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When the world falls apart, the power struggle to gobble up the pieces will get ugly. From religious radicals to pseudo-militaries who are nothing more than vicious men with weapons, no one will be safe from the greed and lack of humanity, especially the innocent. To the world at large, they have become the weak to be consumed and disposed of. In The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi, the world couldn't get much uglier.
Mahlia's life has never been easy, but after she was captured by soldiers and her hand was cut off, she was doomed in a world where you don't survive long if you can't take care of herself. Luckily for her, Mouse was there to save her. Now she apprentices for the doctor in their village and scrapes by with a pretty decent life: a job, a friend, and a purpose. But all that changes when a group of soldiers come searching for a wounded half-man (soldier experiments that combined men with animals to create the ultimate fighters). In their search, they hold the village hostage as they hunt, but Mahlia has a secret. She knows exactly where the half-man is. And he is holding Mouse hostage.
When Mahlia and Mouse stumbled upon the half-man who was half-dead, he still had enough rage in him to grab Mouse. Mahlia convinces him to let her get antibiotics at the village in exchange for Mouse, but the soldiers ruin her plan. Desperate Mahlia refuses to lose Mouse, but despite her best efforts, everything goes wrong. Now she is left with Tool, the half-man, and the soldiers have taken Mouse with them. Tool is the only one who knows the world outside their village, and it isn't pretty. He begrudgingly agrees to help her find her friend because if there is one thing he remembers, it is having a true pack.
First of all, you have to know that if you are reading this story thinking it is an extension of Shipbreaker, it truly isn't. It may be set in the same world, but the stories are wildly different (and frankly the setting, other than both being post-apocalyptic, are as well). There isn't much of anything to connect these stories, so I am confused as to why Bacigalupi would consider this the second book in the Shipbreaker series. Still, it was a gruesome and ugly story set in a terrifying world. One thing Bacigalupi doesn't do with his YA stories is hold anything back. They are as gritty as the world he created. That means they are also pretty violent, and if your reader isn't ready for that kind of violence, this isn't the kind of story they should read.
As for the post-apocalyptic literary world, this is a great example of loyalty and friendship in an ugly, ugly world. I liked the story, but not as much as I liked Shipbreaker. The ending of the story also wasn't my style, but it might be fine for you. I would certainly pass this story on to any number of students of mine. It would be a perfect book for a young man who struggled to find a book to hold his interest as the action stretches from the very beginning to the very end.
Dystopias are just making my summer! Is that weird? Oh well, weird or not, I have read some awesome YA dystopias, and Nebula winner Paolo Bacigalupi doesn't disappoint with Ship Breaker. You might not be able to pronounce the author's last name, but you won't forget this story once you've finished it.
Nailer is just one of many kids who work the Light Crew on the beach. Light Crew are small kids who can climb into the old rusting hulks of abandoned ships on the beach from a time long gone. They scavenge anything they can, especially copper, from old ships, but hitting the Lucky Strike of an oil pocket is the dream of any scavenge crew. The worst fate is to be thrown from your blood-oath crew for betraying your oath. If you betray your crew, there isn't much hope for you on the beach.
Nailer's mom died long ago and his father waivers between drug-induced hazes and violent abusive rages. His life on Light Crew is the only thing that keeps them fed. His Crew leader, Pima, and her mother are the closest thing to family Nailer has known. When he and Pima discover a shipwreck after a huge "city killer" (hurricane), they decide to scavenge for their own Lucky Strike before anyone else gets there. During their scavenge, however, they find a young girl pinned. If they don't rescue her, she will surely die. Pima wants to kill her and continue the Strike, but Nailer insists on saving the girl they dub Lucky Girl. In doing so, Nailer's very scary father finds them and is determined to sell Lucky Girl to the highest bidder.
Pima and Nailer know they have to get away from Nailer's dad and his psychotic crew, but they underestimate the strength of the crew. During their getaway, they are saved by Pima's mom and a half-man (men genetically engineered with dog/hyena/etc. DNA as "loyal" servants). Tool, the half-man, helps Nailer and Lucky Girl escape to Orleans (part of the old New Orleans and Orleans II) where she can find a ship to save her. The reason she shipwrecked in the first place was because she was outrunning a traitor in her father's company who wanted to use her as leverage for power in his company. Now they don't know which ship and captain can be trusted, but Nailer's dad is hunting them as well. Nailer and Tool must find a way to get Lucky Girl back to her family.
This is an awesome dystopia, with all the bells and whistles. Hard, gruesome work for the majority of they barely-scraping by masses while the leaders live with extravagant pleasures. The disenchanted masses dream of a better life while trudging through the short, painful lives they lead. It makes you love Nailer and Pima and all the others stuck on the beach, but also frustrated with Lucky Girl and her ignorance to their lives. Lucky Girl isn't without redemption, of course. She has a quality that makes people who haven't even met her want to help her. When Nailer sees how many crew members on one of her father's ships would risk their lives to save her, he knows Lucky Girl is a special kind of "swank".
This is a moderately difficult book, in terms of reading level. I would save this story for high skilled junior high through high school. The story is very exciting and interesting. It has some familiar landmarks and cities to keep a student's interest while still exploring a whole new world. The only thing that might be a little confusing is the nicknames and slang the characters use. You get used to the new terms quickly, but when they are first introduced, they can be a little confusing. This is a really great story by a newly acclaimed Sci-Fi author. It is nice when we drag the talented "adult" authors to the YA fun- they never knew what they were missing until they start writing for young adults!
