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Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker #1)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 15,676 ratings · 2,691 reviews

In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his...more

Kindle Edition, 337 pages

Published May 1st 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

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Mar 10, 2012 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of dystopian YA fiction

Shelves: national-book-award, dystopias-post-apocalyptic, ya, 2010, series-in-progress-still-like, printz, ala-ya-2011, b, 2012

As seen on The Readventurer

So, a reread after a dystopia-overstaffed year, and Ship Breaker still stands out. Actually, this novel has by far the best conceived vision of our future in terms of realism. Nothing much far-fetched or impossible here.

This future is grim and rusty. The planet's natural resources are exhausted, the global warming is happening, Antarctica is gone, cities drowned. Nailer, the main character, makes his living stripping old ships off of their metals which will be then so...more

82 likes · like · see review

May 02, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: homework-from-the-ladies, young-adultery, 2012

In a dystopian future wracked with environmental disaster, a young salvager named Nailer's world is turned upside down when he stumbles upon the find of a lifetime, a magnificent clipper ship, and and its beautiful owner, a rich girl named Nita...

Paolo Baciglupi crafted quite a tale in Ship Breaker. You've got familial conflict, ecological disaster, young love, dystopia, what's not to like?

Not a lot, frankly. The world Bacigalupi has created is quite something. The cultures are very believable,...more

40 likes · like · see review

Apr 08, 2011 karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dysto-teque, why-yes-i-ya

this book is fine.

it had a good amount of violence and intrigue, it had a well-developed sense of atmosphere, i liked the beginning 1/3 of it very much, but then... i don't know. i'm not sure whether my mediocre response is justified or if i had just read too many books right before this that i enjoyed a whole bunch more. this one just kind of beigely occurred. it just felt like something i would put on the tv while i fold the laundry - the book equivalent of NCIS or without a trace.

i do think...more

56 likes · like · see review

Dec 23, 2011 Maggie Skye rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: never-read-again

I read this in early summer looking forward to seeing it live up to all the awesome reviews I read. I was totally disappointed.

To sum things up, I think it shouldn't have been published. Yet. He has a great world and a great story -- the whole idea of ship breakers is AMAZING and his world building is solid -- but three things really bugged me the whole time I was reading:

1. His actual writing. (I thought) he needs editing, big time. His sentences didn't flow for me and he re-used the same words...more

24 likes · like · see review

Apr 18, 2012 Melki rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, dystopia, science-fiction, young-adult

The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In the speculative future proposed by this book, children will be highly valued...because they are small enough to crawl into the pitch black recesses of abandoned ships and retrieve copper wire.
Yay for children! Somewhere, Newt Gingrich will be beaming.

Meet a generation of Lost Boys and Girls. They don't wanna grow up because getting bigger means they can no longer squeeze into those narrow passageways....more

15 likes · like · see review

Feb 17, 2010 J. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, in-new-york, permanent-collection, signed

I really liked the writing in this tremendously dark YA novel of a post-oil, climate-crashed world. The vision of the future is convincing and compelling, the protagonists and villains vivid, and the story had a lot of momentum. Very, very solid.

addendum: ...and it's still sticking with me a couple months later, and I bought the hardcover.

8 likes · like · see review

Jan 22, 2011 Morgan F rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Morgan by: Hank Green

Shelves: young-adult, sci-fi, dystopian-apocalyptic, 2010, terrible-parents, its-a-boy, adventure, series, read-2011, medium-sized, recycling

Ship Breaker takes places in a gritty, grim future, where the divide between the rich and the poor is deeper than ever. The poor grow up like Nailer, a youth who lives in a little shack on a beach off the Gulf Coast with his abusive, drugged-up father. Like everyone else on the beach, Nailer must work hard to survive, stripping washed-up oil rigs for the raw materials, but even hard work is not enough to guarantee survival in his dog-eat-dog world. Nailer can rely on hardly anyone, besides his c...more Ship Breaker takes places in a gritty, grim future, where the divide between the rich and the poor is deeper than ever. The poor grow up like Nailer, a youth who lives in a little shack on a beach off the Gulf Coast with his abusive, drugged-up father. Like everyone else on the beach, Nailer must work hard to survive, stripping washed-up oil rigs for the raw materials, but even hard work is not enough to guarantee survival in his dog-eat-dog world. Nailer can rely on hardly anyone, besides his crew boss Pima and her mother. His father doesn't care, and even his own crewmates, blood-sworn to have his back, will betray him if it means being rewarded by the Fates with their own "lucky strike".

