One of science fictions pleasures is the dislocation it confronts readers with, sometimes from page one. Ship breaker takes place in a futuristic world that has barely survived an environmental disaster of major proportions. When paolo bacigalupis young adult novel ship breaker begins, nailer, a boy in his late teens, is helping. Paolo bacigalupis young adult novel ship breaker 2010 was a finalist for. Nailer works to break up ships left stranded in the new world and he inhabits a vividly imagined world. Paolo bacigalupi is the new york times bestselling author of the highly acclaimed the drowned cities and ship breaker, a michael l. He is also the author of the locus award nominee the doubt factory. Roughly a hundred years from now, the ice caps have melted, causing. I gotta know if the second half of this book gets better. Series was designed to cover groups of books generally understood as such see wikipedia. Mar 01, 2011 this is a booktrailer for paolo bacigalupis awardwinning young adult novel, ship breaker. Bacigalupi followed this impressive debut with a novel, the windup girl night. This is a booktrailer for paolo bacigalupis awardwinning young adult novel, ship breaker.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Original sections on setting, genre, themes, etc 4. Ship breaker follows the story of nailer, an impoverished child laborer who lives in a world where. May 01, 2010 a gritty teen betrays his father and flees his grim existence in a postglobalwarming gulf coast village to protect a young woman he barely knows in this gripping futuristic thriller. This thrilling bestseller and national book award finalist is a gritty, highstakes adventure of a teenage boy faced with conflicting loyalties, set in a dark future america devastated by the forces of climate change. In a futuristic world, teenaged nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. When he discovers a survivor on a grounded ship, he must decide whether to do his job or to rescue her. From there, i forced myself to read ship breaker and finish it. Learn ship breaker with free interactive flashcards. Bacigalupis latest publication is the young adult novel ship breakerlittle, brown, 2010. Ship breaker, the new novel from highly acclaimed author paolo bacigalupi, poses a challenge to critics. Currently in my english class, we are reading the novel ship breaker, and are assignment is to cast three of the characters from the book if there was to be a future movie, based on there similar physical features and acting experience. At its core, the novel is an exploration of nailers discovery of the nature of the world around him and his ability to.
Ship breaker is a science fiction novel by paolo bacigalupi. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, nailer faces the most important decision of his life. Although its never explicitly stated that ship breaker takes place in the same world, it is similar enough paolo bacigalupi is destined to be one of the grand old masters of science fiction in. Sf novelist bacigalupi the windup girl makes a stellar ya debut with this futuristic tale of class imbalance on the gulf coast.
When nailer escapes death from drowning in oil, earning. An excellent book, aimed at young adults and so containing some violence and mildish swearing, ship breaker tells the tale of nailer, scratching a living in the gulf of mexico in a dystopian future of climate change and limited power and food. Synopsis in americas gulf coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quotaand hopefully live to see another day. His another famous novel, ship breaker, was also recognized as the most read adult novel that earned him high recognitions such as micheal l. A vocabulary list featuring ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi, chapters 18. But when, by luck or by chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, nailer faces the most important decision of his life. People who like ship breaker book by paolo bacigalupi c. This study guide consists of approximately 25 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of ship breaker. Fifteenyearold nailer works on the light crew as a ship breaker, salvaging metals from abandoned oil tankers. Ship breaker, 2011, 336 pages, paolo bacigalupi, 0748129383. In americas gulf coast region, grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts by crews of young people. The polar ice caps have melted and new orleans is underwater. True, these pirates arent those genial, disney crews of the caribbean, and they dont have eye. Ship breaker, for example, is dystopia at its grittiest and least fantastical.
Through the novel ship breaker, he tries to depict an imaginary plot in order to attract adult readers. It was just a wordcould see its letters all strung together. Bacigalupis cast is ethnically and morally diverse, and the books message never overshadows the storytelling, actionpacked pacing, or intricate worldbuilding. The ship breaker book series by paolo bacigalupi includes books ship breaker, the drowned cities, and tool of war. Ship breaker is a 2010 young adult novel by paolo bacigalupi set in a postapocalyptic future. Jul 30, 2012 this months read was the book ship breaker, by paolo bacigalupi. The sea levels have risen, and in the gulf coast most major cities are now submerged. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi. Bacigalupis standout talent is to immerse the reader, and in ship breaker we are taken to a dystopian future, post peak oil, where nailer and his crew scavenge for copper and other valuable stuff in the guts of wrecked ships washed up by the retreating tides of the accelerated age.
