Ship Breaker

I am always looking for the next book to put into someone's hands who can't get over the fast-paced, adventure of The Hunger Games. Similar plot lines have been written, female archer fighting to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. Yet, it is not one of these books which I put into the hands of these book lovers, but rather the 2010 Printz winning novel, Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. With a dose of Treasure Island like adventure/survival, a dash of Hunger Games apocalyptic intrigue, a pinch of Dickens coming-of-age, and a whole lot of originality, Ship Breaker is a timeless story.

On the American Gulf coast, Nailer lives in a ship-breaking beach community. From a young age, children are trained in how to strip an old ship of all of its useful materials. It's dirty, risky and dangerously competitive. Nailers luck seems to have changed when he finds a “swank” boat washed up after a huge storm. Inside the boat, however, is a girl- A girl who could get in the way of his fortune if kept alive. This book sparks questions of ethical “what would you do's?” in a future world not un-like our own. Teens will be interested to find that ship-breaking is occurring in some impoverished coastal communities!

Reviewed by Erin Reifsnider
Young Adult Coordinator