Sal

Sal

First Title Value for Searching:

Sal

Personal Author:

Kitson, Mick

Physical Description:

234 pages ; 22 cm.

Genre:

Psychological fiction.

Summary:

"Sal planned it for almost a year before they ran. She nicked an Ordnance Survey map from the school library. She bought a compass, a Bear Grylls knife, waterproofs, and a first aid kit from Amazon using credit cards she'd robbed. She read the 'SAS Survival Handbook' and watched loads of YouTube videos. And now Sal knows a lot of stuff. Like how to build a shelter and start a fire. How to estimate distances, snare rabbits, and shoot an airgun. And how to protect her sister, Peppa. Because Peppa is ten, which is how old Sal was when Robert started on her. Told in Sal's distinctive voice, and filled with the silent, dizzying beauty of rural Scotland, 'Sal' is a disturbing, uplifting story of survival, of the kindness of strangers, and the irrepressible power of sisterly love; a love that can lead us to do extraordinary and unimaginable things."--Front jacket flap.

Subject Term:

Runaway children -- Juvenile fiction.

Children of alcoholics -- Juvenile fiction.

Survival -- Juvenile fiction.

Sexually abused children -- Juvenile fiction.

Sisters -- Juvenile fiction

Publication Information:

Edinburgh : Canongate, 2018.

Publication Info:

Subject:

Runaway children -- Juvenile fiction.

Children of alcoholics -- Juvenile fiction.

Survival -- Juvenile fiction.

Sexually abused children -- Juvenile fiction.

Sisters -- Juvenile fiction

Scotland -- Juvenile fiction.

Psychological fiction.

Children, Runaway

Alcoholics' children

Children of alcoholic parents

Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, etc.

Survival skills

Child sexual abuse victims

Caledonia

Scotia

Schotland

Sŭkʻotʻŭllandŭ

Ecosse

Škotska

SAILS ISBN:

9781786891877

9781786891884

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Holmes Public Library	KIT	NEW FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Foxboro - Boyden Library	FIC KITSON, M.	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mattapoisett Free Public Library	YA KIT	YOUNG ADULT FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... New Bedford Free Public Library	FIC KITSON	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... New Bedford Wilks Branch	FIC KITSON	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Norfolk Public Library	F KITSON, M. SAL	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Richards Memorial Library	KITSON	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Seekonk Public Library	FIC KITSON	FICTION	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

This is a story of something like survival.

Sal planned it for almost a year before they ran. She nicked an Ordnance Survey map from the school library. She bought a compass, a Bear Grylls knife, waterproofs and a first aid kit from Amazon using credit cards she'd robbed. She read the SAS Survival Handbook and watched loads of YouTube videos.

And now Sal knows a lot of stuff. Like how to build a shelter and start a fire. How to estimate distances, snare rabbits and shoot an airgun. And how to protect her sister, Peppa. Because Peppa is ten, which is how old Sal was when Robert started on her.

Told in Sal's distinctive voice, and filled with the silent, dizzying beauty of rural Scotland, Sal is a disturbing, uplifting story of survival, of the kindness of strangers, and the irrepressible power of sisterly love; a love that can lead us to do extraordinary and unimaginable things.

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

Sal is not a spur-of-the-moment runaway. With her 10-year-old sister, Peppa, in tow, 13-year-old Sal prepared for this day, when they would start living in the Scottish wilderness armed with some supplies she secretly bought online and the knowledge she gained from YouTube videos and the SAS Survival Handbook. Pressed by the immediate concerns of finding food, shelter, and warmth, the intrepid teenager slowly reveals the circumstances that led them here. She knew she had to run to save her sister from Robert, their mother's live-in boyfriend, because Peppa was about the age Sal had been when Robert started abusing her. And now Robert is dead. As the days turn into weeks, the girls meet another resident of the woods who once was a doctor in West Germany and vows to keep their secret safe. Startling in its simplicity and immediacy, told from Sal's undeniably practical perspective, this remarkable debut novel is a story of courage, lost innocence, and freedom. Sal memorably unpacks the skills needed for survival, of all kinds.--Thoreson, Bridget Copyright 2018 Booklist

Library Journal Review

DEBUT Sal is a wee Scottish lassie of 13 who loves too much. That's why she has to kill Robert. Robert is her mum's live-in boyfriend who enables mum's drinking and drug habits; he is also Sal's serial sexual abuser. When he mentions that he might also be interested in Sal's beloved ten-year-old sister, Peppa, Sal realizes she has to act. For a full year, she devotes herself to memorizing the SAS Survival Handbook, getting hold of a Bear Grylls hunting knife, and boning up on YouTube and Wikipedia features on survival, as well as any number of other esoteric topics. She also hoards belVita biscuits so she doesn't have to rely on insects the way they do on that daft Survivor show. Having done the bloody deed, she and Peppa light out for the Scottish countryside, where the ever resourceful and resilient Sal can elude the authorities and put into practice what she's learned to protect her sister. VERDICT That this debut novel is about the hot topic of female empowerment (even if written by a man) should be enough to attract attention; readers, once hooked, will be captivated by Sal's resolution, ingenuity, singular voice, and infinite capacity for wonder in the face of appalling circumstances.-Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.