| Title | : | Salvage |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0349001375 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780349001371 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 |
| Publication | : | First published January 16, 2014 |
| Awards | : | North East Teenage Book Award (2014), YA Book Prize (2015) |
Before she was adopted by a loving family and raised in a leafy Home Counties town, Cass Montgomery was Cass Jones. Her memories of her birth family disappeared with her name. But when her adopted family starts to break down, a way out comes in the form of a message from her lost brother, Aidan. Having Aidan back in her life is both everything she needs and nothing she expected. Who is this boy who calls himself her brother? And why is he so haunted?
I glance at the paper. There's a big picture on the front page. A girl with dark red hair. A girl with eyes that might have been green or they might have been grey. I sit down and stare at Cass, and it is her, it is. My stolen sister.
Aidan's a survivor. He's survived an abusive step-father and an uncaring mother. He's survived crowded foster homes and empty bedsits. His survived to find Cass. If only he can make her understand what it means to be part of his family. . .
Salvage Reviews
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North East Teenage Book Awards Nominee
5 Words: Family, relationships, love, achievements, growing-up.
Salvage is one of those hard-hitting books that really makes you think and challenges your own beliefs.
It's about two people who came from the same place but have ended up in two very different places. And at times it's pretty heart-breaking.
I really loved the whole Nature vs Nurture idea that lurked in the background, how it was subtly explored without becoming the main focus of the story.
The cast of characters in this story is pretty diverse. You get someone to love, someone to hate, someone to root for, someone to hope for. And it's fantastic. You could really get invested in the characters, get deeper into the plot of the story, the lives of Cass and Aidan. -
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 - 4th NETBA BOOK:
**3.5 STARS**
I liked this. I really liked this. I LOVED THIS.
The characters were splendid.
The sibling relationship was heart felt and truly moving. I loved it.
It is definitely my favourite NETBA book BY FAR!! -
I must write a warning before I get into the proper review: my review will not do this book the justice it deserves. Believe me, it blew me away, and it takes a real stunner of a book to do that.
Adopted when she’s very young, Cass doesn’t often thing about her life before, let alone her brother. So when a boy contacts her on Facebook one day, claiming to be her brother, she should ignore it, shouldn’t she? But her adoptive family is falling apart and Cass is drawn more and more to a life unlike the stable and normal one she’s lead so far. Aidan, though, has a past totally different to Cass’, and not all of it has been respectable.
The one thing about David’s books that I love is that she can write about any subject and deal with it in just the right way. Never in this book was there an uncomfortable moment and every single word urged me forward. I read Salvage in a day and couldn’t stop thinking about it afterwards. UKYA is known for its gritty topics and this is especially gritty.
One of the themes that most interested me was the class differences between Cass and Aidan. Even though they had the same blood running through their veins, shared the same mother, Cass was privileged and lived with a politician, whereas Aidan had a low-paying job and a girlfriend and her child to support. The differences were always there at the back of your mind and the dissimilarity between the two was clear.
I enjoyed seeing Cass’ naïveté because it helped me to understand Aidan’s life better. I’ve never lived like he does so I think seeing things through Cass’ eyes helped to get to know him more. My mum even says I look like Cass from the back cover, so it was hard not to like her!
Speaking of Aidan, I found him interesting to read about because of the reasons above. I found it fascinating to think that his life could have been so different if he was adopted by the right person. The insight into the life in care and foster homes was thought-provoking and I found it very easy to comprehend.
Salvage was riveting and compelling and I couldn’t put it down. It’s a real eye-opener and I think everybody should read it. It’s a book I think could be taught well in schools and readers will become easily invested in the story. David has produced a masterpiece that I can’t give enough praise to. -
This book was excellent. Very gripping and emotional. I loved Aidan even though he was a very demanding character and I was very frustrated with him a lot of the time because he let his life start sliding away from him every time he couldn't face anything bad. Holly was lovely, very kind and loving and held the story together really nicely as it flipped between Aidan and Cass. All of the characters were intense in their own way which made the book so fast and pleasurable to read. The relationships woven into the story touched on lots of different themes so many YA readers will be able to relate to at least one and which is what will make this book so popular. It had the same flowing, easy but gritty writing style which kept me so engrossed while reading the When I was Joe trilogy and I liked that a lot!
