Mock Printz 2026 discussion

Interesting discussion of not only where the world might end up if we continue on this path of destroying our earth but also of what it means to be "family".

Nailer wants to escape his life of backbreaking poverty but his only hope is to find a "lucky strike". He can't read and he has no skills except what he learned on the light crew as a ship breaker. His father keeps him around to have someone to pound on when he's in the mood. All in all, his life sucks.

Then, his lucky strike comes in but at what cost? Will he lose the only family he's ever known? Can he kill someone and not become a "killer"?

Bacigalupi tries to answer the question: How much of our actions are determined by nature and how much by nurture?

While I enjoyed Ship Breaker, I was never really drawn deeply into the story. There were moments I expected more of Nailer and Nita and am not surprised this is part of a series.

I really liked Nailer's character. He never seems to become too good, or have a real change of heart. I could tell it was part of series when I got 70 pages from the end and things were not in anyway resolved. I thought the message of the wrongs of the Accelerated Age were a little too overwhelming sometimes. But, it's definitely a page turner, and I would recommend this book to kids who like Scott Westerfeld.
And BTW, Behemoth is out now. It's the 2nd in the seriesLeviathanby Westerfeld.

Dana wrote: "I really liked Nailer's character. He never seems to become too good, or have a real change of heart. I could tell it was part of series when I got 70 pages from the end and things were not in an..."

I agree about Nailer's character not really changing and realizing this will be a series but I didn't really feel like it was a page turner. I found it easy to put aside and a little predictable.