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, the kindness of strangers and the irrepressible power of sisterly love - a love that can lead us to do extraordinary and unimaginable things.
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Peppa said 'Cold' and then she went quiet for a bit.
CHAPTER 1 - SNARES
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(@canongatebooks, 1 March 2018, 6 hours 30 minutes, audiobook, bought from @audibleuk, narrated by @sharonrooney)
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This is an incredible book, all the more because Sharon Rooney is the perfect narrator. This book covers some quite horrific subject matter, which the author gradually reveals. Sal and Poppy's reason for running is not clear at first and you gradually learn her stepfather was abusing her. But that's not all. Sal and smart and resourceful, impressive for someone who's only 13. It becomes clear they're on the run for something much worse than to escape an abusive step-father. I loved everything about this book, despite the very dark subject matter it tackles. It's a fairly short audiobook, less than 7 hours. I didn't want to stop listening. I loved the characters, the complex story, the narration and the setting. This is an incredible book.
