Ship Breaker

Hulks of freighters, cargo ships, and tankers from our present day line the Gulf Coast near New Orleans in this futuristic adventure story. Nailer Lopez is fifteen and due to his small size, he is working "light crew". His job is to crawl through these rusted hulks to find valuable copper wiring and other metals which can be scavenged. It is a very rough and tumble life the scavenge crews live--always in danger from leaking chemicals, oil, and other treacherous things which could happen while they are trying desperately to meet their daily quotas for their crew bosses.

Nailer's father, Richard Lopez, is the devil we all love to hate. Drug addicted, he beats Nailer with little or no provocation.

When a "city killer" (hurricane) threatens the coastal area where Nailer and the other crews live, a luxurious clipper ship wrecks(think of our most modern yachts with sleek design features which make them ultra fast), Nailer and Prima decide to scavenge it with the hopes of making enough money to escape their brutal lives. Can they keep their find of fancy silver plates and some gold from the other crew members? Can they keep their secret from Nailer's father? What do they decide to do with the "swank" (wealthy) girl who has survived the wreck of the clipper ship? Can they trust what the "swank" named Nita tells them regarding a reward from her wealthy father?

I thoroughly was involved in this book! I can see why it won the Prinz award and was a National Book Finalist. I am amazed that this is Paolo Bacigalupi's first novel! It is very well written. There are violent parts (no more brutal or violent than The Hunger Games). Fans of dystopian fiction will love this title!