In true survivor fiction fashion, this book takes the cake for good descriptive language and wonderfully thought out plot lines. We follow the story of Sal, a young woman who takes the initiative to get herself and her younger sister out of an unsavory situation at their home. She learns to survive and create a shelter for herself and peppa, her sister. The characters are well thought out and the storyline very well put together. If you enjoyed Hatchet as a child, this book will put you in the same frame of mind.

The story of Sal's escape from an abusive home life into the wilds of Scotland is vividly told in this beautiful and touching novel.

Sal is the story of two sisters who run away from a painful and abusive home. The older sister Sal has meticulously prepared for the adventure by learning about survival off the internet and in books. This is where the text really takes off. The character of Sal is a well-written and believable portrait of a young person on the spectrum.
The sisters escape to the Scottish wilderness to let the news of their running away blow over; they want to eventually go back to help their mother. In the meantime, they work together to find food, build shelter, and protect each other from the painful memories they share.
This is a quick read, but the topics and characters stay with you. I would recommend this to young adults and readers who are looking for a narrator who teaches you new ways of looking at the world.

Thank you to Canongate Books, NetGalley, and the author for the advanced copy to review.

It's taken me a while to write this review as I wanted to do the book justice. I absolutely adored Sal, and I've already called it as my book of the year. Sal and Peppa's vivacity and ferocious will to survive scream off the page, and the humour and compassion in the book will leave many readers breathless I'm sure. I cannot recommend this book enough, I'm sure I will be re-reading it soon.

This novel really had me from the beginning. The characters were very relatable and the story was really impactful to me personally. This is a story that indicates what is happening to many women around the world and I liked how Kitson attacks a problem that is so relevant to our society today. Also, I liked that Kitson also included the problem of alcoholism into the novel and how drinking can affect the lives of others around that person. While reading this, Kitson provided me with some clarity about the problem that many people go through with drinking. It is a real problem and it should be taken care off because many children are the ones that have to deal with their parents drinking all of the time and that causes these children to live a life that is horrible. All I’m trying to say is that, when a child grows up with a parent or a guardian that has an alcohol problem that causes that child to not really experience childhood at all, making them experience adulthood at such a low age and that is not good.
I really liked the story of Sal and how strong and brave she was. She really set an example to people around the world to really stand up to those around you who are making your life a living hell and I liked what she did so her life could change into something meaningful. For me Sal became the real definition of what Sal means in Spanish. I made a really strong connection to her and that is all thanks to Kitson’s way of writing. The writing in this novel was exceptional and I applaud Kitson because he made me go through many different emotions with this story. Therefore, I love this story and I can’t wait to read more Kitson novels in the future.
All in all, Sal by Mick Kitson, is a story that is powerful, incredibly emotional, a breath of fresh air, and very moving. I believe that all its readers are going to like this story a lot because it is intense and it is a page turner all the way.

I wish this book were being released now so that I could immediately recommend it to everyone. The story of Sal and her younger sister Peppa has all the feels. There is so much love, tenacity, grit, danger, trust, fear, hate and forgiveness wrapped up in a book-sized package. The characters are incredibly well-developed and the story itself is cleverly plotted. Highly recommend.

Powerful story. It's so scary to think of two kids out on their own, but I guess too many children that young are on their own in the world. sad. Sal and Peppa have a really rough home life. Their mom's a drunk and drug addict and her live-in boyfriend molests Sal and is threatening to molest Peppa. so Sal plots for the two girls to run away and learns all about survival and living off the land to protect her. It's a little rough to read with the slang (Scots) and language, but can be managed. I think teens and up will appreciate the story.

When I finished this book last night, having read it in one day, I had no idea how to rate it and I really didn’t know what to say about it. I woke up thinking about these characters which for me personally is a sign that I have read something profound or at the very least thought provoking. This was an easy read from the language perspective, the matter of fact words of a thirteen year old girl, but it was at the same time disturbing, heartbreaking, and beautiful in the rendering of the love between two sisters.

Sal has been in survival mode for the last three years, enduring what no child ever should. If she tells anyone what’s happening, there’s a good chance that she and her ten year old sister Peppa will be separated. Her alcoholic mother is passed out often enough to be oblivious to what her alcoholic, drug addicted boyfriend is doing. But then survival mode takes on a much more literal meaning as Sal takes justice into her own hands and they run away to a forest somewhere in Scotland. Sal is on a mission to save Peppa from the same things she was forced to endure. I had that hard to describe feeling, a knot in my stomach from the beginning as Sal talks about how she sets aside her worrying time so she can focus on the survival skills she has learned on YouTube and the famous survival manual - building a fire, shooting an air gun, making rabbit snares, managing the basics of food and shelter in the woods and most of all caring for Peppa. I can’t say I liked reading about their time in the wild . I’m not much of a camper at all so I found none of the details interesting but I was so affected by these sisters. The seriousness of Sal was balanced by the bit of comic relief that Peppa provides with her desire to laugh, her off color language, surprising to come from a ten year old but she stole my heart as did Sal who cares for her.

Another character, Ingrid, a retired doctor who lives a secluded life in the woods befriends the girls, helps care for them and I thought played a role in getting them to move forward to a place where there could be a possibility for a different life. The ending was not what I expected given all that happened, but I finished the book hoping for the best for Sal and Peppa. It’s sad and thought provoking and impacted me enough to up my initial rating to 4 stars.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Canongate through NetGalley.

I absolute loved this. I really couldn't put it down, and I thought all of the characters were so original and complex and realistic. The descriptions of their survival in the wilderness were so interesting and the fierce love that Sal had for her little sister was so sweet. I thought the narrative style was spot-on and overall I just really enjoyed it.

A beautiful book despite its tough subject matter. The sisters, Sal and Peppa, are adorable and charming. Sal, the oldest, has been taking care of her younger sisters for years as her mom drinks the days away. Her mother's boyfriend uses the mother's addiction to his advantage and sexual assaults Sal numerous times. Despite this Sal is tough and getting prepared cause the boyfriend has made it known Peppa is next. With Sal resourcefulness the girls will flee to the woods and start a life of self-sufficiency.