81 pages • 2 hours read
Ship Breaker
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Book Brief
324
Novel • Fiction
Gulf Coast • Future Dystopia
2010
YA
12-18 years
HL690L
Super Short Summary
In Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, 15-year-old Nailer scavenges on postapocalyptic Gulf Coast beaches for salvageable materials from shipwrecks. Dreaming of a better life, he stumbles upon a beached luxury clipper ship after a hurricane, encountering a wealthy survivor named Nita. Together with his friend Pima, Nailer faces threats from his abusive, addicted father and others while seeking a way to help Nita and find a brighter future. This book contains references to violence, addiction, and abuse.
Gritty
Dark
Suspenseful
Challenging
Emotional
Reviews & Readership
46,111 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Review Roundup
Paolo Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker is lauded for its captivating world-building and compelling characters, providing a thrilling and thought-provoking exploration of a dystopian future. Reviewers highlight its strong environmental themes and fast-paced narrative. Some criticism focuses on its occasionally predictable plot and underdeveloped subplots, but overall, it’s praised as a gripping YA novel.
Who Should Read Ship Breaker?
Readers who enjoy Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi are typically young adults and fans of dystopian, post-apocalyptic fiction. They would also likely appreciate fast-paced adventure stories with strong, resilient characters, similar to those in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games and Scott Westerfeld's Uglies.
46,111 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
324
Novel • Fiction
Gulf Coast • Future Dystopia
2010
YA
12-18 years
HL690L
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