Changes

|title=The Drowned Cities

|sort=Drowned Cities

|borrow=Yes

|isbn=9781907411113

|pages=437

|publisher=Atom

|date=May 2012

|website=http://windupstories.com/about/

|video=

|summary=A master-class in how to write a young adult book that neither preaches, nor patronises, while still managing to carry a powerful message about the dangers of environmental apathy and the circle of violence.

}}

The best thing about Paolo Bacigalupi's latest young adult novel is that you almost certainly wouldn't realise it was intended for a younger audience unless someone pointed it out to you. ''The Drowned Cities'' may lack the sex, swearing and amoral protagonists of his award-winning adult novel '[[The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi|The Windup Girl]], but it has all the needle-sharp description, complex world-building and brilliant characters that have rapidly made a name for Bacigalupi as one of this centuries preeminent science-fiction writers.

But above all this is a truly enthralling story, with skilfully drawn, all-too-human characters you can really care about. ''The Drowned Cities'' had me up way past my bedtime, unable to resist reading ''just one more chapter'' and then ''just one more'' over and over until the whole book was finished. With this powerful, captivating novel, Paolo Bacigalupi has written the kind of book I wish I'd been able to read as a teenager. I'm really glad I've had the chance to read it now.

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[[Category:Teens]]