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The Drowned Cities | October 17, 2012

by Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, May 2012)

Are you sick and tired of dystopian novels that say the world as you know it has come to an end, but people are still acting and living pretty much the same way? Well you’re in for a gritty treat with Paolo Bacigalupi’s novel The Drowned Cities. It’s the future alright, and it’s scary. America is war-torn and the action in this book occurs mainly in what used to be Washington, D.C. The landscape is overgrown, buildings are rubble and, most interestingly and perhaps not surprising from the title of the book, the former capital of America is half submerged in murky swamp water.

If the setting isn’t frightening enough and—trust me—Bacigalupi immerses the reader pretty quickly in this new, yet familiar world, the characters are even more so. Let’s talk about the human psyche during war—it’s turned upside down. People are just trying to survive, and not knowing who to trust, who will switch sides for their own survival in a day—well, that does havoc on one’s moral compass.

Follow Mahalia, the half-Chinese-half-Drowned-Cities orphan who has had to grow up way too fast; Mouse, Mahalia’s red-headed, scrawny best friend who is way too innocent; and Tool, the half-man predator who is way too deadly in their ultimate struggle for survival.

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