The Drowned Cities

In this exhilarating companion to Printz Award winner and National Book Award finalist SHIP BREAKER, Paolo Bacigalupi brilliantly captures a dark future America that has devolved into unending civil wars, driven by demagogues who recruit children to become soulless killing machines.

Two refugees of these wars, Mahlia and Mouse, are known as 'war maggots': survivors who have barely managed to escape the unspeakable violence plaguing the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities. But their fragile safety is threatened when they discover a wounded half-man -a bioengineered war beast named Tool, who is hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers.

When tragedy strikes, Mahlia is faced with an impossible decision: risk everything to save the boy who once saved her, or flee to her own safety.

Drawing upon the brutal truths of current events, THE DROWNED CITIES is a powerful story of loyalty, survival and heart-pounding adventure.

“Suzanne Collins may have put dystopian literature on the map with The Hunger Games ...but Bacigalupi is one of the genre's masters.”

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

Suzanne Collins may have put dystopian literature on the map with The Hunger Games...but Bacigalupi is one of the genre's masters. - The Los Angeles Times

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

Breathtaking. - Kirkus

Paolo Bacigalupi's writing has been nominated for the Nebula and Hugo awards and his YA novel, SHIP BREAKER, was shortlisted for the National Book Award. He lives in Western Colorado with his wife and son.

THEY CALL IT THE DROWNED CITIES INSTINCT. It's that feeling in your gut that keeps you fighting, keeps you alive while the war rages on all around you. Mahlia thinks she's got it, though she's not so sure about Mouse. But she knows it was his stupidity that saved her once, and now he's the closest thing she's got to family. Together they flee the violence that plagues their home and seek refuge in the jungle. But then they stumble across a secret hidden in its shadowy depths, and their fragile safety is threatened once again. WHO CAN THEY TRUST? When Mouse is captured, Mahlia is faced with an impossible decision: can she really risk everything to save the boy who once saved her?

In this exhilarating companion to Printz Award winner and National Book Award finalist SHIP BREAKER, Paolo Bacigalupi brilliantly captures a dark future America that has devolved into unending civil wars, driven by demagogues who recruit children to become soulless killing machines.Two refugees of these wars, Mahlia and Mouse, are known as 'war maggots': survivors who have barely managed to escape the unspeakable violence plaguing the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities. But their fragile safety is threatened when they discover a wounded half-man -a bioengineered war beast named Tool, who is hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers.When tragedy strikes, Mahlia is faced with an impossible decision: risk everything to save the boy who once saved her, or flee to her own safety.Drawing upon the brutal truths of current events, THE DROWNED CITIES is a powerful story of loyalty, survival and heart-pounding adventure.

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