Review: Salvage by Alexandra Duncan

Source: Received an egalley from publisher through Edelweiss.
Publisher: Greenwillow
Release Date: Already Released!
Number of Pages: 520 (Hardcover)


Description 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.

I must admit that what first caught my attention with Salvage was its stunning cover...but once I started to read the book, it was the story that truly won me over. Nowadays, most books come in trilogies or series, so when I found out Salvage was a stand-a-lone, I was both pleasantly surprised, and also a tiny bit disappointed because part of me would have absolutely loved more of the world that Alexandra Duncan has created! :P I'll just have to settle for reading absolutely everything that Alexandra Duncan writes in the future now I guess. ;)

One of my favourite aspects of Salvage was the world-building! It was wonderful, so flushed-out and vibrant, and extremely fascinating to read about! I also really enjoyed learning about the ships that Ava grew up with, and I loved reading how Duncan re-imagined our world. That's one of my favourite aspects of dystopia: seeing how our modern world has changed and what similarities or differences exist between the fictional world and our own...and Duncan did that very, very well! :D

The characterization was also amazing!! Ava was wonderful, and I loved that she played two very different roles throughout the story. Aboard the merchant ships, she was knowledgeable and was the source of information for the reader, but when she came to Earth, she was just as clueless about everything as we were, and I thought that created an interesting dynamic. It also allowed for an extremely wonderful case of character progression, one that I truly loved seeing. Instead of just passively going on throughout the story, Ava changed soooooo much! I was so proud of her by the end of Salvage...she's one of those protagonists that I'd love to know in person because she was remarkable!

Salvage also seriously played with your heartstrings! Throughout the book, your emotions will be severely tested! I felt so much while reading it!! I laughed, I cried...I was heartbroken, elated, proud, and so much more!  Now, I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but the ending of the book was definitely the most emotional part for me. I found it both heartbreaking and rewarding...and again, I was so proud of Ava, but I also hurt so much for her! For me, the emotional aspect of Salvage is what really pushed this book from something that I enjoyed to something that I absolutely loved and will never forget. Salvage quickly dragged me into the story, and it kept me so emotionally invested that I really didn't want to stop reading...at all!

Overall, Salvage was a wonderful story! It was imaginative, and inspirational. It's one of those books that I know I will definitely be reading again, and that I'll never forget because Ava, and her story, are truly unforgettable! I'd recommend Salvage to readers who love to see a character come into their full potential...and if you like stories that affect your emotions, you'll definitely love this one! :)

What do you think?
Does Salvage sound like something you want to read?
And if you've already read it, what did you think?