How Paolo Bacigalupi packed so much action and and so many great characters into a novel I read in one night is a mystery to me. When I was 85% done with this book, I thought there was no way he'd be able to wrap it up to my satisfaction. So many excellent characters that I want to know more about! So many possibilities for our hero's future! So much drama on the high seas! And, honestly, I might have super-loved Ship Breaker if it had been a little longer and I'd had my curiosity satisfied. Still, it was a very strong book.

My favorite things about it:

1. Hard to put down
2. Filled with insight into class issues ("swank" sounds so much better than "very rich person," right?)
3. Shows the consequences of environmental degradation without building the whole book around the mistakes made by past generations. I told Jeff that I pictured the world of this book kind of like the movie Waterworld, only much much better.

Biggest bummer:

I was left with so many unanswered questions. What's up with Tool? What's going to happen to Nailer and Pima? What's Pyce's next move? Will there be a sequel?! ( )

I read this book as part of my class' lunchtime readers group. We all enjoyed it very much. ( )

2.5 Stars rounded up to 3

Well I expected more from an award winning book. There were some moments where it was so engaging and then the pace would drop off significantly and I would lose interest. It probably would have been okay if there were compelling characters, but I just didn't connect with their story. The writing itself was really quite good and I found myself admiring some descriptions or phrases etc. I will add in content warnings when I am on my computer tomorrow. ( )

While still dystopian, this novel was much easier to handle emotionally than the author's adult fiction. Less grim and more hopeful. I would consider it solarpunk. ( )

This dystopia takes place on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico in a time that seems to be about 200 years in the future. Global warming has resulted in more severe and unpredictable storms than we have ever seen. Current cities have long since been swallowed by rising sea levels, and it's unclear whether there is any real sort of government remaining in the U.S. or if society is only run by corporations and clans.

I was immediately pulled into the world described in the story as it is told by Nailer, a teenager who lives in poverty and works as a salvage collector. He crawls deep into ancient oil tankers to collect copper wiring and other valuable materials under horrible and unsafe conditions.

Many of the characters are pretty cliched and so is the dialogue, but the world and entire social system in the story are fascinating, and the action is very fast-paced. It was a really fun read, and I'm pretty sure that there will be a sequel. ( )