The book is set on the gulf coast in america and imagines what life would be like after the seas have risen. The story takes place somewhere along the gulf of mexico, sometime in the future. He is also the author of the edgar awards nominee the doubt factory. Commentary and guiding questions for each chapter 29 in all. Why science fiction in an interview with the national book foundation, bacigalupi. Maya, photoshop, ae, cool edit, premiere and sound forge. Oct 03, 2011 an excellent book, aimed at young adults and so containing some violence and mildish swearing, ship breaker tells the tale of nailer, scratching a living in the gulf of mexico in a dystopian future of climate change and limited power and food.
Kristen poppleton, director of programs july 30, 2012. Strip the ship for all its worth or rescue its lone survivor. In americas gulf coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quotaand hopefull. Printz award winner and a national book award finalist. There is no lack of action in this novel, which works to its credit. May, 2010 unlike the windup girl, ship breaker has a direction and a purpose, and it is told in nononsense fashion. But the other side of that equation is what we do with whatever. May 22, 2014 book trailer for ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi. A good rule of thumb is that series have a conventional name and are intentional creations, on the part of the author or publisher. This is the third in a monthly series of posts focused on integrating literacy and climate science. Set in the future, ship breaker takes place in a world that has been besieged by the impacts of climate change. Although its never explicitly stated that ship breaker takes place in the same world, it is similar enough paolo bacigalupi is destined to be one of the grand old masters of science fiction in another couple of decades. I dont know, but as it kept building up, i got more and more sucked into the world and even read up to three in the morning on a school day.
On the gulf coast nearby, humanity has reverted to survival mode and a small economy has grown from the scavenging of washed up oil tankers for bits of copper and other valuables. How do you explain how good it is without a dozen spoiler alerts. New orleans i and new orleans ii are underwater and frequent intense storms called city killers are a part of daily life. Ship breaker reads very much like a ya version of his hugo and nebulawinning the windup girl. Gripping but bloody dystopian tale will make teens think.
Ship breaker paolo bacigalupi by jenna allen on prezi. The two talk, and the captain wants to know why nailer didnt just betray nita to pyce. The ship sets sail, and while nailer feels alone without tool, the captain takes him to his cabin to find out more about him. Human civilization is in decline for ecological reasons. Through the novel ship breaker, he tries to depict. I chose to cast nailer lopez main character, nita a. See the complete ship breaker series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles. The trailer is made in conjunction with inls 530 at unc, chapel hill. This thrilling bestseller and national book award finalist is a gritty, highstakes adventure of a teenage boy faced with conflicting loyalties, set in a dark future america devastated by the forces of.
You may have heard of the companion book, the drowned cities. The hero, nailer, lives a gritty, desperate life scavenging copper wire from the ducts of beached oil tankers while dreaming of sailing away on one of the hightech clipper ships that are bound for higher seas and a better world. Climate change and violent storms have put much of the gulf coastal area under water, petroleumbased fuel is scarce, and oil tankers are obsolete. Climate lessons, climate literacy, literacy, solutions tags. Unlike the windup girl, ship breaker has a direction and a purpose, and it is told in nononsense fashion. Ship breaker is a gripping read, with an engaging protagonist, but it is the world building that is the real star.
Ship breaker is very much an atsea book, a pirate story. Fraser, hansdieter sues, aug 28, 1997, science, 435 pages. Like many concepts in the book world, series is a somewhat fluid and contested notion. To get to her fathers allies up the coast, they will have to contend with marauding mercenaries, strange dogmen. While ship breaker is a young adult novel and the calorie man a short. Ship breaker little, brown book group, 2011 in the shadow of the dinosaurs early mesozoic tetrapods, nicholas c. People in small seaside communities like bright sands beach, the community nailer lopez belongs to, survive by doing whatever they can. Climate change and violent storms have put much of the gulf coastal area under water. A vocabulary list featuring ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi, chapters 16. One of my few criticisms is that some of the characters were lacking in development, but from reading the excerpt from the first two chapters of the second book in the series, some may have their full identities revealed in later books. Paolo bacigalupis 2010 novel ship breaker is the quintessential postapocalyptic scenario in which the merging of ethnicities and cultures in overpopulated metropolises have created hybrid.
This concepttrailer is based in the novel ship breaker from paolo bacigalupi. Choose from 57 different sets of ship breaker flashcards on quizlet. Strip the ship for all its worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. Ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi overdrive rakuten. And guess what, i fucking loved the rest of the book. And people thought they knew what it meantit was a thing everyone had an opinion aboutthat it was all you had when you didnt have anything else, that family was there, that blood was thicker than water, whatever. A study guide is a comprehensive aid to reflective reading. Ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi things mean a lot. More paolo bacigalupi check out his website for more fiction and whats next for the author. The author vividly paints the small microcosm that is the life of the ship breakers and successfully creates a culture based on past histories of. The book takes place in the future after the seas have risen to the point of flooding coastal cities. Not all tv is bad manufactured landscapes is a documentary that incited bacigalupis interest in ship breaking.