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Scrap City
Would you believe that under the ground, right beneath your city, was another city? Would you believe it was populated with Scrappers, people built of metal and glass and stone? Jerome has no choice but to believe it after he meets Arkie. Arkie is a Scrapper, and he and Jerome quickly become friends—maybe even brothers. So when Arkie's city is in danger, Jerome knows he must help. But helping Arkie means hurting Jerome's dad, the only real family Jerome still has . . .
For ages 10-14.
For ages 10-14.
345 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2015
5 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
D.S. Thornton
3 books8 followersD. S. Thornton makes her home in Southern California, paint brush in hand, or, sometimes, tapping away at the keyboard. She writes and illustrates middle-grade fantasy and silly sci-fi for young adults and up.
She loves botanical gardens, scifi, Doctor Who, and puppies.
She loves botanical gardens, scifi, Doctor Who, and puppies.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 26, 2020
This is such a sweet story ❤️
November 6, 2015
My Thoughts:
This is amazing. Arky the robot is sweet and kind. He is a robot made up of scrap parts. I am sure that my son dreams of finding his own Arky one day. All the robot characters in this story are unique and fascinating.
This story has a lot to offer as far as example goes. It is one of friendship, trust, overlooking differences, loyalty, strength, and acceptance. There are elements of adventure and problem solving. The robot city described in this is sure to entertain most children.
I do want to warn that there are sad events mentioned in this book. One of the main characters, Jerome, lost his mother and younger brother. His struggles and emotions are a main part of this story.
When I first started reading this to my son, I knew immediately that it will be a favorite. I also expect to reread this many times. He has already requested this story again after we finish the one we just started. He really liked drawing the places and robots described in this book. I don't often find a perfect story, but I did with this one.
Recommendation:
This is fine for both girls and boys. This is great for middle grade readers, but would also make a fantastic book to read aloud to a group or singular child. This would be good as a bedtime story. My son often spent time "day dreaming" after story time.
I recieved a copy of this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is amazing. Arky the robot is sweet and kind. He is a robot made up of scrap parts. I am sure that my son dreams of finding his own Arky one day. All the robot characters in this story are unique and fascinating.
This story has a lot to offer as far as example goes. It is one of friendship, trust, overlooking differences, loyalty, strength, and acceptance. There are elements of adventure and problem solving. The robot city described in this is sure to entertain most children.
I do want to warn that there are sad events mentioned in this book. One of the main characters, Jerome, lost his mother and younger brother. His struggles and emotions are a main part of this story.
When I first started reading this to my son, I knew immediately that it will be a favorite. I also expect to reread this many times. He has already requested this story again after we finish the one we just started. He really liked drawing the places and robots described in this book. I don't often find a perfect story, but I did with this one.
Recommendation:
This is fine for both girls and boys. This is great for middle grade readers, but would also make a fantastic book to read aloud to a group or singular child. This would be good as a bedtime story. My son often spent time "day dreaming" after story time.
I recieved a copy of this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 9, 2016
Review copy provided by Netgalley
This book sucked me in and stole hours of sleep, something I don't get enough of as is, but I don't hold that against it because it gave me hours of pleasure in return. It was hardly typical of the fantasy genre with the overabundance of robot-like characters called Scrappers, but this was a worthwhile read in the fantasy genre.
Jerome Barnes is a protagonist that comes with a lot of baggage. His mother and his younger brother, Max, died tragically in an accident and Jerome blames himself. As a result, he isolates himself from others as he has lost all faith in the dependability of relationships. His father is dealing with the loss by throwing himself into his work as a real estate agent, making Jerome feel even more isolated.
The story springs out of Jerome tagging along on one such real estate deal, as his father attempts to convince the town junkman to sell his junkyard to a developer. While at the junkyard, he meets a mechanical boy named Arkie and is drawn into a secret world that exists at the junkyard.
This book really had me hooked from fairly on. At times, Jerome was hard to take since he puts on such a flinty exterior, treating Cici, a girl who tirelessly tries to be friends with him, like a nuisance, but you can tell through it all that he is just a kid dealing with a bad situation in the only way he knows how.