This is definitely a book to recommend and will keep any YA reader, male or female, engaged until the end. -
Salvage is a book that has had many positive comments and quite a bit of excitement revolving around it, especially here in the United Kingdom, so I was very excited to receive a copy for review. Salvage is a young adult book with interesting subject matter, exploring an interesting story. I usually really enjoy books about real life issues, so I was really hoping that I'd love this one.
I really liked the idea behind this book. We are introduced to Cass, our female narrative, as her adopted family has started to break up. As her father is a well known politician, the story hits the newspapers, one including a photograph of Cass. This is when we're introduced to our male narrative, Aidan, who despite having not seen her for years, almost instantly recognises his long lost sister. As Aidan contacts her, a lot of his history unravels and we read through the complexities of both Cass and Aidan's lives and learn a bit more about their past. In Aidan's eyes, Cass received the best adoptive middle-class parents possible, whereas he himself had more problems, partially due to issues with his birth mother's partners and also with his own emotional/anger problems.
Cass was a reasonably likeable character, she wasn't anything special which worked to the novel's advantage, it's easy to imagine her as someone you know and it was great to see her as a regular daughter to her adoptive parents, rather than simply seeing her as an adopted child - it just seemed like a 'normal' family dynamic. I can't say that I loved Cass, because there wasn't anything about her that particularly enamoured me, but I found her simplicity to work well, especially when paired with perhaps the quirkiest member of her school, the desirable and individual Will. I really liked Will ask he did seem to have an edge to him - he didn't go out of his way to be different, he simply was and he was also a very loveable character and if he was real, I would definitely like to have a friend like him.
Aidan was a much more interesting character to me and he certainly had, or at least remembered, a much more unstable beginning, living with some abuse and also, understandably, going through periods of time where he found it difficult to control his own emotions. Aidan is now living with his girlfriend and her son, a family relationship which is explored in the story and possibly the most interesting exploration, in my opinion. It was interesting to see how Aidan coped when bringing his past and current life together, and seeing how he and Cass both differed yet bonded.
Overall, Salvage was a well written and easily to read book that I would recommend to teenagers and fans of realistic YA. I think that the book was written simply and modestly enough to attract young teens, but perhaps it's a little too simplistic or modest for those older young adult fans who prefer a little more complexity. The story is interesting enough to hold your attention throughout, though I admit that I did find it a little too predictable to enjoy the 'big reveals' towards the end. Nevertheless, I can see why this book has been given great praise as it is exactly what it offers, a page turner which will attract young adults who enjoy reading about gritty real life issues. -
Originally posted on
www.serendipityreviews.co.uk
This might be the first book I’ve read by Keren David, but I am absolutely certain it won’t be my last. I was hooked from page one and carried it everywhere with me until I finished it. And what an emotional ride I took! The story tugs on your heart strings while keeping you completely engrossed. Encompassing difficult subjects such as foster care, families breaking down and physical and mental abuse, you find yourself desperate for a happy ending.
The story has a dual narrative and each character jumped off the page. It was fascinating to read such contrasting lifestyles. Cass has been brought up with the best of everything, where as Aidan had made do with the world’s left overs. Yet neither are happy with their lives. Cass feels pressured to perform well at school by her crumbling family while also dealing with the fall out from her father’s rather public affair. Aidan is just waiting for the past to catch up with him. These characters are so different in some ways, but very similar in others. They were both lonely and looking for the missing piece in their lives; not that Cass realised that in the beginning.
The story unfolded at a steady pace and you soon realise there is more to Aidan than we are first shown. He is finally in a place where he is happy, yet he knows it could all easily shatter before him. As the book suggests, he is broken, but with the help of Holly, he is slowly mending. Yet as I mentioned above, he has a past, which is threatening to ruin his new found happiness.
The ending was brilliant. I loved the way the family dynamics changed and finally both characters seem to discover and realise what they had actually been looking for. When I finished reading the book, I realised the story had stayed with me. It left me with hope for the children who do experience difficult upbringings; that perhaps hope can be salvaged to finally bring a little ray of happiness into their lives. That perhaps they won’t let their unfortunate beginnings define the person they become.
