Sal

What a beautiful book. I hope he writes more

Sal acted more mature than 13-years-old. She definitely acted more mature than her mother who chose the bottle over her own children. Fearful of what the future held for her sister Peppa, Sal took matters into her own hands as she felt there was no other way. Her love for Peppa was her driving force. I loved how much Sal loved her sister and what she did to protect her. Sal felt that she knew what Robert’s intentions were going to be towards her sister and she was being proactive in protecting her. I had a great fondness for Sal as I read the story. As she explained things to Peppa, she reasoned with her, she didn’t get emotional or talk down to her, she wanted her to understand. Sal doesn’t get frustrated and upset when their lives are meet with difficulty, Sal keeps her head on and fights back. I wonder how Sal felt internally when Peppa kept asking about their mother. The mother who allowed her children to be beaten, the mother who was beaten up herself by the same man who beat her children, that same man who visited Sal’s room at night when he thought no one was watching. When Ingrid entered the novel, I was relieved. Not like a tradition woman, Ingrid was a product of the environment that she grew up in. She was truly a spirited woman and I enjoyed listening to the stories of her life and felt that she led an interesting life. I think it was a mutual blessing that they had found each other as they each enhanced each other’s lives. When Maw appears on the scene, I was apprehensive about her appearance. Peppa was overjoyed but what I saw first, was that perhaps having Maw back would be more work for Sal. Maw felt like a wild card to me. It wasn’t a tied-up ending but that ok. The ending I was hoping for isn’t going to transpire so leaving it open is just as well. I’m still apprehensive about their future, but time will tell what will happen. I hope that being with Ingrid, Sal has internalized a bit of her and kept it with her. Ingrid had a lot to give and I was glad that she met someone who appreciated her. I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Canongate Books US in exchange for an honest review.

Sal, the title and narrator of this powerful tale is leading a troubled existence. She lives in a dysfunctional family on a bleak estate in the west of Scotland where her mother is an alcoholic and her mother's boyfriend is abusing Sal and intends to turn next to her sister Peppa. Although Sal attends the vulnerable children's unit at her local school and has reading difficulties she has acquired through the internet and befriending a kindly neighbour an impressive set of survivalist skills that can enable her to survive in the wild. So for nearly a year she has meticulously planned to rid herself of her abuser Robert and escape to start a new life with her sister in the wild. This is a story about survival both in the physical and metaphysical sense. Having spent a number of holidays near the Galloway Forest I can attest to the fact that the author has accurately portrayed the landscape and geography of this stunning area. With her knowledge and skills and possessing such items as a Bear Grylls knife and waterproofs obtained from Robert's stolen credit cards, Sal is now much more at home in the forest then she ever was in a so called civilised society. In the forest she meets Ingrid a retired doctor formerly from the DDR who also has decided to live wild. Ingrid's story like Sal's is also traumatic and the shared experience of escaping to find a better existence bonds them. There is a lot to admire about this story and it certainly has a cracking pace together with pathos and profundity. Suitable for an adult and young adult audience I have no hesitation in recommending this. A review copy was provided by the publisher.

