book review – THE DROWNED CITIES

Paolo Bacigalupi’s debut YA novel, Ship Breaker, was everything a YA book for boys should be. Bacigalupi crafted a fast-paced thriller set in a world devastated by ecological disaster, and he populated with a two-fisted male lead, Nailer. Although his latest YA book, The Drowned Cities, does not center around Nailer, the character we came to know in Ship Breaker, Bacigalupi has returned to the same dangerous world, this time with new characters and a new adventures, and some familiar favorites like Tool, the bio-engineered half-man. The action is still fast-paced, the story still compelling, and Bacigalupi is still a great writer, and the great thing is you don’t need to read Ship Breaker to enjoy or understand it (though I can’t image why you wouldn’t want to read Ship Breaker).