If I had to compare it with another book, it would be Blood Familly by Anne Fine, which also looks at the effects of adoption on a child coping with their past. This is a gritty and realistic read - a perfect example of UKYA at it’s best. -
What is privilege? What is family? What is hope?
Keren David’s Salvage, published by Atom early last year, is a searing exploration of adolescent life. The book features a dual narrative of two estranged siblings, separated through the care system and restored to each other years later on Facebook. Their formative years have passed. Cass, adopted promptly by a Conservative MP, has flourished in an upper-middle class upbringing. Now, aged sixteen, she is prim and poised for Oxford University.
Aidan is the boy the fairytales abandoned.
Abused and neglected as a child, Aidan has passed from foster family to foster family. His life has been terrifying, lonely, and unfair. Now, at nineteen years old, he’s happy but dominated by the fear of losing this happiness. He expects his past to catch up with him. And it does, in a blaze of red hair. When the MP’s affair is splashed across the papers, Aidan recognises a photograph of Cass and the pair’s history unravels. In the words of Aidan, ‘Thank you, Mr. Montgomery, for not keeping your trousers on’.
The narrative is complex, multi-vocal, and seamlessly executed. David’s writing sings. From its onset, the story demands to be heard, burning with energy as if to say, ‘Listen to this, this is important’. And it is. Intensely personal and full of heart, David’s writing makes the serious issues of foster care, infidelity, and physical and mental abuse accessible. Her words are sharp, sad, ugly, and, above all, true. Salvage marries this emotional core with the crescendo and cymbals of a fast-paced narrative and glorious character development.
None of these characters are perfect. Cass, a refreshingly independent female lead, knows her mind. She has strength. She has nerve, and she’s struggling to meet the demands of a ‘two-timing MP is my father’ life. And Aidan, you can see the contours of his heart—his incessant worrying that he isn’t worthy of love, this returned-valentine of a boy. The impulse to possess a family is alive in both of these characters’ hearts. And you want them to succeed—for them to bloom out and out and out. Cass and Aidan. Aidan and Cass. They’re relatable and, with any hope, they’ll come to terms with their past.
- Amanda Amen
@amandaamen @childrenschat
childrensbookchat.wordpress.com -
I absolutely loved this book. It was spectacular, unlike anything I've ever read before. I've never really understood when people describe things to be 'raw'. I understand now though, Salvage is so raw and gritty and totally realistic and believable. I loved this book because of the way it seemed to be more focused on the character development and Cass and Aidan's backgrounds than it was on making the plot too complex or hard to follow. It was refreshing to read about such an independent female lead, who didn't go all gooey-eyed at first sight of a good looking boy. I also liked the realistic relationship between Holly and Aidan, they argued, and neither one of them was perfect, which is what made it so believable. The book was very fast paced, and within the first chapter you are thrown immediately into the story, which keeps you on your toes, and the climax was so incredibly exciting and nerve racking all in the same breath. I'm also intrigued by the use of two different tenses for each characters point of view. I find it interesting that Cass's narrative is in the past, when it was Aidan who dwelled on his past and upbringing, and Aidan spoke in the present, when Cass was the one more focussed on her present life and her education. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone. 5 stars!
-
A quick review for a brilliant book
Salvage is typical Keren David gritty and raw with fabulous characters who you can't help but root for. I loved every page and struggled to put it down as I was desperate to know what was going to happen next.
Salvage is the sorry of Cass and Aiden, siblings separated as young children when Cass was adopted and Aidan entered Foster Care. Years later they find one another on Facebook and get to know each other again.
What I loved about this book was seeing Cass and Aiden discover one another again and come to terms with the very different upbringings the pair experienced. While Cass fell on her feet with wealthy parents, Aiden found himself moving from place to place never settling in one place for that long. Aiden's story particularly is utterly heartbreaking when you seeing the impact his early experiences has on him long term in his own confidence and in his interactions with those around him. I was utterly hooked to find out more about his story and background.
All in all a fantastic and heartfelt story which I thoroughly enjoyed. -
I have a thing for British YA contemporaries - I keep finding really good ones lately. Salvage was an emotional, but fun read. I loved the grittiness to it and just how the story flowed.
