‘Ship Breaker’ by Paolo Bacigulupi
“Nailer’s time is running out. He’s getting too big for his work [stripping copper wire from old oil tankers and once he is off the crew he is on his own, stuck in a shack on the beach with no food, money or earning his keep. He has one last change. The thing all crew members dream about, a lucky strike, has hit the shape of a clipper ship beached during the last freak storm. If he could hold off the scavengers long enough for him to get the oil out, he might be rich. But wait! He finds something else in there which could possibly change his life forever.” ‘Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigulupi (Blurb)
The book Ship Breaker is based in an unreal world where young kids break apart old oil tankers pulling out copper wire and sheets of metal to earn money to survive. They live on the edge of society. The main characters are Nailer, Nita and Pima. Nailer finds a clipper ship after a massive storm and what he finds in there changes his life forever.
Ship Breaker is a thrilling fantasy novel for young teenagers aged around 13 – 16. Boys and girls can read this book but boys would like it more. It is hard to understand at the start of the book but once you start reading you just get sucked into the book and you can’t put it down. Paolo Bacigalupi describes these characters and the story in such a way that it feels like you are there with them. This novel was very different to any other novel I have read and this is why I enjoyed it. I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars because it was a great read but I think the author could have made it from the main character’s point of view.
By Joel, Year 9
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Meet Nailer, a young boy stuck in a different world, in which he must strip copper wires from old oil tankers located and beached on land. He must meet the requirements of copper each day to gain enough money to barely stay alive. But what will happen when Nailer’s luck increases and his decisions will mean the most for his future? If you are intrigued about this story, like I was, than the story ‘Ship Breaker’ is for you!
Ship Breaker, a book by Paolo Bacigalupi, tells the story of a small boy named Nailer. He lives on a beach with the ‘light crew’ and other various groups, yet has nothing but a small shack with enough water and food to stay alive. But what will Nailer find after the tremendous storm, which will change his life forever? What will happen when Nailer gets too big for the ‘light crew’ and he must compete for the heavy crew? How will Nailer react in a near-death experience? Will Nailer’s luck and fortune be incomprehensible like the famous ‘Lucky Strike?’
Ship Breaker was a fantastic story with many decisions and choice making that a teenager could relate to. It includes many adventures and discoveries that a young adult would enjoy. I was fascinated by the way the writer had described each situation and section in a different way. I was also captivated by the way that Paolo Bacigalupi had kept the scenes suspenseful but not dragged out in any particular way.
Overall, I enjoyed the novel ‘Ship Breaker’ because of its relation to real life circumstances and events. I recommend this book for people interested in the adventure genre, aged from 12 onwards.
Jack, Year 9
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Nailer and his crew are part of a business that involves stripping ships for copper and other valuables. Nailer is always dreaming of getting a lucky strike until one day a wild storm hits. What will the storm wash up that could change Nailer’s life forever?
The story is set on the edge of civilisation cut off from the outside world. Nailer and all the other crews live out there doing the same old thing every day. The ships are set on a abandoned beach where they are left for the crews to strip them down to the bare metal. In this story the main character is Nailer. The events are related through his eyes and what he sees. There is also Pima who is the leader of Nailer’s crew. She is friends with Nailer and always sticks up for him. The story is about Nailer and the crew’s adventures in and out of the ships. Nailer has always wondered what it would be like to have a lucky strike, but when he gets stuck in an oil tank that’s the last thing that comes to mind. The reason why I liked the story is because it has a well planned out plot and there is always something going on.
Jackson, Year 9
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Why why why why oh why does Nailer have to be put in this situation with the choice of wealth or the death of a girl! Nailer is a small teenager living out amongst a group of wrecked ships. He is part of a crew that goes searching for and collecting items in ships, extracting valuable resources. Nailer’s job is extracting copper wiring. Once Nailer gets too big he won’t be able to fit in the small ducts of the ship anymore so he is afraid. If he can’t fit through small ducts on the ship he has to find other work, or starve. Besides his job, he is mainly scared of his abusive, alcoholic father.
After a large storm, Nailer works on one of these large vessels, sailing the oceans. It has been beached and Nailer and Pima go out to scavenge it before everyone else gets there and takes the good stuff. The book would be really depressing if Nailer left the girl to die and got rich off the salvage. I thought it was pretty obvious he’s going to try and save the girl. But this is when Ship Breaker was really good. That decision; at the point in the story where Nailer is making that choice and is fighting in his head about what he should do. The actions and motivations were quite and tough. It was those choices that the characters made and consequences that really helped this book shine. This book was so different compared to our present lives at the moment.
The book was set in a fantasy world and it plunged readers into a foreign and bewildering culture. Bacigulupi has come closer to home for Ship Breaker, setting the novel along the Gulf Coast, in a tiny village dedicated to salvaging ancient shipwrecks. Ship Breaker follows three main characters, all of them teenagers.
The main characters are Nailer, Pima and Richard Lopez. Nailer and Pima are trapped in an existence of unimaginable poverty. But the strongest must be the abusive, alcoholic Richard Lopez, a scary person who stretches over the entire novel.
I recommend this book would best suit teenagers from 11 years to 16 years of age because I believe that that age group will find this book the most enjoyable, adventurous and edgy to read. This book is probably best for boys cause it contains a bit of violence.
The book was a long book to read but it was enjoyable to read for a group assignment, with characters and situations that made the characters so different that it’s hard to identify the good from the bad.
Adam, Year 9