A Load of Rubbish

This is really good. It is not your usual stuff. Rather it is something different. I really like it.

It is to good not to back it.

This is really good. It is not your usual stuff. Rather it is something different. I really like it.

It is to good not to bag

I absolutely loved this book!! It is so well written and so fun! You have done an excellent job personalizing our trash and your characters are so well written. It feels like they are about to jump off the page and I now have a new appreciation for my shoes, my pens and my poor paper. :-)

Loved it and backed it happily…

Joyanna
The Prince and The Sorcerer

very enjoyable,with a light hearted style that draws you in.
Warren

This is a very interesting plot. The ideal to make the main characters footwear and write a story around them and their adventures was a great undertaking. It is a job well done. The story is interesting and the characters delightful and likeable. Keep up the good work.

No wonder you have a star! What a delight. I guess you don't need backing anymore, but I've backed you anyway. A truly fun read, so thank you for a wonderful time.

Thank you for your backing and, as many others have already said, well done for having your book selected for a HC review. I will watch with interest to see if they find it as good as the preceeding 813 'commentees' below!

Best wishes, Mark Ashley
(SEIZURES and now also FATAL INNOCENCE)

Interesting, Animal Farm for rubbish. Nicely done.

Helena

Read the first few chapters and loved them. Such an original style. I don't know if you still need the backing but I'm backing it anyway.

Had to read it when I saw you were from Kilkenny. Many moons ago my great granma and grandad eloped from there and took the ferry over to England. They ended up in Leeds which cant have been so nearly as pretty as Kilkenny, but they stayed. I could never find out why they eloped and married in England, there must be a story there somewhere.

Good luck with the editors desk thing

Dave

Wow! What a unique idea, and so wonderfully done! I never would have believed that I'd enjoy reading the story of a shoe, but your style makes it such a page turner. Backed with pleasure :)
Gail
"New Beginnings"

My second congratulation on making the ED.

Congratulations on making the editor's desk!

Sandra

Congratulations on having your novel selected to be read by HarperCollins. I wish you the best in success.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
author of Children of the Fog and Lancelot's Lady

a great prospective. You never think of one shoe by itself. Easy read.

Helena.

As soon as I started reading your book, I realized that I had already read it. I checked, and found that I sent you the following messahe 41 days ago. i will back it again.
_________________________________________________________________________

Marveously creative! I really enjoyed reading this. Older children would love it, especially with cartoon type graphics. Sam's dialogue in Chapter 18 is difficult to read, however.

Backed yout great pleasure.

Would you read and possibly back Jamie 7.

Keep smiling
Joseph D Palermo

Congratulations! I loved your book. I know Harper Collins will love it too! I'm thinking I may pull your book up and read it with my students online on our smartboard. They will love it.
If you have time please review my book of poems, Through the Storms and Beyond.
Thank you.

Congratulations, Helena! I'm so happy for you. Hope things go well.
~Linnette

Congratulations, Helena. Yours is a truly wonderful book which deserves publication. When that happens, many a child's life will be enriched by A Load Of Rubbish. Well done, and all the very best.

Congratulations! The editor's desk--an honour well-deserved, Helena.

I've already backed this some time ago, but I'm more than happy to do so again.

I've now read everything you posted of A Load of Rubbish on this site. It is a fabulous read altogether. Very original story, very well written overall.

Although I wouldn't normally volunteer to read children's fantasy, this is such fun it nevertheless passes my airport test: a bookshop, a long journey, a few quid in the pocket ...

Best of luck
Chris

Very clever and fun! :)

Cyndi
Between

Wonderfully mad idea! Shades of Tom Robbins' 'Skinny Legs and All' and Stackridge's 'Mr Mick' album, although this novel has its own inner reality, original and fresh. I love the writing, great dialogue, too. 'A Load of Rubbish' is anything but. Backed!

William J Booker (Trippers)

Well thought out, original and captivating.

You have a very warm and charming style of writing, and i hope this does well.

Backed without hesitation.

great concept! backed

cookingskewl
friend of Sons of Apollyon

Hi, I was attracted by your brief synopsis aimed at adults while the book is for children (of parents who will enjoy the ironic humour). I think the first two pages need a little redrafting. e.g. "Thanks!" he eventually said after his panic subsided. Also, the very first paragraphs are not that easy to follow and unless the illustrations are immediate and per page, don't give a very clear visual picture.

It's great to see something original and quirky and hope you continue to do well

Lara

I've read another two chapters and I like the change of setting from the house in chapter one, to the truck in chapter two, to the rubbish dump in chapter three. Your main character starts out as part of a pair. Then he's thrust into a new world of rubbish on the move, and finally ends up in a place populated with 'real' rubbish. As the reader, I'm rooting for him because he has so much in common with us. We can identify immediately with him because we have suffered similar trials in our own lives. How often have we been seperated from our loved ones because of accident or circumstance? How often have we been pushed out into the dark and dangerous world? Nicely done. I can't wait for the HC crit to come out, but I'm sure you're shopping around for agents and publishers. If not, you should. I can imagine this book with some lovely illustrations. Q

Hi Helena

I struggle where the boundary is between sentient objects and ones that are not. I think you have a lovely style of writing, describing the orange peel as "fruitless. A very interesting and original take on things.

This is not a book I think I would finish though, I think I am the wrong audience.

John

Oh! Backed by the way. First time I've backed a load of rubbish and felt good about it!
Laurence
The Cross of Goa

The quality of wrtiting is beyond reproach. Your inaginative, unique story deserves to be on the Ed deck without question. Very best of luck. I can see young kids loving this.
Laurence
The Cross of Goa

The idea is so original. A great story line - the personifications of a shoe, and other inanimate objects. I was a little hesitant to expect a lot, but this is a great story.

The only critical comment I have is that it might be a bit long to hold a child's interest. It is rather long and drawn out. Not that it detracts from the story, but let's face it, a child has a very short attention span. And as far as young adult, it might be a bit basic for them.

Otherwise, good show.

Happy but this on my shelf. I will read all of this. Mal Muirhead, Marvellous Mavis and the Devolve-o-Meter

Yes, I have backed this, but how can you not love a shoe escaping out the front door. So I will happily put back up on my shelf... I wish you the best of luck. Glenn - The Sons of Apollyon

There's a quality to the wirting that sets this apart. The dialogue is very unrestrained and the story is an original one.

Hi Helena,

A dilightful and unusual story. I'm not surprised it is so high in the ratings. Good luck with it.

There are a few typos and tense slips. In chapter one, for example, you have 'planting' which should be 'planted' and 'slid' which should be 'slide'.

Also in the same chapter you have 'the death had stoppped'. I think you mean 'the teeth had stopped'.

Ron

Im not really the target audience for this book but i can see that there would be a huge audience for this. i think its a great idea, original and full of exciting . As others have said there are editing issues but i wouldnt worry too much about that - thats what editors are for. Youre on the desk so well done and best of luck with this

Backed
Tony Shelley
In My Life

Great first chapter with promising dialogue! I found that the way you write is easy to follow and I did follow, with pleasure. Backed, and I'll be back for more! :)

This a fantastic opening. The way you've managed to imbue normally inanimate objects with life is great. For example: ...as he pulled his lace tight against the cold. "They're coming, they're coming," a manic coke can screamed... and 'There's no room, go away," a milk carton cried.

This opening draws the reader in, making them want to read on. The end is great - The carton didn't reply - a most unusual cliff hanger. Did it survive, or was it crushed?

I tried, but failed to find anything I didn't like in the prologue and when time permits, I intend to read on. For now, backed.

This is certainly not a load of rubbish! What a pleasant read, one both children and adults can enjoy. Well done, and nice to see a future children's classic make the desk!
Backed
Paul
We've Seen the Enemy

what a fantastic read... I couldnt put it down!!!

what a great idea and pitch. everything smacks of a Pixar movie as a life change through a shoe is brilliant. The viewpoints are steeped in vivid imagery and the writing is so fluid, it carries you alog so quickly, you don't realise how much you've read. funny, comforting and a gorgeous way to pass the time. Lovely.

I have backed. I like offbeat ideas that also work commercially.

Gary Morton - I have a few books up here.
Vampire Alley
Fabulous Furry World
Channeling the Demon
Channeling the Vampire
The Rainmaker & Other Tales

This certainly would be very cute as a Disney movie. I hope they pick it up and run with it.

all the best
sue

Helena.
Just a lovely book. Despite what so many think, children's and YA literature is hard to pull off without seeming to talk down. You've skillfully avoided that trap and talk to them on an equal footing. Kids know this: they're not stupid. This is very well written and certainly one I'd recommend if a parent asked me. It's also fantasy of a high order.

Backed.

Nicholas ("The Warlock") - Horror/Thriller

I ran into the same issue as Mr. Mitchell below. I reread the beginning again because I wasn't sure just who was who. Relying on the pitch to explain who your characters are may not be the best course of action. If/when you do get published, who's to say the pitch will remain as part of the book? You may want to clear that up as part of the story and not as part of the pitch.

Otherwise, this is a very enjoyable story with a very distinctive point of view. It will make a wonderful kids story. :)

Ken B
Eric's War

I absolutley love the this. I think my students would enjoy this tale.What a great imagination! Thanks for directing me to it. If you have an opportunity, please review my book "Through the Storms and Beyond" I placed you on my bookshelf.

I was taken aback as I read this. I reread portions because it sounded like the character was a shoe. Then it dawned on me that was the case. I guess I should have paid more attention to the words in your promo. This story has an interesting twist. Good luck with the book. Remember December Gold as read. I would appreciate your comments and backing.
--author of December Gold

Oh, wow, this is so unusual - a story told from the point of view of a shoe! The first chapter was great. I love how the things we don't really think of talking or having their own lives. as such, are given voices in this, like the milk carton and cardboard box.
"We were in a queue and I got talking to a lovely pair of high heels" - I laughed, it's a genius line.
Kids will love this and I can see why it is so highly rated. I look forward to reading more and will be backing it.

Hi, Helena and congratulations on making it to such a high rating. Personally, I love the idea of telling this story from the shoe's point of view. I think children will love it as well and your writing style flows so well, it will make an easy read for them. I think most of our work could do with some editing, mine is no exception though I have slaved over each word, comma and period as I am sure you have.
The inventive characters and plot make up for much of that. Good luck! I am looking forward to hearing what you think of LIght Borne!
Tonya

Dear Helena, I received you message. I backed your book.18 HOURS AGO :) Please take a moment to BACK my TWO Books, ... "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" ... and the UNEDITED version? ... "Tell Me True Love Stories"
Thanks, Susie :)