Nailer's beach has people from a hodgepodge of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. One thing I loved about this book was that the people came in all shades of colors, and none of the characterizations resorted to stereotypes. Unlike most books, white is not the default. Such a mix of characters also paved the way for an interesting culture, one that thrives on luck and "the Fates", with gods and deities from all religions, as well as some made-up ones like the Rust god. I just found this interesting because it emphasized the fact that everyone was poor, no matter their color or beliefs. Everyone had to struggle, with no one being that much better off than another.

One theme that this novel explores pretty well is how some people lose their sense of humanity in the face of adversity. No one in this book is nice. They are all willing to kill if they have to, but with each person having a different way of determining when they "have to". Nailer has more humanity than most. When a city-killer storm ravages the beach, it leaves behind the wreck of a clipper ship, a vessel for rich people. Nailer and his best friend, Pima, are the first to discover the ship, and are determined to scavenge all they can from it. In one of the rooms they discover a beautiful "swank" girl, who appears to have been crushed by toppled furniture. Noticing the girl's gold jewelry, Nailer and Pima have no qualms about taking it from her, perhaps cutting off her fingers in the process in order to get her gold rings. Things become complicated when the girl turns out to be alive. Pima is all for cutting the girls throat and taking the loot. Pima is not a bad character. She is fiercely loyal to Nailer and the rest of her crew and family, but she has no sympathy for characters outside her circle of loyalty. Nailer is more conflicted, convincing Pima that the girl is worth more alive than dead, for people are certain to come looking for her.

Through out the novel, Nailer is torn between being "smart" (aka doing what he can to survive and get ahead), or doing what is right. He constantly finds himself doing what he can to save the swank girl, Nita, and returning her to her family, although that is difficult because they are being pursued by enemies of Nita's father, who want to use Nita as leverage, as well as Nailer's own father, a killer who wants revenge.

The world that Ship Breaker is set in is one of YA distopia's best, as it is well-concieved and imaginative, while remaining plausible. The plot was extremely fast-paced, violent, and action-packed, and the writing had moments of insightfulness. But one thing that was missing from the novel was empathy. I felt it lacked heart and an emotional punch. The characters felt more like roles than actual people. There was potential for some extremely heart-wrenching moments that was ignored, and the small romance between Nailer and Nita could have been fleshed-out more. I don't intend to be sexist, but I just believe this is because the author is male and this book is geared towards a male audience. Not that females can't enjoy it too, its just if they are hoping for some intense romance, they will be disappointed.

One more small quirk I had with this book was how Nailer learned to read so fast. I just found that highly unbelievable, and it took me out of the story.

But overall, it was quite a good novel. It wrapped-up nicely, leaving room for a sequel (I understand it's to be a trilogy), but no cliff-hanger. Nonetheless, I am eager for the next installment.

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Dec 09, 2012 Buggy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, shelf-12, sci-fi, pirates-and-privateers, fiction, end-of-days

Opening Line: “Nailer clambered through a service duct, tugging at copper wire and yanking it free.”

Wow what a world Paolo Bacigalupi has created here with Ship Breaker. I won’t say this is the best dystopian book I’ve read but it’s definitely up there as the freakiest in terms of a plausible or even inevitable future -should global warming cripple the earth, the ice caps melt and all of our natural resources disappear.

Initially I’d been drawn to this book because it reminded me of a documentar...more Opening Line: “Nailer clambered through a service duct, tugging at copper wire and yanking it free.”

Wow what a world Paolo Bacigalupi has created here with Ship Breaker. I won’t say this is the best dystopian book I’ve read but it’s definitely up there as the freakiest in terms of a plausible or even inevitable future -should global warming cripple the earth, the ice caps melt and all of our natural resources disappear.

Initially I’d been drawn to this book because it reminded me of a documentary I’d seen about families in India who lived and worked on the beach, eking out a living by breaking down oil tankers for parts (which is the exact scenario here) The extreme poverty, danger, expendability and daily fight for survival stuck with me and I suppose that’s why for several chapters here I assumed this took place in a third world country, it does but that country is now on the US Gulf coast. For me this is where Ship Breaker shines; the world building here is simply awesome.