SAL Mick Kitson Canongate Books, May 8, 2018 241 pages, ebook, paperback, hardcover, audiobook Women’s lit, General Fiction ✭✭✭ I received an eARC from Canongate Books via NetGalley. This is my honest review for which I receive no compensation of any kind. The cover is outstanding with the wonderful color scheme and the way the title glows out from it. The artwork certainly relates to the story of the rugged mountains and the two girls around the campfire. The story is pretty good, but I found it beyond belief. It just wasn’t real for me that these two young girls would take off into the wilds of Scotland just before winter with nothing but a You-Tube training to prepare one of them and things purchased online with stolen cards. All this after she killed a man. The characters were very well-drawn. You got a really good take on each character and they were real. One more unrealistic note was that Ingrid was a doctor and showed up just when they needed a doctor. What are the odds? The pace was good. I didn’t feel like things were rushed. There was time to take it all in and absorb each event, understand what was happening and why Sal was making these decisions. The tension suffered from the fact that it just wasn’t real. Peppa is really sick from the bite of the pike and Ingrid shows up at the campsite – a Russian doctor who can save her life. Yup, happens every day. It just didn’t work for me. And here begins the reveal… We start out with an alcoholic mother, Maw, and a boyfriend, Robert, who drinks, does drugs and is a pedophile. He has Sal giving him a blowjob each night after her mother passes out drunk. We have Salmarina (Sal), a 13-year-old girl who hasn’t even had her first period yet. Paula, who everyone calls Peppa, a 10-year-old, that is very active and used to her big sister taking care of her. A bit demanding and selfish with it, I think. She doesn’t see all that her sister does for her because her sister doesn’t want her to. And later on, we have Ingrid, a 75-year-old Russian doctor who has dropped out of society to live rough. Robert threatens to do to Peppa what he’s been doing to Sal when Sal tries not to cooperate with him. So Sal installs a lock on the inside of Peppa’s door and tells her to use it at night. And Sal starts planning and stealing. She steals gift cards and credit cards and merchandise. She watches survival videos on You-Tube. She orders things online. She gets her teacher to show her how to use a compass and maps. She installs a lock on her mother’s door and waits until her mother passes out one night. Peppa is in her room with the lock on. And Sal is in her room with her brand new hunting knife that she’s bought online. Robert comes in and has his way with her and then passes out on her bed, as usual. With three slashes, she kills him. She cleans the knife, showers, and changes clothes. She closes the door to her room so that Peppa won’t see. Then she gets Peppa and their supplies. She has posh school uniforms for them to wear under their coats so that people won’t recognize where they are from. They take the train north into Scotland and towards the mountains. They change out of the school uniforms and bury them. Then they hike into the mountains and establish a campsite according to things Sal has learned on You-Tube videos. It’s not clear just how much Peppa has watched the videos, but apparently, she has watched some of them. Sal is in charge and makes all the decisions. Though Peppa is a loose cannon and not always willing to be controlled by Sal. While Sal hikes into town, Peppa isn’t even capable of keeping the fire going properly and that’s when Ingrid shows up for the first time. Peppa tells Ingrid all about them. She’s gone by the time Sal finally gets back with their supplies. I’m not going to do a more reveal with this book. Suffice to say, the girls have quite a few adventures in the wild trying to just survive. Peppa’s close call with the pike bite is a scary one. They live with Ingrid for awhile. They snatch their mother from rehab once they hear she’s doing well. There is a sad and a happy ending, but I’m not going to reveal either of those. I wanted to really like this book, but I got really tired of the You-Tube references and the unrealistic story. I’ve been camping (and that’s with lots of equipment), it’s a lot of work and you don’t have time to be off larking about. You work all day just to make sure things are ready for the next meal and bedtime and such. These girls were also trying to catch their own food. And there was no emotional fall-out from committing murder. Even if you hated someone, you would have some problems with killing a person. And then killing rabbits… I will recommend this book with reservations.

When things in Sal's family escalate, she decides to take matteres in hand in order to protect her younger sister. They run away. Sal does everything to protect her sister from 'the real world' by trying to let her stay in the innoncence of childhood as much and as long as possible. It's an adventure. She has it all planned. They go as far into the forest as possible and what first felt like camping soon becomes survival. The book is told in Sal's voice which hovers on the fine line between naivete and wisdom. We so want her to suceed!

This is an amazing story - so well written and believable. The background to Sal’s situation is gradually revealed, but not dwelt upon. It is important to know it because you need to know why she is where she is now. The relationships between the main characters are so real and the characters are definitely flawed but really, really likeable. This story made me laugh and cry.

What a surprising and wonderful book. I'm not sure what I was expecting, given the dark themes Mick Kitson explores in Sal, but this is a beautifully written, wonderfully descriptive, glorious tale of survival, family and acceptance. This was a captivating, engaging, thought provoking and at times heart-breaking book to read. Mick Kitson is definitely an author I will be watching to see where he goes next.

A thought provoking story of how our background shapes the people we become. Personal histories were skilfully woven in to this novel.

"Sal" is the story of two girls aged 13 and 10, who run away from home into the Scottish wilderness. Sal is the older sister, and she's studied the SAS Survival Handbook, watched lots of YouTube videos, and has gathered a small collection of survival equipment. Together they are on the run, but the reason is revealed as the story develops. I was expecting this book to be a fairly traditional manhunt-type story, where chapters alternate between the hunted and their hunters, but "Sal" isn't like that. The book stays with Sal and her sister throughout, and is told in Sal's own voice. I loved the characterisation and all of the imagery of the Scottish countryside. It's also extremely moving and powerful from start to finish. One of the best books I've read this year, and I look forward to reading more by this author.