And I loved Cass and Aidan - they weren't perfect characters, but that just made me love them more. It's easier to like flawed characters sometimes and there was something about these two, as main characters, that just made the story better. I really liked seeing them come out on top of their struggles.
4/5 stars -
Great writer. Love her book 'when I was Joe' better.
-
The Good
-I loved the writing. I actually wasn't sure I was going to like the writing when I first picked it up but I ended up loving it.
-Especially Aidan's POV. It was written perfectly-avoiding the things that he didn't want to think about while giving us (or at least me) enough information to pick up on at least part of it.
-The main characters weren't let off their own bad actions and mistakes.
-Their was some romance but it wasn't let to be good until the people were communicating.
-I loved Aidan's found family.
-The way ALL of Cass's relationships became better and more appreciated by her at the end of the book.
The Bad
-The ending sort of had implied that finding romance got over everything .
-And the ending was sort of and 'everything's good now' ending, and I like those endings sometimes but it didn't fit here. But it wasn't totally like that.
- -
When the opportunity to review Salvage by Keren David arose, I was incredibly excited. It sounded like a brilliant new book that seemed to have already received much praise. Whilst the book wasn't quite what I had expected, it was an excellent read that discusses much deeper issues that your average young adult book.
Salvage is written from the alternating perspectives of half brother and sister Cass and Aidan. They haven't seen each other in over ten years having been separated at a young age when they were both put into social care. The lives of these two siblings couldn't have been more different with Cass being adopted by a MP, sent to a leading grammar school and thought to be heading to Oxford University, whilst Aidan has moved from foster family to foster family and eventually ended up on his own, at the age of 16, having left school with little to no qualifications and now works in a shop. When Cass' Dad is revealed to be having an affair, her family life is spread all over the newspapers and catches the attention of Aidan who can't believe his luck. Finally having found his little sister he searches for her on Facebook and gets in touch.
Although Salvage may seem like the story of two long lost siblings finding each other, it is actually so much more than that. There are so many different things going on that are all somehow interlinked including family, young love, friendship, parenting and much more. All these different plot strands are seamlessly woven together to create a complex story that will hold your interest throughout. This isn't a particularly action-filled story so don't expect lots of plot twists or anything like that but it's still a really, really good story. Serious issues that affect many youths today are explored and I can't say whether they're factually accurate, but this story sure does make you grateful for the family life you have.
A lot of teenage girls will probably be able to relate to the character of Cass who is 16 years old, under a lot of pressure from her parents to seem outwardly 'perfect', achieve high grades and go to a good university whilst dealing with boy drama and family drama. I wouldn't say she's particularly likeable, but she's got a lot of sass that you can't help but admire. Aidan is a character that you grow to really sympathise with and he has such a big heart. None of these characters are perfect; their lives are pretty messed up and the author isn't afraid to show this. Salvage is definitely a more 'real' story than a lot of other teenage fiction that is currently on shelves and not just because it doesn't feature vampires or werewolves - the characters genuinely seem like real people.
I have to admit I did find the ending a little disappointing. As I was reading the last few pages I could see that there wasn't much story left to go but I felt like there was so much left to say. The ending was bad, per say, I just felt slightly let down in that there wasn't a conclusive ending with one character's story left very open-ended. For some, this could be a good thing as there is plenty of room for imagination and future development, but personally, I like it when stand alone stories have complete finales that leave me satisfied and not feeling like there was something missing. There were a few lose ends which weren't exactly 'important' but it still bothered me that there were left unfinished.
All in all, Salvage was a refreshing young adult read that isn't a story you've read a hundred times before. It is refreshing and deep, the perfect thing to pick up if you're starting to tire of your standard teenage drama.
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Thanks every so much to Team Atom for sending me a copy to read and review! -
3.5 stars
A solid contemporary UKYA book, with two compelling POV characters - Cass and Aidan - a brother and sister who were separated at a young age when Cass was adopted and Aidan ended up as one of the many children moved around the care system from one foster parent to another.
Unlike many multiple POV books, they both got a decent character arch and the two stories weaved in and out of each other rather than being just two halves of the same story.