Anyways this was a great read, well written, unique and action filled. There are morality choices (love books that make me think, what would I do?) some romance (a hint of) pirates, hurricanes, knife fights, train chases, treasure hunting and a drug addicted antagonist who also just happens to be the hero’s father. Yeah he was a very bad man. Come to think of it there is quite a bit of violence in this story.

I also enjoyed the distinctions presented here in class discrepancy and fell in love with a character named Tool (a DNA altered or manufactured half man/dog/tiger who could really do with his own book. I struggled a bit with the weird names (reminding me of (The Hunger Games) in their anonymity) Pima, Bapi, Sloth, Tick-Tock. And lastly I just need to mention a scene that will haunt me for a long time –when our hero gets lost and stuck deep within the bowls of the tanker, its pitch dark and he’s fallen into an oil reservoir. This made me frantic, claustrophobic, terrified and a real fan of Bacigalupi.

Nailer works the “light crew” scavenging through the wrecks of ancient oil tankers that now litter the coast. His job is to crawl deep inside these iron beasts and strip them of their copper wire, turning it over to his violent crew boss. It’s very important the Nailer make quota as there are many other kids starving in the shanty town who would kill for his job. It’s a brutal existence but all he knows. The other problem that is fast approaching is that Nailer is quite simply getting too big for his work, struggling to fit into the rusty pipelines. And then what? With no way of earing his keep and only so many viable organs to sell how will he live?

As luck would have it a “city killer” hurricane strikes the coast and in its aftermath Nailer and his friend Pima stumble upon the wreck of a luxurious clipper ship. Smashed against the rocks the ship is filled with more valuables then either of them could dream about in a lifetime. Nailer has hit the “lucky strike” now if he can find a way to claim and cash in the bounty before the other scavengers discover them. He hadn’t counted on any survivors amidst the wreckage however and now he’s faced with the choice of killing this half drowned “swank” girl or saving her in the hopes that her wealthy family will reward him. Cheers
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6 likes · like · see review

Jan 02, 2013 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: heart-of-darkness, literature-disguised-as-science-fic

I was a little saddened after finishing Wind Up Girl and discovering that the Bacigalupi’s next book was going to be a young adult. I find this an annoying trend of authors of complex, adult, and sophisticated speculative literature chasing the YA dollar. Teens have everything these days grumpy old me says, leave me my speculative fiction. So instead of rushing out and getting his next title I decided to wait and see. I got my hands on both Ship Breaker and its sequel/sidepiece Drowned Cities an...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jul 06, 2012 Cara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

The Ship Breaker is dystopian fiction novel for young adults set in a future where global warming has taken place, our resources are scarce and the physical world has taken on a much different shape. The hero, Nailer, is a young boy who spends his days working like a slave to salvage the great big iron ships that have grounded in what used to be the Gulf of Mexico, although the original coastline has long since been swallowed up by the ocean. They call our time period the Age of Acceleration, an...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Stacey (prettybooks) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Blood Red Road

Shelves: dystopian-or-post-apocalyptic, young-adult-fiction

We’re transported to a harsh, poverty-stricken world as soon as we turn to the very first page of Ship Breaker. Nailer is struggling to breathe and see ahead as he earns a measly living by salvaging scrap metal from grounded, derelict ships. He is part of a group known as “light crew”. It’s dangerous work, but worth it for the chance to get a Lucky Strike – mainly the discovery of oil, which is extremely scarce and thus will make its discoverer instantly rich.

It is clear that Paolo Bacigalupi fo...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jul 25, 2010 Amy Sturgis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-contemporary, ya-dystopia, postapocalyptic-dystopia, 21st-century

This young adult dystopian novel starts out strong, with a captivating protagonist in young Nailer, and a fascinating world in the post-apocalyptic U.S. Gulf Coast, with cities drowned by rising seas, social stratification dividing the "swanks" from those in abject poverty, and a multi-ethnic community of scavengers living on the picked-over remains of a vanished world. Perhaps most interesting is the advent of half-men genetically engineered from the DNA of humans, dogs, lions, and hyenas in or...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Sliss rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

We've all seen Edward Burtynsky's achingly beautiful photos of the horrific beached tankers on the coasts of Bangladesh. In the photos the ships dwarf the people who are tearing them apart, the ship breakers. This novel starts by taking us inside one of those ships, along with our hero, Nailer. He's wiry, loyal and smart and he, like so many others, ekes out his living by stripping the ships of anything of value. He longs to be sailing on one of the beautiful white clippers he sees, so far from...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 15, 2010 paula rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, great-books-for-teens, favorites

You want my one-line recommendation? This is the most exciting book I have read since Emma Clayton's The Roar. Action, plot, an interesting world... deeper questions of what makes family, what makes a person valuable, and to whom and to what do we owe our loyalty... oh man. I am totally hoping there is a second book.