The Scrapper world of Smithytowne is definitely the most alluring part of this story. It has a Hogwarts-like appeal,a world that exists alongside the rest of the world, yet remains entirely undetected. There is a magical element in what brings the Scrappers to life, but it's a minimal piece of the story. Mostly, the story is centered on equal parts mystery and adventure as Jerome becomes more entangled in the world of the Scrappers and the effort to save the junkyard that Smithytowne lies beneath from what turns out to be an evil developer.
While I don't read stories like this often, I was impressed by this from start to finish, and I am certainly going to add it to my library collection as soon as I can. I recommend that elementary and middle school libraries all do the same. If you don't, you're missing out. This was a real pleasure to read.
This book sucked me in and stole hours of sleep, something I don't get enough of as is, but I don't hold that against it because it gave me hours of pleasure in return. It was hardly typical of the fantasy genre with the overabundance of robot-like characters called Scrappers, but this was a worthwhile read in the fantasy genre.
Jerome Barnes is a protagonist that comes with a lot of baggage. His mother and his younger brother, Max, died tragically in an accident and Jerome blames himself. As a result, he isolates himself from others as he has lost all faith in the dependability of relationships. His father is dealing with the loss by throwing himself into his work as a real estate agent, making Jerome feel even more isolated.
The story springs out of Jerome tagging along on one such real estate deal, as his father attempts to convince the town junkman to sell his junkyard to a developer. While at the junkyard, he meets a mechanical boy named Arkie and is drawn into a secret world that exists at the junkyard.
This book really had me hooked from fairly on. At times, Jerome was hard to take since he puts on such a flinty exterior, treating Cici, a girl who tirelessly tries to be friends with him, like a nuisance, but you can tell through it all that he is just a kid dealing with a bad situation in the only way he knows how.
The Scrapper world of Smithytowne is definitely the most alluring part of this story. It has a Hogwarts-like appeal,a world that exists alongside the rest of the world, yet remains entirely undetected. There is a magical element in what brings the Scrappers to life, but it's a minimal piece of the story. Mostly, the story is centered on equal parts mystery and adventure as Jerome becomes more entangled in the world of the Scrappers and the effort to save the junkyard that Smithytowne lies beneath from what turns out to be an evil developer.
While I don't read stories like this often, I was impressed by this from start to finish, and I am certainly going to add it to my library collection as soon as I can. I recommend that elementary and middle school libraries all do the same. If you don't, you're missing out. This was a real pleasure to read.
April 29, 2015
Covers can be deceptive can't they? From the cover I imagined a light hearted, short romp - almost cartoonish. That is not what I got. Don't get my wrong - in the end I enjoyed it but it was 352 pages and the was arson, theft, heartbreak, and more. Not what I was expecting.
While Jerome is at the town junkyard with his father and uncle he discovers Arkie - a Scrapper - a living, sentient being made of - well - junk. Arkie takes Jerome underground to his city but along the way they discover oil. Oil and water don't mix. Jerome soon becomes embroiled in a race to save Smithytown and an evil developer bent on taking the land at any cost. When Jerome learns of this developer's past it gets personal.
So I did like it in the end but it took over 1/2 the book for me to really get into it. Not sure my students would stick with it that long.
While Jerome is at the town junkyard with his father and uncle he discovers Arkie - a Scrapper - a living, sentient being made of - well - junk. Arkie takes Jerome underground to his city but along the way they discover oil. Oil and water don't mix. Jerome soon becomes embroiled in a race to save Smithytown and an evil developer bent on taking the land at any cost. When Jerome learns of this developer's past it gets personal.
So I did like it in the end but it took over 1/2 the book for me to really get into it. Not sure my students would stick with it that long.
September 18, 2015
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REVIEW BY: Arianna, age 12 years, 9 months
MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:
This book was magnificent and always had me on the edge of my seat! I felt like I was dealing with deaths, scrappers, and a modern day villain. I can not even imagine what Jerome is going through after the death of his mother and brother.
My favorite character is Willy Videlback because he is super funny and reminds me of a grandpa who acts like he is loony, but really just enjoys everyone underestimating him.
