The Drowned Cities
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 978031605624
In a sea of dystopian YA novels, THE DROWNED CITIES really stands out. I haven’t read SHIPBREAKER, so I didn’t have the beginning framework, but I didn’t need it. DROWNED CITIES stands alone. Warning: It is extremely violent and may not be palatable for everyone. Still, the story is riveting, incredibly so.
It is the story of two children, Mahlia and Mouse, who are caught up in a violent, warring world. Mahlia’s lost one hand to soldiers. The world is post-apocalyptic and armies have turned children into soliders. Mahlia, because of her looks is a cast-off, looked at with suspicion and fear. Only her skill at doctoring and the doctor who protects her makes her sufferable to the people in her village.
When Mouse and Mahlia stumble onto Tool, a genetic experiment of the DNA of several animals mixed with man to make the ultimate solider, things go crazy. Tool, hurt and almost dying captures Mouse, threatening to eat him if Mahlia doesn’t get help. In her desperation to save the closest thing to a brother she has, Mahlia starts a course of events with deep and dire consequences.
THE DROWNED CITIES is a crazy world and one that provokes thought. A country destroyed by war, children forced to soldier up, kill, rape, pillage – to put away their emotions and consciences in order to survive is a hard pill to swallow, but something that is happening in some parts of the world today. This book makes the reader shudder at war and that’s a good thing. It is intense, fast-paced and energetic. Mahlia, for all her bravery and determination, is still just a girl, one who has lost much and will lose more; and is so determined not to lose what little she has that she doesn’t think of the consequences of her actions. Unlike some heroines in YA literature these days, Mahlia has to live with the consequences of her actions. She actually gets repercussions.
I think the book teeters on the edge of adult over YA, but it’s a good book for a level-headed teen to read. It is an intense, grim book and one that I had to read slowly, and in pieces because of the level of violence. Stll, the story is a good one and an important one I think. There’s some mighty fine writing here and grim reality. Bacigalupi paints the story of war in full color and doesn’t shy away from the ugliness and horror of it.
