The Drowned Cities - by Paolo Bacigalupi (Paperback)

About the Book

The thrilling companion to Bacigalupi's Printz Award winner "Ship Breaker." In a dark future America, young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities. But when they discover a wounded half-man who is being hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly collapses.

Book Synopsis

Soldier boys emerged from the darkness. Guns gleamed dully. Bullet bandoliers and scars draped their bare chests. Ugly brands scored their faces. She knew why these soldier boys had come. She knew what they sought, and she knew, too, that if they found it, her best friend would surely die.

In a dark future America where violence, terror, and grief touch everyone, young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities by escaping into the jungle outskirts. But when they discover a wounded half-man--a bioengineered war beast named Tool--who is being hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly collapses. One is taken prisoner by merciless soldier boys, and the other is faced with an impossible decision: Risk everything to save a friend, or flee to a place where freedom might finally be possible.

This thrilling companion to Paolo Bacigalupi's highly acclaimed Ship Breaker is a haunting and powerful story of loyalty, survival, and heart-pounding adventure.

Review Quotes

* "Bacigalupi brings to life a post-apocalyptic America that thrills the mind."--VOYA, starred review

* "Bacigalupi writes with a furious energy that makes this brilliant depiction of an all-too-believable future impossible to forget."
--Booklist, starred review

* "Bacigalupi's intense, action-filled novel is a heartbreaking and powerfully moving portrait of individual resiliency amidst extreme circumstances that rivals, if not surpasses, the excellence of its predecessor."--The Horn Book, starred review

* "Beautifully written, filled with high-octane action, and featuring badly damaged but fascinating and endearing characters, this fine novel tops its predecessor and can only increase the author's already strong reputation."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "The novel's greatest success lies in the creation of a world that is so real, the grit and decay of war and ruin will lay thick on the minds of readers long after the final page.... Breathtaking."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A compelling read, this engaging book does not glorify war and violence, but shows its true nature."--School Library Journal

"A new Paolo Bacigalupi novel is reason to celebrate--no matter how old you are."--The Associated Press

A 2012 Kirkus Reviews Best of YA BookA 2012 VOYA Perfect Ten BookA 2012 Los Angeles Public Library Best Teen BookA 2013 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults BookA 2013 CBC at Bank Street College Best Children's Books of the Year BookA 2013 Capitol Choices Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens Book
A Junior Library Guild SelectionA 2014 Tennessee Volunteer Book Award Nominee

About the Author

Paolo Bacigalupi is the author of the highly acclaimed The Drowned Cities, Tool of War, and Ship Breaker, a New York Times bestseller, Michael L. Printz Award winner, and National Book Award finalist. He is also the author of the Edgar Awards nominee The Doubt Factory; a novel for younger readers, Zombie Baseball Beatdown; and two bestselling adult novels for adults, The Water Knife and The Windup Girl. His first work of collected short fiction was Pump Six and Other Stories. He co-wrote The Tangled Lands with Tobias S. Buckell. The winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Compton Crook, John W. Campbell Memorial, and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Awards, he lives in western Colorado with his wife and son. The author invites you to visit his website at windupstories.com.