REVIEW BY: Arianna, age 12 years, 9 months
MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:
This book was magnificent and always had me on the edge of my seat! I felt like I was dealing with deaths, scrappers, and a modern day villain. I can not even imagine what Jerome is going through after the death of his mother and brother.
My favorite character is Willy Videlback because he is super funny and reminds me of a grandpa who acts like he is loony, but really just enjoys everyone underestimating him.
March 21, 2020
Scrap City was a book I wanted to love. It had everything going for it: fascinating characters, several subplots with an overarching theme, creative and brilliant ideas, and a thorough execution. The ending of the book, in fact, was fantastic, and I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel. The creativity alone was so good that I had to give the book another star.
That being said, this book had quite a few problems. This is the kind of book you read and realize that the main draft must have been full of grammatical and spelling mistakes, and all were fixed by the editor. The pacing is terrible, the story is all over the place, and all the best characters were underutilized. Plotholes come around often, and there are about a thousand twists that came out of absolutely nowhere, in the bad way, not the good way, and were generally annoying. The one plot twist that would have escalated the entire story to a far higher level comes near the end of the book, but then they step backwards and decided that apparently something so realistic would be too mature for kids reading a story in which the main character inadvertently killed his mother and brother.
The main character (Jerome) barely grows during his adventure, but suddenly shifts completely in personality at the end. Before this, he was an extremely boring blank canvas kind of character, with no real identity or personality besides one or two quirks. Quirks do not create a personality. At the end of the book, his personalty shifts completely, and he becomes...even more boring, but in a slightly different way. He embraces a thousand and one cliches all of the sudden for no real reason, and it doesn't work in his favor at all. The same went for most of the important characters in the story; his father is boring, the villain is mediocre, and when Arkie appears, you're just tapping your foot, waiting for him to leave so that something interesting can happen. Using kids as exposition is never a good idea. Heck, exposition in general in frowned upon when done excessively, and about half this book is made up of it! Even better, almost all of this book either focuses on Jerome being alone, Jerome being with other people and not paying any attention, or Jerome with Arkie, and boring character + boring character = very boring scene.
However, most of the side characters are fantastic, with interesting personalities alongside multiple quirks. Uncle Frank has a lot of potential, and easily could have been the best character if more than two pages mentioned him, and the same goes for multiple other characters. It almost feels like the author realized her mistake at the end of the book, because suddenly CiCi and Willy, probabaly the two best, most interesting, and most well-developed characters in the book go from being minor background characters (Arkie's MOM was a bigger part than they were) to being huge characters as important as Jerome himself. They make the most of their time in the spotlight, showing quite clearly why they were better than every other character combined.
The end is clearly the best part, combining multiple characters doing different things and interacting with each other on a level that wasn't present for the entirety of the book before it. It only lasts a few chapters, but I was finally able to get invested in the book.
All in all, this is a book that showed a huge amount of promise but failed to deliver. The ending was fantastic, and the creativity alone brought it up from two stars to three, but when it takes 95% of the book for you to be invested in the story, something's wrong.
That being said, this book had quite a few problems. This is the kind of book you read and realize that the main draft must have been full of grammatical and spelling mistakes, and all were fixed by the editor. The pacing is terrible, the story is all over the place, and all the best characters were underutilized. Plotholes come around often, and there are about a thousand twists that came out of absolutely nowhere, in the bad way, not the good way, and were generally annoying. The one plot twist that would have escalated the entire story to a far higher level comes near the end of the book, but then they step backwards and decided that apparently something so realistic would be too mature for kids reading a story in which the main character inadvertently killed his mother and brother.
The main character (Jerome) barely grows during his adventure, but suddenly shifts completely in personality at the end. Before this, he was an extremely boring blank canvas kind of character, with no real identity or personality besides one or two quirks. Quirks do not create a personality. At the end of the book, his personalty shifts completely, and he becomes...even more boring, but in a slightly different way. He embraces a thousand and one cliches all of the sudden for no real reason, and it doesn't work in his favor at all. The same went for most of the important characters in the story; his father is boring, the villain is mediocre, and when Arkie appears, you're just tapping your foot, waiting for him to leave so that something interesting can happen. Using kids as exposition is never a good idea. Heck, exposition in general in frowned upon when done excessively, and about half this book is made up of it! Even better, almost all of this book either focuses on Jerome being alone, Jerome being with other people and not paying any attention, or Jerome with Arkie, and boring character + boring character = very boring scene.
