Each person, place, or thing that is mentioned only once creates and even richer environment for the characters to grow in.

There were constant hints to more, more of this world that we would never get to see. It feels as though Bacigalupi plotted out every little detail of the way the word worked but only revealed half of what he created with the audience. He quickly faces the struggle of helping himself or helping the strange girl.Īs I said earlier, the world building involved in this novel is exquisite. One day, following a hurricane, he finds a shiny new clipper shipwrecked on the coast and a young girl unconscious inside. His father, a drunk and drug addicted man, beats him while he deals with the pressure of growing older and no longer being able to perform the same scavenging as he did when he was smaller. Nailer, a young teenager who lives in the Gulf Coast, works with his crew to scavenge materials from old oil tankers that have washed ashore. Shipbreaker takes place in the future, following great flooding of the coasts around New Orleans and the Central Americas. The book got mixed feelings at the meeting, but for me, not sure what to expect going in, it was great! The world was fresh and the internal battle of the main character between loyalty to family and loyalty to friends had great depth and drove the plot. Two of my most beloved authors, Rick Riordan and Maggie Stiefvater, both gave it a fair amount of praise and the premise intrigued me. It was something I had had on my radar for a long time. Ages 12–up.Shipbreaker was a book read for my school's book club and recommended to the group by your's truly.

At its core, the novel is an exploration of Nailer's discovery of the nature of the world around him and his ability to transcend that world's expectations. Bacigalupi's cast is ethnically and morally diverse, and the book's message never overshadows the storytelling, action-packed pacing, or intricate world-building.

As Nailer and Lucky Girl escape toward the drowned ruins of New Orleans, they witness rampant class disparity on individual and international levels (tribes whose lands were flooded have taken to the seas as pirates, attacking multinational shipping firms). When a storm strands a beautiful shipping heiress on the beach (earning her the nickname “Lucky Girl”), Nailer manages both to infuriate members of his camp (including his father) and to become embroiled in upper-class trade disputes that he barely comprehends. Teenage Nailer scavenges ships with his crewmates, eking out a poverty-filled existence while avoiding dangers that range from giant “city killer” hurricanes to his vicious, drug-addicted father. ) makes a stellar YA debut with this futuristic tale of class imbalance on the Gulf Coast.

Shipbreaker by paolo bacigalupi