Sal is the story of two sisters on the run in the wilds of Scotland after life at home reaches intolerable levels. Sal is the older of the two sisters and the narrator of this story with a very distinct voice. She’s extremely organised, got great attention to detail and is a fiercely determined protector of her little sister Peppa. Armed with the SAS Survival Handbook they camp, learn to fish, snare rabbits & shoot pheasants, they keep warm by camp fire and learn how to stay hidden from the public eye. As the weeks wear on, they make a friend who offers a different perspective, help and love. Somehow Sal followed loyally by Peppa finds the courage to confront what has happened and face the future. This is an astonishing, deeply powerful read that has you rooting for the sisters all the way. Economically written, the prose like the surrounding countryside is stark, every single sentence has purpose and power. It's a story about the power of love and the effect is one of deep wonder, highly recommended.

I’ve had this book on my shelves for ages and I’ve always fancied reading it. It was so good. This is a story about Sal and Peppa, sisters who run away from home. Their home life isn’t great, from their mothers alcoholism, leaving the girls to fend for themselves, to the men she brings home. Sal has enough and takes matters into her own hands. I thought the book would be quite hard to read, we get to know exactly what Sal has went through at the hands of her mothers boyfriend, but even though it was filled with a lot of the bad stuff, it was also a beautiful story about sisters. I loved living vicariously through the girls, living in the forest, building a tent and a fire. Sal knows a lot about survival, and looks after her sister so well. It’s like an adventure for them. And they love each other so dearly. If you haven’t read this one I’d suggest you give it a go, it’s a short book at around 250 pages I think, but leaves a lasting impression.

Sal is the main character in this book : a story of abuse, survival and the love of two sisters. Sal and Peppa's mum is an alcoholic with a knack of finding unsuitable boyfriends, Robert is a drunk, a drug addict and a child abuser. He abuses 13 year old Sal, and when he threatens to do the same to do the same to 10 year old Peppa, Sal decides to act and save them. She learns all she can of wild camping, survival techniques from the SAS and anything else she can pick up from the internet. She finds a remote place where they can set up camp and live away from Social Services and the 'Polis' There is a lot of description of their surroundings in the mountains and the Loch that they live near, which I really liked. The elderly East German doctor that they meet is also a nice touch. It hadn't actually occurred to me that this was a Young Adult book: I enjoyed it and I'm certainly not a young adult (in body, anyway!). The novel didn't have the ending that I would have expected, but it was a good ending and very appropriate. All in all, a very good story. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of the book.

Sal and her little sister Peppa are running away. They are running from a life lived with their drunken mother and her boyfriend Robert. They are running from what Robert was doing to 13-year-old Sal and they are running from what Sal did to Robert when he told her that, at 10, Peppa was old enough for him to be interested in too. They are going to survive too, because Sal has planned meticulously - buying the equipment and clothing they'll need with some of Robert's collection of stolen credit cards and has made a thorough study of survival techniques on YouTube - and because she is driven by a powerful urge to protect her sister. As the girls settle in to this life we see glimpses of what their life had been like - Sal being the one who made sure both her sister and mother were fed and protected, the difficulties of having an alcoholic mother and the fear of the family being split up if their situation were known to the authorities. What shines through is both this fear - which Robert, in particular, used to his advantage with Sal - and the girls' long term plan to be reunited with their mother. It is a reminder of how young Sal and Peppa are that they see this reunited life as taking place in the Scottish wilderness where they have escaped to. This is book full of wonderful characters - the two girls are very different but both are engaging - and, it turns out, the family is not as isolated as they thought they were. So, alongside the awful past, we do see a hope for a better future. However, I worry about Sal's future. Her feelings towards her mother and sister are warm, fierce and protective and she shows fondness for some of the people who help her but her account of her own emotional reactions are oddly stunted. It was heart-breaking to think of a child that young having to live through such awful experiences: it was chilling to hear her speak of them so dispassionately.