I felt that both of them were realistic, but I have a particular fondness for Aidan as he reminded me of some young men I worked with in a previous job (I'm a youth worker), a lot of whom were also care-leavers. The anger that lurks just below the surface, the way he thinks every small mistake is a catastrophe he can't come back from, his mistrust of everyone - it was all there. I also loved Rich, Aidan's best friend from his old children's home, who is in many ways Aidan's opposite - he is too emotionally available and falls in love quickly and often, unlike Aidan who is very closed off.
However the book suffered a bit from having 'everything but the kitchen sink' thrown at it. The events with Neil felt a little superfluous; since Aidan was already at breaking point he didn't need any more drama to push him over the edge. The one scene between Cass and Grace also felt a bit tacked-on, the reader is told that Grace is upset at being sidelined but it didn't feel to me like Cass and Grace really had much of a connection anyway - probably because we barely see Grace in the book at all, which was a shame.
Overall, it's worth reading and a good insight into the care system as it includes adoption, fostering and children's homes. Using siblings with very different upbringings and experiences was a great way of showing the good and bad sides of the care system, as both characters compare their experiences. Cass' life isn't rose-tinted, and Aidan is able to look back on some happy moments with good foster carers, so it's a nuanced portrayal.
The ending was a little too neat for me - I find it really annoying when hard-hitting contemporary books end up with nice, tidy Happily Ever Afters because it doesn't seem realistic and doesn't fit with the rest of the book, and there was a little of that here. But I'm probably just being picky.
This book reminded me a bit of another great character-driven UKYA book,
Troublemakers, which dealt with some of the same issues around broken families. The two books have a very similar tone and feel and I think people who liked one will probably enjoy the other. -
The reason I chose this book, is because of its cover. Now I know, Don't judge a book by its cover. But usually the good covers are the ones that are the most interesting, well, from the books I've read anyway. Its just the tattoo and the boy. It feels mysterious, salvage, it echos in my mind. I just thought, why not?
This has a lot of diversity, explainingfamily issues and the desperation of meeting their relative sibling. Cass Montegomery is an adopted daughter of an MP. The MP who had an affair with his intern and now is facing divorce with his wife. Aidsn on the other hand is a free to go kind of guy, with a job and a girlfriend, Aidan has an adequate life to say the least.
The bit I like most about this story, is the beggining. It didn't have happiness in it. It just had that bit, where it just hooks the audience, and you just want to read more. Thats what makes a good story. This one being about the difference about these two characters. But I like Cass the most. You can see her determination, her motivation to get things through whatever difficulty there is ahead. she would just mow it down, suck it up, or ignore it entirely.
I love how stories have different characters with different point of views, you get to see what they think, their own internal experience that fills you up with more knowledge, how tantalizing! This story does just that. In Cass' view, she sees a 16 year old girl, who she thinks must be the perfect daughter of a family, she sees a girl who can't seem to get any boys, and is always queit. Only getting 'loud' via facebook. Aidan feels freedom everday. after being transferred from so many foster homes, its impossible to count. But after a reliable education and charming skills of, charming, he found himself a girlfriend named Holly and a good job as an employee at salvage Kings, a second hand company.
The story was ok, there were a few things that were rushed, but thats a common complaint from me. The one thing that I do admire about this story is its ability to link things together. Aidan was waiting in hospital becuase his friend recieved drug overdose and while he was waiting he found a bit of newspapaer from a shelf. A girl. Seperated from birth Studying closely it dawned on him. I'm her brother.
The ending, like I said feels rushed, theres no excitement, no hapiness, no conclusion to draw on. It left me blank, and I spent myself pondering what just happened? Has everything the author did come to a halt? Yeah, it was confusing, but I'm glad I read that book. You don't have to remember that book, but its good to say "Oh! I know what this book is all about!" Its just sometimes good to know, for that brief moment, I feel smugness spreading inside of me. -
I can’t explain Salvage any better than the description above, because it was that description that had me intrigued instantly and so keen to read it that I started it as soon as it had arrived in the post. Salvage revolves around Aiden and Cass, a brother and sister who were separated when they were younger, with Cass being adopted into a family where her new father becomes an MP. Aidan on the other hand isn’t so lucky, and he stumbles through life, surviving, until by chance he sees a picture of Cass in the paper. But what will happen if Aidan can contact her?