Full review on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/201...

5 likes · like · see review

Nov 21, 2010 Minli rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, inked-2011, cover-win, boy-interest, awesome-writing, speculative, yay-diversity, made-me-think

I read Ship Breaker just after reading Neal Shusterman's Unwind, which I found to be an interesting and completely unintentional companion. Both are YA dystopian fiction set vaguely in the future, but otherwise feel too close for comfort. While Unwind is over reproductive rights, Ship Breaker is about the ecological disaster that's the gulf coast, with oil spills, category six hurricanes, and pollution.

Living in New Orleans, Nailer is a ship breaker, a small youth that salvages useful metal from...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Jillian -always aspiring- marked it as halted · review of another edition

Dystopian? Check. Male POV? Check. Novel I never heard anything about before seeing it in Borders? Check.

Wow, I hope I like it as much as Finnikin of the Rock (a book I REALLY LOVED for buying it on the fly with no prior knowledge of it). Let's hope my luck continues when I finally happen to cave and buy this book. . .

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 12, 2011 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teenage-dream-wannabee, printz-award-winners, dystopia

Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Ship Breaker!

I didn't even stop to eat dinner last night, as I had to see what would happen. Nailer, the protagonist in the story, who has the soul of a Gladiator, must fight to stay alive on the shores of Bright Sands Beach where he disembowels old ships for sheet metal in order to eat. Sustaining himself on a mere starvation diet and avoiding his abusive father are his two daily challenges until he finds a clipper ship worth enough to buy his freedom from the slave...more

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Apr 22, 2013 Whitley Birks rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, almost-good, dystopian, made-me-uncomfortable, ya-science-fiction, worldbuilding-win, failed-potential, pretty-princess-syndrome

Ship Breaker is one of those books that suffers a lot from how close it came to being something spectacular. I started reading, encountered all these marvelous characters and concepts, and I got my hopes up. I got my hopes way up. And my hopes crashed and burned. My hopes are a stripper in LA still claiming “I’ll be an actress someday!”

THE GOOD
The first 50 pages, and everything therein, were really good. And I mean really, really good. The idea of the world, as kind of a half-pocalypse, where th...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Oscar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ciencia-ficción, míos, distopía, near-future, infantil-juvenil

’El cementerio de barcos’ es la segunda novela de Paolo Bacigalupi, en la que retoma el mundo de ‘La chica mecánica’, pero esta vez trasladado al Golfo de México, modificado debido a la subida del nivel del mar que ha propiciado el calentamiento global. Pero ’El cementerio de barcos’, sin renunciar a la denuncia social y ecológica, se aleja un tanto de aquélla, con un contenido menos político y mucho más aventurero y ágil.

Nos encontramos en un futuro cercano y distópico en el que la escasez de...more ’El cementerio de barcos’ es la segunda novela de Paolo Bacigalupi, en la que retoma el mundo de ‘La chica mecánica’, pero esta vez trasladado al Golfo de México, modificado debido a la subida del nivel del mar que ha propiciado el calentamiento global. Pero ’El cementerio de barcos’, sin renunciar a la denuncia social y ecológica, se aleja un tanto de aquélla, con un contenido menos político y mucho más aventurero y ágil.

Nos encontramos en un futuro cercano y distópico en el que la escasez de combustibles fósiles ha ocasionado la creación de diversas zonas en las que la población subsiste a base de desguazar enormes y obsoletos barcos petroleros para la obtención de materiales que puedan reciclarse, ya sea cobre, hierro, plomo, e incluso lo más preciado, algo de petróleo que quedó olvidado. Y es en este duro entorno en el que vive, o más bien sobrevive, el protagonista de la novela, Nailer, un adolescente que pertenece a una cuadrilla de desguace. Hasta que un día parece que la suerte le sonríe y se tropieza con un clíper varado por una tormenta que le podría proporcionar un gran botín que le cambie la vida.

