Bibliography
Bacigalupi, P. (2009). Ship breaker. New York: Little Brown Company.
Advanced Reading Copy
323 Pages
Plot
Nailer, a teenage boy living in the Gulf of Mexico, is a ship breaker in a post apocalyptic United States. During this time, the United States is governed by the few wealthy individuals, rife with corruption and poverty. Nailer goes on defunct ships and strips them of their copper wiring. Unfortunately, he is getting too old and thus too big to fit down into the depths of the sunken ships. When a big storm hits and stops work in the gulf, Nailer discovers a decaying yacht in a secluded cove. Nailer begins to search on the ship and realizes that the wealth on the ship could be the answers of all of his problems. However, he soon finds the body of a young woman who is still alive. In a world where wealth dictates survival, Nailer must decide what he should do with the young woman. Does he have the right to take one life to help his entire village?
Review
Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker is thought provoking fiction which asks readers to judge not only the individuals within the story, but also society as a whole. The book presents a future where global warming, social class and human rights are at the core of the book’s periphery issues. Nevertheless, Bacigalupi’s portrayal of the main characters takes the primary focus with interesting characterization. Each character is presented with a life which leaves little choice and harsh realities. However, despite this lack of freedoms, each character must make decisions which emphasize their own moral and personal beliefs. In many ways, Nailer is presented in such a way that leaves the reader to assume that Bacigalupi believes in the redeeming nature of mankind despite glaring faults.
Genre
Science Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level
As this book has examples of language, abuse and violence, I would recommend this book for older tweens, in grades 6 – 8 and up.
Similar Content
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Personal Thoughts
I really enjoyed Ship Breaker, it is a book which probably should be read by older tweens. However with the popularity of books like The Hunger Games and Incarceron, Ship Breakers is sure to be popular for Tweens. Nevertheless, this book is definitely for older readers.
Subjects/Themes
Postapocalyptic World
Social Issues: Wealth vs. Poverty, Human Rights
Morality
Coming of Age
Awards
2011 Printz Award Winner
National Book Award Finalist
Series information
No known sequels.
Character names/descriptions
Nailer: A young boy working as a ship breaker who strips copper wiring off of defunct ships.
Lucky Girl: The lone survivor on the ship.
Pima: A girl who is boss to Nailer, but also helps him out throughout his journey.
Annotation
When a boy with nothing to lose finds a ship which could change his life forever, should he kill the lone survivor to save his life or does he have a moral obligation to save her?
Bacigalupi, P. (2009). Ship breaker. New York: Little Brown Company.
Advanced Reading Copy
323 Pages
Plot
Nailer, a teenage boy living in the Gulf of Mexico, is a ship breaker in a post apocalyptic United States. During this time, the United States is governed by the few wealthy individuals, rife with corruption and poverty. Nailer goes on defunct ships and strips them of their copper wiring. Unfortunately, he is getting too old and thus too big to fit down into the depths of the sunken ships. When a big storm hits and stops work in the gulf, Nailer discovers a decaying yacht in a secluded cove. Nailer begins to search on the ship and realizes that the wealth on the ship could be the answers of all of his problems. However, he soon finds the body of a young woman who is still alive. In a world where wealth dictates survival, Nailer must decide what he should do with the young woman. Does he have the right to take one life to help his entire village?
Review
Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker is thought provoking fiction which asks readers to judge not only the individuals within the story, but also society as a whole. The book presents a future where global warming, social class and human rights are at the core of the book’s periphery issues. Nevertheless, Bacigalupi’s portrayal of the main characters takes the primary focus with interesting characterization. Each character is presented with a life which leaves little choice and harsh realities. However, despite this lack of freedoms, each character must make decisions which emphasize their own moral and personal beliefs. In many ways, Nailer is presented in such a way that leaves the reader to assume that Bacigalupi believes in the redeeming nature of mankind despite glaring faults.
Genre
Science Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level
As this book has examples of language, abuse and violence, I would recommend this book for older tweens, in grades 6 – 8 and up.
Similar Content
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Personal Thoughts
I really enjoyed Ship Breaker, it is a book which probably should be read by older tweens. However with the popularity of books like The Hunger Games and Incarceron, Ship Breakers is sure to be popular for Tweens. Nevertheless, this book is definitely for older readers.
Subjects/Themes
Postapocalyptic World
Social Issues: Wealth vs. Poverty, Human Rights
Morality
Coming of Age
Awards
2011 Printz Award Winner
National Book Award Finalist
Series information
No known sequels.
Character names/descriptions
Nailer: A young boy working as a ship breaker who strips copper wiring off of defunct ships.
Lucky Girl: The lone survivor on the ship.
Pima: A girl who is boss to Nailer, but also helps him out throughout his journey.
Annotation
When a boy with nothing to lose finds a ship which could change his life forever, should he kill the lone survivor to save his life or does he have a moral obligation to save her?
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