Novel Review: Salvation by Anne Osterlund

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Speak (Penguin)

Publish Date: January, 2013

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A smart, unexpected romance from an award-winning author.

Salvador Resendez--Salva to his friends--appears to have it all. His Mexican immigrant family has high expectations, and Salva intends to fulfill them. He's student body president, quarterback of the football team, and has a near-perfect GPA. Everyone loves him.

Especially Beth Courant, AKA the walking disaster area. Dreamy and shy, Beth is used to blending into the background. But she's also smart, and she has serious plans for her future.

Popular guy and bookish girl--the two have almost nothing in common. Until fate throws them together and the attraction is irresistible. Soon Beth is pushing Salva to set his sights higher than ever--because she knows he has more to offer, more than even he realizes.

Then tragedy strikes--and threatens to destroy everything that Salva has worked for. Will Beth's love be enough to save him?

Thoughtful and romantic, this is a beautifully written story about following your heart and fulfilling your potential.

Something Specific:

Quotes:

• "'According to me.’ She smiled. ‘And I’m the only one who matters.’” (Paperback, pg. 42)
•  "...nothing was too ‘out there’ or ‘over her head.’ Or too deep. She seemed to operate on a plane of feeling.” (Pg. 111)
• "Which was so Beth. Telling him to read a poem. As if real people could just work out all their problems through literature. Like the characters in a book.” (Pg. 112)
• "Except she did. Not like a puzzle piece attached to his side, but like a part of his soul that had always been within him.” (Pg. 169)

The Cover:

 I actually rather like the cover of this book. The couple look nice and similar to the characters. They have a happy feel, but also like there might be something else going on. It's a little embarrassing, but not hugely. Overall I think it's cute and fitting.

Review:

I didn’t really know what to expect from this book. I thought it would be a lighthearted, find yourself, romantic story, similar to Simone Elkeles’ books (like her Perfect Chemistry series). And I was right, in a way, because I was also wrong.

This is a romance between Salva and Beth, both of whom need to find themselves a little more, both of whom needed each other and are very good for each other. I liked both of these characters, and believed them. They’re both in bad spots, they’re both good people. They got along really well, and helped each other along really well, which I liked.

Their family and school lives played big, important roles, and it evened out with the very nice kissing romance. Which, the kissing part, was very nice, and responsible, and they had a nice outlook on it. My only real problem with the story was the ending. It just took a huge curveball near the end, and I was not expecting it, and am still kind of wondering what the point of it was, or at least what the meaning behind it was. It did some good things for Salva and Beth and their families, I guess, but it was also really outlandish and maybe unneeded. But maybe I just don’t understand the purpose well enough yet. 

So overall, I rather enjoyed this book. It was good, sweet, I liked the characters. I will probably pick up another of Osterlund’s books in the future, although I’m not sure when (mainly because her other books are more on the historical side, I believe).