Ship breaker

While this book holds a lot of promise - Bacigalupi created a rich, compelling world and there's no shortage of action - ultimately it fell flat for me. The end is much too abrupt and although it's possible a sequel is planned, from this vantage point I don't think there's enough of a narrative arc to justify a second book. I was also disappointed at the lack of character development. Even though the heroes go through quite a lot (one character's father is out to kill him, for Pete's sake) they never evolved past names on a page for me. The characters felt more like stand-ins for the reader rather than real people.

My personal opinion aside, I do believe many teens are going to love this book and I plan to recommend it. Dystopias are always popular and this one is sure to appeal to fans of The Hunger Games or Joss Whedon's Firefly (TV).