Review: Salvage by Alexandra Duncan

Salvage

Author: Alexandra Duncan
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Greenwillow
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Format: eARC
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Source: Received from Publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 4 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***   

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Ava, a teenage girl living aboard the male-dominated deep space merchant ship Parastrata, faces betrayal, banishment, and death. Taking her fate into her own hands, she flees to the Gyre, a floating continent of garbage and scrap in the Pacific Ocean, in this thrilling, surprising, and thought-provoking debut novel that will appeal to fans of Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, and The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood.

My Review:

So I love space. I love sci-fi. I love all things nerdy. I also love pretty book covers. So when this book promised all of these things, I jumped on it. Salvage wasn’t what I expected it to be. It wasn’t as technologically centered or even as space centered as I thought. But even though it wasn’t what I was expecting, I still loved it. Seriously, this book was so good.

I loved the brief glimpse of space we got and how we learned about the space station where different crewes can stop off and trade supplies. I loved learning how each crewe worked and how culturally different they were. The main character, Ava’s, crewe was very male-dominated. Women were viewed as the ones who cooked, cleaned, and had babies. That was all they were good for. They weren’t taught how to read or how to do math. They weren’t given special gravity training to ensure that if they did happen to go planet-side they wouldn’t be crushed with the weight. They were, in my opinion, treated like animals. They weren’t even allowed to make eye contact with the men of the crewe. It made my blood boil. And what they were planning on doing to Ava after the one thing happened? No. That is not okay. What is wrong with these people???

After our brief stint in space, we go planet-side with Ava where we learn about the Gyre, a strange island literally made up of garbage. Ewww. But also, totally believable. I mean seriously, look at how much garbage we dump in the ocean every day. We meet Perpetue and Miyole there and I fell in love with both of them. Miyole was so vibrant, spunky, and alive. And Perpetue was fierce, strong, caring, and just perfect. Ava finds a family with them and begins to recuperate and rebuild her strength after being nearly destroyed by Earth’s gravity.

Then we go to another awesome setting, futuristic Mumbai. Seriously, how cool is that? The author did such an amazing job of describing the city. I could clearly picture it in my head and was just in love with the culture, the people, and the feel of the city. I wanted to go live there. Seriously, I wanted to crawl inside the book and live there.

So aside from the amazing settings this book has to offer, the main character is also awesome. I connected with her immediately and was rooting for her the entire book. Ava goes through a lot and she is most certainly not perfect. She makes mistakes and she’s a little naïve, but there was something strong and determined underneath all her uncertainty that I admired. The way she took care of Miyole was the sweetest and I loved that Ava pushed herself to provide for the little girl, but also to learn and grow with her new world. The romance was sweet. I wasn’t necessarily swooning, but I liked the two together and it moved at a perfect pace. No insta-love here, people.

If you’re looking for an awesome sci-fi or something with a unique setting, then Salvage is for you. I was immersed in this world and the characters and I didn’t want to leave. I was a little worried about it being a standalone and not wrapping up, but I shouldn’t have been. All the loose ends are tied up nicely and I am so happy with the way the story ended. Happy reading all!

Have you read this one? Were in love with the different settings to? How did you feel about it being a standalone?