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In this Latinx YA fantasy inspired by El Zorro, Lola de La Peña becomes the masked heroine Salvación in order to save her family and town from a man who would destroy it for the magic it contains...if she doesn't fall in love with a boy in his company first.
Lola de La Peña yearns to be free from the societal expectations of a young Mexican lady of her station. She spends her days pretending to be delicate and proper while watching her mamá cure the sick and injured with sal negra (black salt), a recently discovered magic that heals even the most mortal of sicknesses and wounds. But by night, she is Salvación, the free-spirit lady vigilante protecting the town of Coloma from those who threaten its peace and safety among the rising tension in Alta California after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
But one night, a woman races into Coloma, barely alive, to tell the horrifying tale of how her town was obliterated by sal roja (red salt), a potent, deadly magic capable of obliterating anything it comes into contact with, and about the man who wields it: Damien Hernández. So when Hernández arrives the next day with a party of fifty strong and promises of returning Alta California to México, Lola knows it's only a matter of time before he brings the region under his rule―all Hernández needs is the next full moon and the stolen, ancient amulet he carries to mine enough sal roja to conquer the land. Determined to protect everything she loves, Lola races against time as Salvación to stop his plans. What she didn't count on was the distracting and infuriating Alejandro, who travels with Hernández but doesn't seem to share his ambitions. With the stakes higher than ever and Hernández getting closer to his goals, Lola will do anything to foil his plans, even teaming up with Alejandro―who she doesn't fully trust but can't help but fall in love with.
"Action-packed and thrilling with a touch of romance, Proudman's debut novel is an homage to folk hero stories told through a feminist lens...A heartfelt, swashbuckling, standout novel." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In this swashbuckling, Zorro-inspired historical fantasy set after the signing of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Proudman (Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories) utilizes a stubborn yet vulnerable heroine and an inventive magic system drawing from the history of Central American salt mines to levy weighty examinations of colonization and tradition." —Publishers Weekly
"Sandra Proudman's Salvación will heal your heart as quickly as sal negra. This beautiful debut highlights Lola's journey into vigilante life with a love for family, homeland, and justice...no matter the cost." —Amparo Ortiz, author of Last Sunrise in Eterna
"A dynamic tale filled with longing, action, high-stakes, and dangerous magic. Salvación swept me away with spirited characters that felt like family and a vivid world that felt like home." —Angela Montoya, author of Sinner's Isle and A Cruel Thirst
This information about Salvación was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Sandra Proudman (she/her/ella) is the editor of the YA Latinx SFF anthology, Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories and a contributor to the YA horror anthology, The House Where Death Lives, both out now. Salvación is her first full-length novel. She is also a literary agent, passionate about bringing underrepresented voices to the forefront. When not busily immersed in all things publishing, you can find her spending time with her amazing husband and adorable toddler gathering rollie pollies and going on adventures, catching up on all her shows, or trying to get the perfect tortilla puff.
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