However, most of the side characters are fantastic, with interesting personalities alongside multiple quirks. Uncle Frank has a lot of potential, and easily could have been the best character if more than two pages mentioned him, and the same goes for multiple other characters. It almost feels like the author realized her mistake at the end of the book, because suddenly CiCi and Willy, probabaly the two best, most interesting, and most well-developed characters in the book go from being minor background characters (Arkie's MOM was a bigger part than they were) to being huge characters as important as Jerome himself. They make the most of their time in the spotlight, showing quite clearly why they were better than every other character combined.
The end is clearly the best part, combining multiple characters doing different things and interacting with each other on a level that wasn't present for the entirety of the book before it. It only lasts a few chapters, but I was finally able to get invested in the book.
All in all, this is a book that showed a huge amount of promise but failed to deliver. The ending was fantastic, and the creativity alone brought it up from two stars to three, but when it takes 95% of the book for you to be invested in the story, something's wrong.
September 14, 2016
Scrap City was such a cute and fun read! Very creative too. It was so hard not to enjoy. The book does boast a good 345 pages, so it may seem a little daunting to some young readers. However, I think that once they get into the story they will find themselves so immersed that they will barely come up for air until they are finished!
So what is Scrap City about? It is about a young boy, Jerome, who stumbles upon something very interesting while in the scrap yard on the outskirts of his town. While he is there, he finds a young boy, but he is no ordinary boy... The boy, named Arkie, is a boy made up up spare parts and other mechanical things! Arkie is a robot!
However, Arkie is no normal robot. He is truly alive and has a whole new world to show to Jerome. A world that is in danger. A world that his father is unknowingly trying to help destroy. Of course Jerome cannot let that happen and finds himself trying to help Arkie save his world.
This book, despite being meant for a middle grade aged child, has quite a bit to it. There is loss, deception, family concerns, etc. But it is still kept mostly light hearted and fun.
And the characters, they are fun too. Especially Arkie. You can tell he is only a young little robot, maybe the equivalent to a 5 year old or so. It is rather endearing to watch Jerome and Arkie's relationship grow as we also get to watch Jerome's character grow.
All of the world building was also very clever. I thought a lot of the backstory about the Native Americans in that part was very intriguing and well thought out. Well, really a lot of it was very thought out and rather clever. All of Arkie's world was just so amazing to read about, it really makes you wish you could go there!
I guess it is a little obvious from what I have said that I really enjoyed reading this book. Sadly, the book appears to be a standalone. I wouldn't mind at all visiting this world again and experiencing another adventure with Jerome and Arkie!
My Rating
4 Stars
This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.
Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/
January 29, 2017
Three adventurous kids fight to save a hidden city from an evil, selfish man, who tries to get away with murder. Figuratively and literally.
In this fictional novel by D.S. Thornton, 11 year old Jerome, a loner with a tragic past, makes friends with a boy named Arkie. Arkie is no ordinary boy. Arkie is make of junk. Arkie is a Scrapper. He shows Jerome, a topsider, where he lives; Smithytowne. Smithytowne is home to many Scrappers, each one unique, each one made of junk, and each one alive. But then, they discover Smithytowne is in trouble. Jerome finds out that a mean man, named Harry Kilman, has his sights set on destroying the land above Smithytowne, in order to keep his barbaric schemes unknown and to fool Shoney Flats, Jerome’s hometown. Harry Kilman has other secrets, too. Jerome will need the help of his annoying friend, Cici Delgado, to fight for the citizens of Smithytowne.
Will Jerome, Arkie, and Cici save Smithytowne? Will Jerome risk everything, just to save Smithytowne and his new friend, Arkie? Or will Harry Kilman prevail?
