This book tells a great story, but adapting it for young readers, which is all the rage right now, was a bad call. Sang Ly lives with her husband and baby at Stung Meanchey, the largest garbage dump in all of Cambodia. Ki Lim, the husband, picks recyclables out of the garbage to make a living for the family. Sang Ly does some trash-picking, too, but mostly she takes care of baby Nisay, who is sickly and small with chronic diarrhea.

The story develops as Sang Ly becomes friends with the grumpy Rent Collector, Sopeap, and Sopeap teaches Sang Ly to read and to appreciate literature. There are some lovely moments in this story as Sopeap’s character and mysterious past are revealed and as she shares her love of literature with the illiterate Sang Ly. However, I feel as if most of those moments and insights would pass right over the head of the middle grade readers to whom this book is being marketed. Instead, they would remember the dump and the poverty and the dangers of trash-picking and the death and disease. The picture on the cover (supposed to be Sang Ly?) is misleading. There are a couple of minor characters in the book who are children, but mostly this book is about adults with adult concerns and problems. I would possibly give this book to young adults, high school and up, but it’s just not a middle grade novel.

The original adult novel was based on a true story, a film documentary called River of Victory. I wouldn’t mind watching the documentary, and I also wouldn’t mind reading the full, adult novel. The writing is good, and the story itself is inspiring. I just don’t think it should have been adapted for middle grade readers.