La historia de ’El cementerio de barcos’ es mucho más accesible que la que se nos contaba en ‘La chica mecánica’, partiendo de que la trama se nos presenta desde un único punto de vista. El futuro que nos muestra Bacigalupi es realista y creíble (de hecho, en la India existen estos desguaces de barcos). Los personajes nos son excesivamente complejos, pero están bien perfilados. La ambientación también es un punto a favor. Si bien el autor no se para en descripciones farragosas, queda patente como es este mundo de ruinas, con ciudades sumergidas. De igual modo, Bacigalupi toca diversos temas sobre los que reflexionar, como son el cambio climático, el desequilibrio en el reparto de la riqueza, la amistad y el trabajo en equipo, la escasez de recursos o la manipulación genética. Aunque orientada a un público juvenil, esta novela puede disfrutarla un lector más adulto.

En resumen, ’El cementerio de barcos’ puede ser vista como una historia clásica de aventuras con héroe adolescente que busca una oportunidad, con un ritmo rápido y trepidante y una tensión que va en aumento según se avanza la lectura. Entretenida y recomendable.
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Mar 16, 2012 Margot rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of Trash by Andy Mulligan

Shelves: 2012-read, dystopian, young-adult

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi was a book I picked up on the recommendation of an indie bookstore employee and I'm really glad I picked this one up. It is different, very different than other YA dystopians I've read. Many have compared it to The Hunger Games but in my person opinion, I would NEVER compare this book with The Hunger Games. If the only common thread between them in an imbalance in wealth in future America, then sure it is like The Hunger Games. But in reality I think this is clos...more Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi was a book I picked up on the recommendation of an indie bookstore employee and I'm really glad I picked this one up. It is different, very different than other YA dystopians I've read. Many have compared it to The Hunger Games but in my person opinion, I would NEVER compare this book with The Hunger Games. If the only common thread between them in an imbalance in wealth in future America, then sure it is like The Hunger Games. But in reality I think this is closer to the storyline from Slumdog Millionaire and one of my personal favorite YA books Trash by Andy Mulligan.

In terms of world building and creating unique, memorable characters I have to applaud Paolo Bacigalupi. This book is so rich in detail and the setting is so wonderfully written that I never wanted to leave the dystopian Orelans world. Clearly this was written with hurricane Katrina in mind, but thankfully the background to why Orleans is like that is clearly communicated but never dwelled on.

But my favorite part about this book were the characters. I love Nailer and Pima and Sadna and even Richard Lopez, the antagonist and father of Nailer - he was such an amazing, horrible bad guy I couldn't help but enjoy his presence only because he was such a unique character.

I did find myself getting a little bored here and there and found Nita's character annoying. I really didn't care if she was reunited with her family or not, all I cared about was Nailer's personal growth, so I could have done without her entire role in the book and would have been just happy ready about Nailer's days working on light crew.

This is definitely a book I'd recommend to teen guys who like dystopian novels. There's minimal to no romance and there's plenty of technical discussion that I think boys who are into that sort of thing will gravitate towards. I definitely ladies will enjoy this too, but if you like your dystopian with a hefty side of romance, then I'd go read something else.

Overall this book was good to great and I'll certainly remember for the rich detail and memorable characters, so if you have this on your TBR pile - pick it up already!(less)

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May 26, 2012 Amelia, the pragmatic idealist rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-kids-teen, series-books, little-brown, dystopian, own, mc-guy

4.5 out of 5

I'd almost given up on dystopians when I picked up Ship Breaker. Dystopian worlds were either interesting-but-improbable (Wither), too-improbable-to-be-interesting (Delirium), or clean-but-just-not-interesting (Matched). And then along came Ship Breaker.
BAM! There's a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world that seems like it could actually happen.
BAM! It's a world that's scary, urgent, and one to be taken very seriously.
BAM! A character who's likable but definitely an underdog
BAM! Action...more

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May 28, 2011 Emma rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian, why-the-hype

Ship Breaker tells the story of Nailer, a teenager living in a futuristic society where large, beached ships are stripped for their materials. Nailer works on the "light crew," pulling copper out of the ships to make quota. One day he finds a large clipper that has only one survivor--a beautiful young girl. Suddenly Nailer has to make the decision to break the ship down for all its worth and become rich, or save the girls' life.

This book really was not as good as I thought it would be. I was exp...more Ship Breaker tells the story of Nailer, a teenager living in a futuristic society where large, beached ships are stripped for their materials. Nailer works on the "light crew," pulling copper out of the ships to make quota. One day he finds a large clipper that has only one survivor--a beautiful young girl. Suddenly Nailer has to make the decision to break the ship down for all its worth and become rich, or save the girls' life.

