Ship Breaker

by Paolo Bacigalupi
PRMS paperback 326 pages
genre: dystopian fiction, adventure

I didn't realize I hadn't blogged about this until I just blogged about the sequel! I really enjoyed this book a lot. It's dark, but powerfully written. I find it interesting that Cina really likes The Maze Runner (I don't) and she really dislikes this book . . . I wonder if there's an underlying political perspective that I'm not seeing. Or if the characters just "speak" differently to us. I was drawn to the protagonist - Nailer Lopez - and his struggles to avoid his father's dangerous wrath. I also liked how Nailer wanted more out of life than just surviving. His friend Pima and Pima's mother Sadna are wonderful characters. This is just such a wonderful book!

added 23 Jan 2014:
I marked this passage and wanted to record it here:

(from chapter 9, page 99)

Now though, the dark reek of the oil room filled his mind - the memory of being up to his neck in warm death staring up at Sloth high above him, her little LED paint mark glowing - salvation if only he could convince her, if only he could reach out and touch that part of her that cared for something other than herself, knowing that there was a lever inside her somewhere, and if only he could pull it, she would go for help and he would be saved and everything would be fine.

He'd been so desperate to get Sloth to care.

But he hadn't been able to find the lever. Or maybe the lever hadn't been there after all. Some people couldn't see any farther than themselves. 

I'm not sure exactly why this resonated so much for me. Partly because he is remembering a time of desperation, a time when his life hung in the balance and he was so desperate for salvation. Perhaps because of his realization that "some people" cannot "see any farther than themselves." I worry sometimes about being selfish and self-centered. I wonder, too, about finding the "lever" for some of my students in terms of getting them to care about their future and their education.

I had marked another passage, but the post-it flag got lost. This one could be a re-read someday, so I'll probably mark more then!