The Scavengers by Michael Perry Ages 8-12 336 pages Harpercollins September 2014 Hardcover     In a not too distant future, climate change, food shortage, and evil corporations have caused the have-nots to live outside of domed Bubble communities. Folks who live OutBubble don’t have running water, electricity, food, or even protection from the unpredictable weather. Maggie lives OutBubble but she remembers when she lived UnderBubble in a beautiful house far from Grey Devils (think Meth addicts and zombies combined) and Solar Bears (Polar Bears spliced together with coyotes by scientists.) Maggie scavenges in the woods along with other OutBubblers. Everyone gets along for the most part--except for the roaming bands of GreyDevils who will steal anything from in order to trade for PartsWash from the JuiceCruisers. The GreyDevils are bad, but nothing compared to the evil villains in charge of food production. The Scavengers is about daily grinding poverty, Big Food, climate change, greed, and GMOs. Anyone reading this book will grow up to be an advocate for the homeless and disabled or an activist against Big Food and Big Science. Or both. And this author does autism, addiction, greed, and poverty right. He does worldbuilding incredibly right. The only nit is that the story went into thriller mode instead of continuing to depict life in OutBubble. But kids nowadays expect dangerous showdowns between Big Bads and heroines in their YA. Recommended.     web reviews   Carole McDonnell/2015 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)