27 reviews for:

Icebreaker

Lian Tanner

3.63 AVERAGE

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

4.0

This book was totally not what I expected. I actually really enjoyed this book! A wonderful dystopian world surrounding this with a really interesting concept I really loved how this book was written. I was honestly expecting something much different and intense but this was a really interesting take on ships and that sort of stuff.

amylandranch's review against another edition

4.0

I had a student recommend this book and I am so glad I picked it up. The plot is unique and weaves together some interesting themes and prejudices. Machines are deemed as evil by certain groups so an inventor puts his mechanical creation on a boat and it is supposed to be safe until the rage against machines die. 300 years later the boat is falling apart and has evolved and there are different groups/classes. The narrators are a girl called the Nothing Girl because she is not welcome in any group and a nameless boy bent on destruction. Together, they have to save the ship. I had a hard time putting it down. There is some violence and no swears. Students who like adventure or survival stories will enjoy this read. 6th grade and up.

elements_of_wednesday's review against another edition

2.0

Well to be honest I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. I originally picked it up because I thought it was going to be about the Titanic because, well, there's a ship that looks an awful lot like the Titanic on the cover along with an iceberg that it's about to hit. Sadly, this was not a book about the Titanic at all, but some weird futuristic, but also sometimes seems old-fashioned, society that lives on a boat. There's three clans, the cooks, the officers, and the engineers, and I think it's strange that those are the only three occupations on this boat. I mean do they not have housekeepers or just plain old passengers? Anyway these people have lived on their ship their entire lives, which is strange, how could they have never seen land? There's this one girl who doesn't have a clan and is known as The Nothing Girl. Up to this point I was like okay so this book is different and not what I was expecting but it still might be good, and then came the talking rats. There's two rats that are the girl's friends and they are a little odd oh and also the strange boy they pick up? He's there because he was taught that machines are evil.











*SPOILER ALERT*
Okay so the boy, Fin, is there to destroy the sleeping captain right? Well, I thought he gave this up way too fast. If you take into account that he has been brainwashed his entire life, which can lead to some really bad mental conditions, it makes no sense that he would give up this mindset so easily even after seeing the machines himself.

missyp's review against another edition

4.0

The cover caught my eye. The blurb inside the cover captured my attention. By the first chapter of Icebreaker I was hooked. The odd, dark world of the Oyster and the complex society in which Petrel struggles to survive reeled me in. (Okay, enough of the fishing metaphors.) Tanner sets a compelling story in a fascinating world full of interesting characters. This is a great choice for any reader who is looking for a less violent dystopian tale (think [b:The City of Ember|307791|The City of Ember (Book of Ember, #1)|Jeanne DuPrau|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397931596s/307791.jpg|2285229] and [b:Gregor the Overlander|262430|Gregor the Overlander (Underland Chronicles, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387742259s/262430.jpg|524491] rather than [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1447303603s/2767052.jpg|2792775] and [b:Divergent|13335037|Divergent (Divergent, #1)|Veronica Roth|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328559506s/13335037.jpg|13155899]. Looking forward to book 2 in the series.

mandietunnel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

overchelseas's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The plot was overall interesting, but not something I want to read the 2nd or 3rd book for. The writing was so well researched that it made for a very immersive and informative experience. I never found ships or the cold to be interesting, but Tanner makes it intriguing. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood

nwessler's review against another edition

5.0

This one was such a pleasant surprise! I’d heard it talked up on a webinar, but I am highly susceptible to promotional excitement (and highly aware of this), so when I went back and read more about it, I found myself feeling very indecisive. Something about its description simply made me shrug and go “Ehhhhh….” (Maybe it was the talking rats?) Just wasn’t sure my patrons would go for it. But wow! What a great read!

I was sucked in from the start. The tension on the ship was so palpable and the twists (for lack of a better word) kept coming--organically though and without ever making the plot feel frenetic. And the main characters (there’s three and they are rather at odds with each other) were all very relatable: Petrel finding safety in obscurity but longing to be seen, Fin struggling to find out who he is and what he really believes, Dolph laden with anger and hatred and the weight of responsibility. Their actions were all believable and their development, while expected, never felt contrived. (And I really wasn’t always certain my expectations would be met!)

Very solid and enjoyable middle grade dystopia.

ARC provided by NetGalley.