This book really was not as good as I thought it would be. I was expecting something amazing, from the laudatory comments by some of my favorite authors on the back to the Printz award sticker slapped on the cover. I was woefully underwhelmed, however. The premise sounds good enough, and some of the characters are promising, but there are some areas in which the book really flails. One would be Bacigalupi's attempt to create a "ship breaker" language. After the fourth or fifth time Nailer or Pima used the word "swank" to say "upper-class" I was tired of it. There was also the issue of Bacigalupi trying to be clever by renaming drugs. I don't know if he was trying to make it sound grittier or not, but at least for me, it didn't achieve whatever effect he was trying to create. I also felt like there was a point in which the original plot was abandoned and a new one was created. The "ship breaking" part of it seemed to wander off about a quarter of the way through the book. Maybe it was just me, but I feel like it wasn't as prominent as it should have been. After all, the book is called "Ship Breaker."

I can't go through this whole review saying only negative things, though. I will give credit to Bacigalupi where credit is due. The high-action parts were very well-done and I admire the way he handled the character of Richard Lopez, Nailer's father. Like I said earlier, I also think that the premise of the story is very interesting--I only wish it had been handled better.

I wouldn't say that reading this book was a waste of time, because, as I said, there were some good points to the book. I can say, though, that I won't be reading the sequel.(less)

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May 18, 2011 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: another-dystopia, young-adult, printz, 5201

I didn't know much about this book when I picked it up other than that it had won the Printz award and that this was the author's first YA novel. I've added this to my "another dystopia" shelf, but should mention that this didn't actually read like another dystopia. Gold star to Bacigalupi for that.

This takes place is some sort of post-global-warming future that's left many of our major cities submerged in water. While environmentalism novels usually make me gag with all their preachiness, this...more I didn't know much about this book when I picked it up other than that it had won the Printz award and that this was the author's first YA novel. I've added this to my "another dystopia" shelf, but should mention that this didn't actually read like another dystopia. Gold star to Bacigalupi for that.

This takes place is some sort of post-global-warming future that's left many of our major cities submerged in water. While environmentalism novels usually make me gag with all their preachiness, this didn't feel that way. It was a plot device, if anything; a way to create an alternative future. "Ship breaker" is the name given to the people who make their living by tearing apart old boats/ships/oil rigs for parts that companies will buy up and recycle. It is an incredibly dangerous and unrewarding line of work -- the communities that spring up around old ship yards are poor and violent and desperate. They watch the fancy new clippers fly by on the horizon with no hope of ever escaping their own small sphere of life.

Did you know that you can't swim in oil? Fall into a vat of it and you'd just sink to the bottom.

Nailer is a ship breaker and the son of an alcoholic user who beats him whenever he's high. His only safe harbor is his friend Prim and her mom. He and Prim stumble upon a clipper that's been beached after a severe storm. Thinking they've landed a wealthy scavenge, they begin to explore only to discover a girl -- Nita -- still alive in the depths and wreckage of the ship. She's wealthy beyond their imaginings -- the heiress of one of the companies that pays ship breakers for their work. Now they have to decide if they're going to help her get back to her family. And that's when the questions begin: How much is a life worth in the face of poverty? What is loyalty and can it be bought? Who is good and who is bad and how do you decide? How does money change a person's morality?

It is that last question that I am most interested in. I was pleasantly surprised by Bacigalupi's treatment of that issue. Consider this conversation between Nailer and Nita. They're discussing why Nita's father refused a business deal in black market fuel (something similar to our fuel which has been practically banned because of its carbon output). Nailer says her father should have taken the deal, since it was worth so much money.

Nita looked at him with disgust. "Don't we already have enough drowned cities? Enough people dying from drought? My family is a clean company. Just because a market exists doesn't mean we have to serve it."
Nailer laughed. "You trying to tell me you blood buyers got some kind of clean conscience? Like making some petrol is different than buying our blood and rust out on the wrecks for your recycling."
"It is!"
"It's all money in the end... The only reason you think you've got morals is because you don't need money the way regular people do."

I love that Bacigalupi is raising this question. There is so much propaganda (let's be honest -- that's what it is) about being "green" and recycling and saving the planet, but who is it all for? The wealthy. Living in a third world country and now working with kids most of whose families live below the poverty line has me looking at things a little differently. The poor can't afford to be environmentalists -- they can't afford fancy light bulbs, organic produce, recycling fees, and clean cars. Those of us who are privileged with wealth spend extra money on "green" products and pat ourselves on the backs for being so kind to the earth, without giving a second thought to the poor whose blood and sweat pays for our recycling. It makes me sick.