This book reminds me that recycling is important. Just because something is new, doesn’t mean it is better. It’s important to keep our world clean and D.S. Thornton really shows that making new things out of old can do just that! Remember: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Recommended ages: 9 and above
Reviewed by: Lila H.,10, Central PA Mensa
In this fictional novel by D.S. Thornton, 11 year old Jerome, a loner with a tragic past, makes friends with a boy named Arkie. Arkie is no ordinary boy. Arkie is make of junk. Arkie is a Scrapper. He shows Jerome, a topsider, where he lives; Smithytowne. Smithytowne is home to many Scrappers, each one unique, each one made of junk, and each one alive. But then, they discover Smithytowne is in trouble. Jerome finds out that a mean man, named Harry Kilman, has his sights set on destroying the land above Smithytowne, in order to keep his barbaric schemes unknown and to fool Shoney Flats, Jerome’s hometown. Harry Kilman has other secrets, too. Jerome will need the help of his annoying friend, Cici Delgado, to fight for the citizens of Smithytowne.
Will Jerome, Arkie, and Cici save Smithytowne? Will Jerome risk everything, just to save Smithytowne and his new friend, Arkie? Or will Harry Kilman prevail?
This book reminds me that recycling is important. Just because something is new, doesn’t mean it is better. It’s important to keep our world clean and D.S. Thornton really shows that making new things out of old can do just that! Remember: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Recommended ages: 9 and above
Reviewed by: Lila H.,10, Central PA Mensa
October 8, 2016
Very good book.
June 20, 2017
There were so many things I liked about this book -- and a few things that became a little uncomfortable. I read about 80% percent of my books on an iPad, but I read this in paperback and it was wonderful! The cover art is very cool, and gives just enough of a hint to the story line. The physical dimensions are a little different, sort of small and compact but easy enough to hold open. It feels a nice and balanced in your hands, which helps to get through the whole thing -- at 345 pages, it seems lengthy for the intended audience. It seemed long to me, anyway, because at times, the story seemed to drag, then speed up for a moment, then drag, drag, drag. Still, a decent choice with a male main character (Jerome), though girls will likely discover an affinity for his tag-along friend, CiCi.
January 31, 2021
Fabulous story. I love the mix between believable and the fantastical.
The fact that the main character lost his mother will allow middle grade readers who have also experienced loss to feel connected to the protagonist. This is a very good thing. Too many book's use a nuclear family as their main subjects. This shows that family can be different and still be okay.
The fact that they are living above a city full of robots\scrap part people is genius.
This book needs to get into the HANDS of more kids ages 8-14.
I rate SCRAP CITY as 5 out of 5 Stars
The fact that the main character lost his mother will allow middle grade readers who have also experienced loss to feel connected to the protagonist. This is a very good thing. Too many book's use a nuclear family as their main subjects. This shows that family can be different and still be okay.
The fact that they are living above a city full of robots\scrap part people is genius.
This book needs to get into the HANDS of more kids ages 8-14.
I rate SCRAP CITY as 5 out of 5 Stars
December 18, 2019
Scrap City is a fun adventure for any age. It's a great middle grade book for kids to read alone - or for reading aloud as a family. It's a fantasy story for a modern age. Scrap City is a story of creativity and friendship. I absolutely love the creations in Scrap City. In a time with maker stations at every library and all kinds of "upcycled" art, Scrap City is an inspiration for new inventors and artists of any age.
March 17, 2022
It takes place in a Texas town, where a young boy finds a sentient, sapient young robot boy living in a junkyard. It turns out there is an entire city of them underground. His friend, a young girl, helps him out later in the book.
I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and the visual imagery in this book. I think it would make a fantastic cartoon series/movie. It's very description and each robot is unique in how they are put together.
Finding out how and why they exist was so much fun!
I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and the visual imagery in this book. I think it would make a fantastic cartoon series/movie. It's very description and each robot is unique in how they are put together.
Finding out how and why they exist was so much fun!