One of the things that I liked most about Salvage is that Keren doesn’t hold back in portraying the lives of Aidan, Cass and the others around them. Keren David provides a very real setting with complex characters that have been through some very horrific and life-changing moments, and as a reader I could see the impact and effects that these moments have had on them, both physically and emotionally.
Aidan and Cass are fantastically written, I loved that they both had their own chapters, because then I could read the scenes from their points of view and it helped me to understand them as characters more. Their emotions are so well drawn, Keren perfectly captures the confusion, happiness and fear of finding your real family. I found Aidan’s story in particular very gripping. I really felt for him as I read about everything he had gone through. His pain and his efforts to have stability in his life radiated from the pages and I really wanted to reach out to him. I could see how past events had impacted on the life he had in the present and I really found myself rooting for him. I was hooked to his story and I kept turning the pages because I was desperate to know what would happen to him.
I liked Cass, I warmed to her straight away, and I really enjoyed reading about the secondary characters in her life, such as her brother Ben, and her mum and dad too. I really loved Will, I felt he provided some light-heartedness to the story and so his scenes made me smile as it lifted the book a bit.
Salvage is very emotional and it has stayed with me long after I finished the last page because of how lifelike the story is. I feel as though I have been on a huge rollercoaster of emotions, I have felt happiness, fear, heartache and so much more whilst hooked to these pages – wow.
Salvage is a highly emotional and raw story, with characters that will draw you in and a story that you won’t be able to put down. -
Review:
At first glance I thought this book was going to be of such familiarity, but I am proud to say it wasn't. Not one bit. In fact, it was a breath of fresh air. It contained such depth to it and every few pages, we unmasked new layers to both plot and characters. It was truly magical.
The book itself follows two teenagers, Cass, and Aidan, a brother and sister, who have lived apart for quite a few years. Cass has lived a fortunate and happy life, but that life, however delightful it may have once been, is now falling apart before her eyes, whereas Aidan, has been living a life that is the complete opposition to what Cass was used to. When these two finally find each other again, it brings forward many questions, one that stands out from the rest, do they know each other as well as they may originally have thought?
As we delve further into the book, we see how well these characters have been developed, as we are able to witness an array of sides of personality for each person.
One of, if not probably my favorite character, was Will, at first he comes across as full of himself, but also with a caring soul because of what he is like with Cass's brother from her adopted family, and therefore you have, within one moment, two opposing opinions towards him. He is a very unpredictable character, and for this reason, he was really interesting to read about. Also, I loved how his friendship with Cass blossomed throughout, it was lovely to see.
This story doesn't just show the relationship between Aidan and Cass, but also, the relationships of Cass and her family, Aidain and his girlfriend, Aidan and his mom, and finally, Cass and Will. All of these interweave with the story nicely and David does all of this, but without complicating everything and making the reader lost and confused.
I really enjoyed seeing the story from both Aidan and Cass's side, as I got a wider view of the whole goings on, and got to understand both characters much more. Personally I feel as if, the two characters both learned something from each other, and that so do we, as the reader, which I particularly liked.
I will definitely be picking up another book by Keren David in the near future. -
Review by Beth
Keren David is a novelist who knows how to hook you in. Her short, powerful alternating chapters keep you turning and turning and for me and there was no way I could just put it down without knowing what was going to happen next.
The more Cass learns about Aidan the more it’s hard to see what her next move will be. They are so different despite being related and it’s interesting how this novel automatically made me think of the nature/nurture debate – is Cass the way she is because of her upbringing or was she naturally born to be the way she was? Equally if Aidan had been adopted by a loving family would the troubles that came his way still have arrived? The novel doesn’t answer this question but it gave me absolutely mountains of food for thought.
David presents pressures in both Cass and Aidan’s lives and they’re almost living in a parallel way. Whilst Cass worries about good grades and staying under the radar after her dad’s scandal, as well as looking after her brother Ben, Aidan is struggling to stay afloat, look after his girlfriend and step-son and avoid the ghosts of his past. As the dual narratives run alongside each other it’s clear that the differences between Cass and Aidan aren’t as wide as I originally thought.
Aidan grows most throughout the novel as we learn more about how he has ended up in the position he is in.
Salvage is gritty and honest, it looks at an issue which many people have to live through and live with and doesn’t sugar coat it. The ending has a climactic twist that I think I expected but the resolution was a surprise.
