Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Another post apocalyptic novel by Bacigalupi.   He received a nebula for his debut novel, the Windup Girl but to be honest I preferred this one.  It seemed more honest, and the simple determination and courage of his characters shines through in a world now almost devoid of oil, and where even small children are put to work breaking up wrecks for the small amounts of metals they contain. 

Nailer's days on his job are numbered, almost too big for light crew and the job of crawling through ducts for wires, and too small for heavy crew he faces an uncertain future.  His only remaining family a brutal father strung out on drugs, he has created a family of sorts among his crew, but loyalty in this world is a hard thing, bought in blood and broken for money. 

When a rich girl washes up with a storm, he is left with the choice to slit her throat, take her wealth and make a better life for himself - or can he justify the risk of keeping her alive?

A gripping book without the technical or scientific bullshit of his previous novel, this was for me the ultimate teen read even if, from what I understand, it is being sold for adult consumption. Great fun!