Read
May 23, 2017Main character: Jerome
Goal: To save the scrappers including Arkie
But: The lifewater was what made things come to life, but the oil was altering it
So: He became a help to the scrappers
Result: The scrappers were safe
- Akshat
Goal: To save the scrappers including Arkie
But: The lifewater was what made things come to life, but the oil was altering it
So: He became a help to the scrappers
Result: The scrappers were safe
- Akshat
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2021
This was an amazing read having lessons in friendship, loyalty and acceptance. Problem solving is central to this story filled with adventure. It teaches kids the importance of trust, kindness, friendship and courage. I am sure kids will find it enjoyable.
June 25, 2022
It was a good book to read.
October 1, 2016
An unique and creative story about junk literally coming to life. Cute. Themes of belonging and family. The girl is native American and barely a character. I really dont know why she's on the cover. But OMG the SIZE of the book! It reads fast but it is 350 pages and extremely thick. The story is interesting enough and moves at a good pace. So if they're not intimidated by the size, it should be easy to stick with it. My concern is that most won't even try it; despite the adorable cover.
Since both stories to me were pretty average on a similar topic. I would recommended "The Wild Robot" over this one. This book was good but not worth the size. The Wild Robot is simpler and has more heart
Since both stories to me were pretty average on a similar topic. I would recommended "The Wild Robot" over this one. This book was good but not worth the size. The Wild Robot is simpler and has more heart
June 30, 2015
*I received this novel through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
This is a fun, adventurous middle grade novel. I requested it thinking it would be a fun, fast read, but I got much more than that. The children in this story are dealing with loss and heartache, among other things. It definitely Probed deeper than I was expecting.
The characters were fun, original and well written. The main characters seemed their age and not too grown up, which was nice. The story was fun, the Scrapper history fascinating, and it was overall a really fun read.
A full review will be up on release day Oct. 1st 2015: http://courtneysreads.blogspot.com/20...
This is a fun, adventurous middle grade novel. I requested it thinking it would be a fun, fast read, but I got much more than that. The children in this story are dealing with loss and heartache, among other things. It definitely Probed deeper than I was expecting.
The characters were fun, original and well written. The main characters seemed their age and not too grown up, which was nice. The story was fun, the Scrapper history fascinating, and it was overall a really fun read.
A full review will be up on release day Oct. 1st 2015: http://courtneysreads.blogspot.com/20...
October 11, 2015
Scrap City reminded me of a lower-grade Pixar movie; definitely not a blockbuster but certainly an enjoyable read that delivers a larger message without hitting you over the head with it. Good character development and world-building and the story moved along at a good pace despite having to explain some of the backstory. Characters are very likable (or not, as the case may be) and believable, even the non-human ones. Would have liked best friend Cici to be more involved in the story than she was and she felt like the author wanted her to be and perhaps cut a lot of her involvement out in revisioning. Also, Arkie is a horrible name - too childish. Couldn't get over it.
November 3, 2016
A unique and creative story about junk literally coming to life. Cute. Themes of belonging and family. The girl is barely a character, I dont know why she's on the cover. But OMG the SIZE of the book! It reads fast but it is 350 and thick. The story is interesting enough and moves at a good pace. So if kids not intimidated by the size, it should be easy to stick with it. My concern is that most won't even try it; despite the adorable cover.
Since both stories to me were pretty average on a similar topic. I would recommended "The Wild Robot" over this one. This book was good but not worth the length. The Wild Robot is simpler and has more heart
Since both stories to me were pretty average on a similar topic. I would recommended "The Wild Robot" over this one. This book was good but not worth the length. The Wild Robot is simpler and has more heart
January 4, 2016
Neat story, reminds me of the movie Robots, but with people added to the world. A little bit of fantasy, loads of adventure, a little bit of heartbreak. There are lots of pages, but the book reads fast.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!
October 10, 2016
Cute story about a boy who discovers a new world beneath a scrap yard where everything is made out of recycled materials. Great ending as the boy and a friend save the day and put the bad guys out of business. Great for lower middle grades.
January 20, 2016
Like Hugo? Then you'll like this fun read, which takes place beneath a junkyard in Texas where an entire city made of automatons live. You'll love reading about Jerome and his ice chest buddy Arkie.
Want to read
October 20, 2016I received a copy of this book from Capstone via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 8, 2018
AMAZINGGGG!!! read it a long time go tho
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews