The Glass Collector by Anna Perera

HarperCollins, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-7322-9153-2
Recommended. Friendships and family are important, more so sometimes than your standing in life. This is obviously what Aaron believes. Born a Zabbaleen, Aaron is forced to work with the rest of the men to scavenge rubbish off the busy streets of Cairo. Living with his abusive stepfamily and with the low price of recyclable goods scraping a living is much harder than it once was.
Aaron did always have a special way with the glass; only his practiced fingers could gather so much broken glass without cutting himself. Aaron knows more about glass than anyone he knew, the colours, the lights and beauty that is and can be made from glass. Caught with a stolen perfume bottle it seems that the delights of being a glass collector are now denied him. An outcast with nowhere to go, Aaron must learn the error of his ways and repent for his sins to be allowed back into the community and to have any chance at being with the girl he loves.
A book full of complications, desperation and passion, The Glass Collector was short listed for two awards: the Costa Children's Book Awards and the Branford Boase Award. I think that Anna Perera has captured the thoughts and feelings of the characters brilliantly. The Glass Collector is written in both present tense and first person. This does well to display the thoughts and feelings of life in a poor village.
This sensational novel confronts several difficult topics and life ideas including desperation, faith, social standards and wealth.
Kayla Gaskell (Student, 15)