This is the kind of book you could put in the hands of a student or group of students and just let go. Wait and watch for the questions and discussions that spring from their reading. And maybe they end up disagreeing with my take on it -- maybe you do, too -- but it prompts conversations that are important to have.
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Mar 13, 2012 Arlene rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopic, read-2012, ya-dystopic, young-adult

Let me point out upfront that Ship Breaker is an award winner of the 2011 Michael L. Printz Award and a National Book Award Finalist. So, don’t let my three stars fool you. I’m not arguing the fact that this gritty, post apocalyptic, dystopic novel hasn’t earned its spot among the widely acclaimed books in its class. It just wasn’t a story that captivated or enthralled me the way The Hunger Games, Divergent, or even Blood Red Road did.

First off, I didn’t know what to expect from this book going...more Let me point out upfront that Ship Breaker is an award winner of the 2011 Michael L. Printz Award and a National Book Award Finalist. So, don’t let my three stars fool you. I’m not arguing the fact that this gritty, post apocalyptic, dystopic novel hasn’t earned its spot among the widely acclaimed books in its class. It just wasn’t a story that captivated or enthralled me the way The Hunger Games, Divergent, or even Blood Red Road did.

First off, I didn’t know what to expect from this book going in other than its wide acclaim and highly decorated award shelf. The only element I was aware of was that it is told in a male’s POV, which for YA is a rare treat and one I like to experience every now and again.

Ship Breaker portrays life in the distant future when petrol has pretty much run out and the oil ships off the coast are being scavenged by “ship breakers” for valuable scraps of copper, steel and other precious metals. It clearly takes place in the coastal regions of the US where “city killer” hurricanes ravage the area and subject the inhabitants to a constant state of minimal survival. Nailer, the protagonist, is a light crew ship scavenger who like everyone else dreams of one day finding a “lucky strike.” Well, as with all dreams, they are free therefore can be enjoyed in abundance. However, all that changes when Nailer is faced with a life changing decision as he stumbles upon his “lucky strike” in the form of a wealthy girl and her destroyed Clipper ship in desperate need of his help.

This novel does a good job of setting the stage to portray the struggles of loyalty, integrity and ethics. It begs the questions of: How far will someone go to rise above their desperate means in search of something better? Is there hope to accomplish more than what you’ve been raised to be? How much of a motivator is wealth and riches when all you’ve had in life is a meager existence and constant struggle for survival? All harrowing and deep considerations that if you’re not in the right frame of mind, it will just drag you down at accelerated speeds. Overall though, the plot is compelling, the writing is solid and the cast has a good balance of good versus evil.

So what was my hang up? I guess all I can say is that I just didn’t get lost in the story, nor did I feel I was chasing the ending with any sort of hunger or excitement. It was more like being navigated through bleak events as a complicit bystander with no real vested interest in any of the characters or outcome. That just goes to show you that mood, perspective and timing is everything in the reading experience. So that’s what I’m chalking this up to. :/ Will I check out the next installment of The Drowned Cities? Possibly… on audio, but I’m in no hurry to see what happens next. I guess I needed something a bit more uplifting at the moment. But Ship Breaker is a good story with a definite intended audience, it’s just not me.
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Jan 29, 2011 Margo Berendsen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-my-reads, ya-science-fiction-dystopian, young-adult, dystopia

A hard core dystopian world of the future after global warming has raised the level of the oceans. New Orleans is now underwater and oil and gas has been depleted. High-tech sailing ships now roam the oceans and the rusting hulks of diesel ships have become the gritty world of the "ship breakers" - aggressive gangs that tear down the old ships for parts. Children work in these gangs because small bodies are needed to scramble through the ducts.

I both loved and feared this author's vision of the...more A hard core dystopian world of the future after global warming has raised the level of the oceans. New Orleans is now underwater and oil and gas has been depleted. High-tech sailing ships now roam the oceans and the rusting hulks of diesel ships have become the gritty world of the "ship breakers" - aggressive gangs that tear down the old ships for parts. Children work in these gangs because small bodies are needed to scramble through the ducts.

