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Sal

"Just gorgeous… this is an emotional and quite, quite beautiful read."

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LoveReading Says

LoveReading Says

Just gorgeous… this is an emotional and quite, quite beautiful read. After a particularly traumatic time at home, 13 year old Sal and her younger sister Peppa escape into the wilds of Scotland. Sal has spent a long time preparing, the wilderness beckons them, can they survive on their own? Sal tells their story, the first chapter is so clever, I started to realise what had been happening, and then a few carefully chosen, yet almost casually thrown away words, sent a shockwave running through me. I could clearly hear Sal’s voice, she is so individual and distinctive, her words entered my mind and expanded, filling my heart. Mick Kitson encourages the Scottish countryside to sing with intensity, while you can hear Sal, you can see and feel the clean and natural space she and Peppa find themselves in. Kindness flows from unexpected places, and love is behind every word shared by Sal, even in the darkness. Simple, beautiful, provocative yet touching, this is an outstanding debut, and a read I will return to again and again. Highly recommended and one of my picks of the month.

Liz Robinson

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Primary Genre Family Drama
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Reader Reviews

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It’s an uplifting story, full of love and kindness and hope.

Wow, this is quite a story, and so well told.  Sal is smart, wise and clever.  She is also very loyal.  And aged just 13, she is very protective to her younger sister, Peppa.  

At the centre of Sal’s story is the theme of abuse – despite this, it’s an uplifting story, full of love and kindness and hope.  Two of those the sisters encounter on their journey are also filled with wisdom and warmth.  To say more about the plot would be to give too much away and to spoil the book.  Suffice to say that sometimes the tension in the story was almost unbearable, but I had to keep reading.  And when I had to put it down for a while, I kept thinking about Sal and Peppa and how they were doing:... Read Full Review

Sarah Webb

A beautifully told, gripping story, of a young girl's escape, with her little sister, from a horrific home situation and how they survive in the wilds of Scotland.

SAL is the story of a young girl who runs away, with her younger sister, to live in the woods of a remote area of Scotland, in order to get away from a horrific home situation. She has learned her survival skills from YouTube and managed to buy survival equipment from Amazon using stolen credit cards. She does what she does with the best of intentions. She is a great character, totally believable and likeable, and who’s love for her little sister has driven her to take extreme measures to ensure that they both can survive. It is a beautifully told story, with great descriptions of the awe- inspiring Scottish landscape, and mesmerising descriptions of how they get food and shelter in an inhospitable and remote area.... Read Full Review

Susan Wallace

Brilliant! Read it in one go, couldn't put it down. Will stay with me for a long time. Surviving life, not just how to live in a forest.

You’ve read the synopsis, so something about this story has already grabbed you; maybe the combination of YouTube and the SAS Handbook of Survival with a teenager going off-grid with her little sister! How’s that going to work out? This wasn’t the book I expected, but it will stay with me for a long time. 

It’s so believably written, it’s as though Sal is talking directly to just you. The story covers alcoholism, poverty and the fear of police and social workers, and how a child assumes grown-up responsibilities when the grown-ups won’t. Sal is unusual, and the story seems to hint that she may be somewhere along the autism spectrum, in having intelligence allied with dispassion and a need for facts and figures, masked by dyslexia.... Read Full Review

Lindsey Whittle