperately hungry. Jorge and the other kids live in a makeshift camp on the edge of the city and his home is indeed made from cardboard. There were times when I was reading this book when I just had to stop and take a break. The terrible things that happen to Jorge and his young friends are, at times, very confronting.
Yes this does feel like a modern day Oliver Twist and perhaps it is no coincidence that Bill has the same name as Bill Sykes from the famous Dickens novel.
Publisher Blurb: Jorge lives in a shanty town on the outskirts of Paris. Bill, a controller, has an army of child thieves at his command—and Jorge is one of them. But soon Jorge faces an even bigger threat. His home is to be bulldozed. Where will Jorge sleep? What will happen to his friends, Ada and Gino? Could a burgeoning friendship with Australian chef, Sticky-Ricky, help Jorge to stop Bill and save the army of child-thieves? And will he do it before he loses Ada forever? Jorge can’t keep fighting to live—now he must live to fight. A harrowing, humbling story about one boy’s desperation to escape a life of crippling poverty.
A Cardboard Palace is a Young Adult novel which in my view is suitable for ages 13+. In NSW this book is on the 7-9 Premiers Reading Challenge list BUT very oddly (and I think dangerously) this book was included on the CBCA 2018 Notable list for Younger Readers. Similarly, having said: the book also covers poverty, human trafficking, slavery, child marriage and death - Books and Publishing list this book for readers aged 10+. This deeply worries me. Take a look at this review in Reading Time. Here is a set of teaching notes. Here is a detailed review with more plot details.
I picked up a Cardboard Palace from the Westmead Children's Hospital Book Bunker because I have just read another book from Midnightsun and I wanted to read a little more about this South Australian publisher.
Companion reads:
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