I both loved and feared this author's vision of the future. In addition to all the changes to geography, there's the frightening addition of cateory 6 hurricanes, called "city killers." The world has been forced to go completely "green": biodiesel, solar and wind power. But at the same time, society has splintered into haves and have-nots and instead of countries and states, you now have territorial clans and gangs. There doesn't appear to be any police or government in this world. And there are genetically engineered "half-men" - I won't spoil this with any details, but they added a very interesting aspect to this book.

The unique setting and world-building were my favorite part of this book. The author also does a great job developing the characters of Nailer and his father, his friend Pima and with the half-man Tool.

It just occurred to me some parallels between this story and the great 1980's dystopian movie, the Road Warrior. Different setting, but similar character development

Nailer's father is a particularly powerful representation of one of the many dark sides of this dystopia, and ranks as one of the best antagonists I've encountered in a long time.

Nailer, the main character who who doesn't know his own age (but we suspect he's probably right about 12 or 13, before his growth spurt), has a wonderful character-arc through the story. This boy has real heart, in a culture where survival often trumps heart.

The ending really pulled together with a breathless chase and high-tech pirate fight scene that will have you practically tearing pages to get to the next page.

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Mar 17, 2010 Kathleen Houlihan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very enjoyable dystopian read. The world building and character development were excellent, and the language was poetic enough to reflect the beauty and ugliness of the world, without being over the top... enjoyed Nailer's realization that the world looked different depending on who you were, whether you were a beach rat or a swank: "To him, it looked like home. He wondered what Nita saw." I also loved that race wasn't an issue... everyone was shades of brown, tan, and cream, with a rainbow of h...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Steph Su rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bacigalupi's writing is vivid and tense, and I love the world that he has created here, full of gritty danger and dog-eats-dog, eye-for-an-eye, every man for himself competition. I never fully felt much empathy for the characters though; for me, it felt like, while the writing was superb and great for the genre, the characters were lacking in the heart and humanity that I crave from any book I read. They seemed like stonehearted actors playing out their roles instead of real people, real teenage...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Krista added it · review of another edition

A timely book set in a post-Katrina Gulf Coast where New Orleans is completely submerged, and people no longer depend upon oil for energy. Nailer and his crew are ship breakers, who spend their days inside wrecked tankers, removing parts for salvage. Nailer's work is risky, dark, and dangerous. His life outside the tanker is even more precarious, with an abusive father and a precarious existence spent on the edge of starvation or annihilation by the powerful storms that regularly course through...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Suzette Gee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

This is a great adventure and also one of the most original novels I've read all year. Nailer is a 15-year-old boy who lives along the gulf of Mexico about a hundred years in the future. It's so interesting the things that are the same and different in this future world, but lots of things are under water. Nailer helps scavenge materials from old oiler shipwrecks and is the child of an abusive, drug-addicted father. When the ship of a wealthy young girl crashes during a storm, it sets off a chai...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, environmental, speculative-fiction, here-comes-the-apocalypse, ya-dystopia, young-adult, young-adult-speculative-fiction

Four stars. I really enjoyed this future world with it's melted polar ice caps, food shortages, brutal work environments,the mishmash of religions. Mostly I loved the people: Nailer, Nita , Sadna and Pima, Lucky Strike and Tool. A world where loyalty is hard- won and death is never far away, whether due to injury, disease, or starvation. I realize what an easy luxurious life I've had (even after a busy twelve hour day at work).

I just finished reading it and I'm really irked that my husband pic...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Drowned City	14	35	Mar 16, 2013 09:07am
The Regular Reader: Ship Breaker	5	20	Mar 15, 2013 08:52pm
English 11 1B/D: ship breaker	7	24	Mar 15, 2013 07:28pm
Johnson County Li...: CHALLENGE: Read Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, Blood Red Road by Moira Young or Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. Create your own dystopian world in 200-400 words.	4	28	Jul 09, 2012 12:38pm
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About Paolo Bacigalupi

Paolo Bacigalupi’s writing has appeared in High Country News, Salon.com, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. It has been anthologized in various “Year’s Best” collections of short science fiction and fantasy, nominated for three Nebula and five Hugo Awards, and won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best sf short story of the year.

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“Killing isn't free. It takes something out of you every time you do it. You get their life; they get a piece of your soul. It's always a trade.” — 62 people liked it

“I'm a chess piece. A pawn,' she said. 'I can be sacrificed, but I cannot be captured. To be captured would be the end of the game.” — 25 people liked it

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