If David’s other novels are like this then I’ll certainly be looking out for them. -
Read the full review at Daisy Chain Book Reviews:
http://daisychainbookreviews.blogspot...
I wish I could say otherwise, but I’m just not very good at writing glowing reviews. I've given a trickle of starred ratings in the past, but Salvage is one of those rare books that convinced me to part with a fully-fledged constellation, and for that, I cannot thank the author enough. Keren David has written the kind of book you don’t ever want to forget. It's better than chocolate, and I just did not want to put it down.
Salvage is a fantastically well-written book. The description is unobtrusive but searing; it plays out like a movie, somehow grainy, gritty and glossy at the same time.
Reading Salvage was an experience I lack comparison for. It’s an extraordinary novel about messy, complicated kinds of love. It’s about admitting your brokenness and finding your own path. It’s about family, forgiveness and forging on, for yourself, for the people who matter and even for the people who don’t. It’s completely full of heart; utterly absorbing and engaging. Cass and Aidan are fighters, and warmth shines out from every page. -
Salvage is about a brother and sister that were forced to separate after the sister was adopted. Few years had gone by and Cass's parents are splitting up after the news broke down about how Cass's father, a very well known politician, impregnated his assistant. Her brother Aiden on the other hand had been leading a very troubled life moving from one foster home to the other until he found himself a girl and settled in with her and her child.
I loved the relationship between Aiden, Holly, and Finn! It was really sweet and mature of Aiden, a troubled 18 year old, to take responsibility of a kid that's not even his!
Also, the friendship between Aiden and Rich was inspiring. To have to save your best friend from ODing every other night must feel bittersweet. Bad for seeing him in such a state. Good for saving his life.
Now, the most important relationship of all, Cass and Aiden. Aiden was the protective older brother that Cass never had. Even though he never expressed his feelings that much, you could see how much he loved and cared for his sister. -
A captivatingly emotive and gut-wrenching read.
A real insight into how easily children can be damaged by circumstance and saved by love.
Keren writes in such a wonderfully raw and believable way. Her characters incredibly lifelike and endearing.
Tears were shed during the reading of this book. My heart in my mouth for much of the latter pages....
Never underestimate the power of human nature and strength of will of our youngsters.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. -
I really really like this book! The characters are all very unique with their own personalities and quirks, and I feel like they were all developed with a lot of depth. I love how the two main characters were so different to each other and how that affected the way they became proper siblings again. Basically I found it really touching, original and written in a way that made you connect with the characters and was also easy to read :D
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I've never read a book that has as large amount of broken family relationships as this one does. In a way, like Aidan's tattoo, this book is filled with hope. It's really heartwarming to read about a brother and sister trying to find their way back to each other, this is the kind of story that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Amazing, fabulous, emotion filled. Definitely a to-read for everyone's list!!
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http://www.unbrindelecture.com/2015/1...
Une histoire contemporaine extrêmement touchante. Ne craignez pas de tomber sur une histoire larmoyante ou pleine de bons sentiments, l'auteure n'a ni exagéré ni enjolivé cette histoire cruel, pleine de réalisme et d'espoir. Cass et Aidan tellement différents et tellement proche nous embarque dans leur histoire avec fluidité et émotions.
Un joli moment de lecture ! -
Keren David has made it into my top 3 authors.
This is the second book I have read of hers and I was just as captivated. I love how she reveals little by little a key point that makes you want to keep going because you MUST KNOW.
The writing is captivating, the story is moving and the characters are multi-dimentional. -
Loved the dual voices of the story with their very different perspectives, but their overwhelming need to know where they belonged. Tough subjects covered in a totally accessible way, and interest maintained throughout - another excellent teen novel from Keren.
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Although it looks like it took me ages to read It hasn't, I just haven't been in the right frame of mind to read.
Honestly I could have read this in a day, it was an excellent read, easy going, enjoyable and at the same time very moving. -
A very powerful book, that attach us immediately to the lives of Aidan and Cass, and gives a realistic portrait of the child care system in Britain (and everywhere) and the damages it can wield on a child. Loved it!
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4.5 stars. So good! Full review coming soon.
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Im totally in love with this book. Its totally awesome and the characters are just... Amazing. I absolutely recommend it!
