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aiscii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
artistic_monkey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
dinakhad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
katalinareads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
briface's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to via audiobook. At first I was hesitant about the narrators Scottish accent, however it worked perfectly to the story and made the characters even more endearing, I would recommend listening to this one!
13 year old Sal plans to escape her life with her alcoholic mother and mom's sexually abusive boyfriend by living in the wilderness with her 10 year old sister Peppa. She stocks supplies, learns everything she can on Youtube and TV. This book fills all the survival in the woods books of my youth (Hatchet, The 1st Boxcar book) while being fairly dark. What really made it was the girls voices I laughed out loud and cried, this one gave me a book hangover when it was over I just wanted to follow Sal and Peppa through their lives a bit more.
13 year old Sal plans to escape her life with her alcoholic mother and mom's sexually abusive boyfriend by living in the wilderness with her 10 year old sister Peppa. She stocks supplies, learns everything she can on Youtube and TV. This book fills all the survival in the woods books of my youth (Hatchet, The 1st Boxcar book) while being fairly dark. What really made it was the girls voices I laughed out loud and cried, this one gave me a book hangover when it was over I just wanted to follow Sal and Peppa through their lives a bit more.
fiendfull's review against another edition
4.0
Sal is a touching and distinctive novel about two sisters trying to survive in rural Scotland. Sal prepared for a long time for her escape into the wilderness with her little sister Peppa: watching YouTube videos, reading the SAS survival handbook, and getting supplies and tools from Amazon using stolen cards. Robert, her mum’s abusive boyfriend, didn’t notice the missing cards. Now Sal must use her knowledge of building shelter and skinning rabbits to look after Peppa, now that she’s freed her sister from the dangers of Robert. Just as long as nobody works out where they are and wants to split them up.
The novel is written from Sal’s point of view and creates a vivid sense of her voice and thoughts. She is a character who shows the force of sibling love and protectiveness, but at the same time, Sal and Peppa aren’t cloying or annoying, but real siblings who tease each other and have different interests and strengths. The narrative is made up of the minutiae of their wilderness life as well as larger things that threaten to change it, and it provides a tense atmosphere at times, as it is clear it will be hard for them to go on as they are.
Sal has some similarities to Emma Donoghue’s Room though the premise is fairly opposite, as it uses a distinctive character voice to show a fraught situation become normal. Its writing style makes it easy to get invested in the sisters and it is certainly an enjoyable and gripping read, though a little slower at parts. It is deeply set in its Scottish location, both the wilderness and the scheme where Sal and Peppa escaped from, and is an exciting new novel with heart.
The novel is written from Sal’s point of view and creates a vivid sense of her voice and thoughts. She is a character who shows the force of sibling love and protectiveness, but at the same time, Sal and Peppa aren’t cloying or annoying, but real siblings who tease each other and have different interests and strengths. The narrative is made up of the minutiae of their wilderness life as well as larger things that threaten to change it, and it provides a tense atmosphere at times, as it is clear it will be hard for them to go on as they are.
Sal has some similarities to Emma Donoghue’s Room though the premise is fairly opposite, as it uses a distinctive character voice to show a fraught situation become normal. Its writing style makes it easy to get invested in the sisters and it is certainly an enjoyable and gripping read, though a little slower at parts. It is deeply set in its Scottish location, both the wilderness and the scheme where Sal and Peppa escaped from, and is an exciting new novel with heart.
snorkmidden's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this.
Told from the perspective of a 13 year old who has had a difficult life, the mix of brutal honesty and innocence is charming. It's not a fairytale, but certainly heartwarming at times.
The audiobook is read by Sharon Rooney - perfect choice!
Told from the perspective of a 13 year old who has had a difficult life, the mix of brutal honesty and innocence is charming. It's not a fairytale, but certainly heartwarming at times.
The audiobook is read by Sharon Rooney - perfect choice!