Cass is a teenage girl with a seemingly perfect life. Her dad is a rich politician, her mum his spotless wife, and she has a little brother. Until it all comes crashing down when her Dad is discovered by the papers as sleeping with another woman, who is now pregnant with his child. That, and Cass is adopted.
Aidan's life is a stark contrast. He lives above a salvage shop where he works with his girlfriend, having finally got out of the care homes where he spent the majority of his life. When he sees Cass in the papers over their family disaster, he is desperate to meet the sister he hasn't seen since they were separated.
Though I liked the storyline of Salvage, I found that it could be a bit slow at times, and at the same time it had a few too many things going on at once, which were difficult to keep up with. I felt the storyline would be better if it was kept a bit more simple with just one or two main plots, making these more exciting and prominent. I also found the characters could have done with more development as I found Cass a bit boring and flimsy.
I did, however, like that it was a bit more than just your typical family problems story which I don't really enjoy, as it wasn't too much doom and gloom. I loved the character of Will in that he was so different and individual and yet everyone loved him rather than thinking him weird.
Overall I would rate Salvage 6.5/10 and recommend it to teenagers who enjoy this kind of story about family drama etc.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
Want to tell the world about a book you've read? Join the site and send us your review!
