Ship breaker

a novel

English language

Published Jan. 4, 2010 by Little, Brown and Co..

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (1 review)

In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.

3 editions

Review of 'Ship breaker' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I finished this book far too quickly: it was very engaging and fun. [a:Paolo Bacigalupi|1226977|Paolo Bacigalupi|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1278742221p2/1226977.jpg] has created a truly engaging story made ready accessible thanks to its simple language and plot. That's not to say that this is a shallow book: it's set in a very realistic postapocalyptic world and deals with the issues of global warming, famine, and our dependence on oil.

It feels a lot simpler and cleaner than [b:The Windup Girl|6597651|The Windup Girl|Paolo Bacigalupi|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278940608s/6597651.jpg|6791425], but also touches on many of the similar themes. I think I enjoyed that book more than Ship Breaker, but I can still recommend either without reservations. One thing to note is that this is a young adult novel and it really shows in how it deals with characters and the plot, though it does have some very dark things (like murder, addiction, etc) thrown into the mix.

My full review is …

Subjects

  • Conduct of life -- Fiction
  • Recycling (Waste) -- Fiction
  • Science fiction