Please join NYCSLA’s book club with our December pick for the 2010-11 school year: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. The NYCSLA book club is dedicated to reading engaging new literature for children and young adults. Ship Breaker is Bacigalupi’s first science fiction novel for young adults, and it was a finalist for the National Book Award. Here’s a portion of the starred review in Booklist:

In a world in which society has stratified, fossil fuels have been consumed, and the seas have risen and drowned coastal cities, Nailer, 17, scavenges beached tankers for scrap metals on the Gulf Coast. Every day, he tries to “make quota” and avoid his violent, drug-addicted father. After he discovers a modern clipper ship washed up on the beach, Nailer thinks his fortune is made, but then he discovers a survivor trapped in the wreckage—the “swank” daughter of a shipping-company owner. Should he slit the girl’s throat and sell her for parts or take a chance and help her?… Vivid, brutal, and thematically rich, this captivating title is sure to win teen fans for the award-winning Bacigalupi.

Please add your comments about December’s pick here! Also, we need your recommendations for future book club selections. Please fill out this simple form to let us know the best new books you’ve read this year, especially titles you have a hunch will show up on Newbery, Printz, or other major award shortlists.