Salvation by Anne Osterlund

Published: January 10th, 2013

Publisher: Speak

Pages: 288

Copy:  Library

Summary: Goodreads

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.

Review

I had a serious love/hate relationship with Ms Osterlund's newest book Salvation.  I loved the story, the pacing, the characters, the romance and I hated the fact that it made me cry.  Twice at least - and I hate crying when I'm reading.  I can't see to read!

OK, silliness over.  Salvation was a wonderful book to read.  The characters seemed very real - flawed yet convincing in their actions.  None of the characters came from money, which added a slightly different flavour to the story that I enjoyed.  There was no trying to be someone you're not, just trying to be the best and make the best out of the circumstances that have been dealt to you.

Salva and Beth have an interesting relationship and I enjoyed seeing Beth help Salva realise his full potential, and conquer his demons.  His guilt over his mother was very affecting.  Something else I enjoyed were the secondary characters.  Pepe, Tosa, Char, Luka and Nalani all had important, if minor, roles to play and over the course of the novel we get to know them, not just as Salva and Beth's friends.

Favourite part of the book - Romeo and Juliet's death scene in the cafeteria - best ever.  Followed closely by the mock trial.  You have to read the book to catch the significance of both these events, but they were perfect and helped to illustrate life in high school in all its glory.

Salvation is a serious step outside Ms Osterlund's previous comfort zone  - Aurelia and Exile are fantasy and Academy 7 is SF - but it worked well and she has proved that she can conquer any genre.  Final decision - a lovely contemporary romance that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend, but grab the kleenex, you'll need them.

Blog Tour - Salvation by Anne Osterlund - Guest post.

 

Published: January 10th, 2012

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers

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?

When I discovered Anne Osterlund a couple of years ago I had so much fun reading her books.  I now wait anxiously for the publication of each new book and I am thrilled to see Salvation hit the shelves. One of the things I particularly love about her books is her strong characters, who are always easy to relate to.

As part of the Salvation blog tour, I had the chance to ask Anne exactly why she writes for the young adult audience, and how she chooses her subject matter.  I'm sure you'll have as much fun reading her answer as I did:

Losing at Poker by Anne Osterlund (with help from Salva and Beth, the main characters in Salvation)

I look at Salva.

He ignores me, pretending to focus on his hand of poker cards. I’m getting the distinct impression he thinks someone else should answer this question, but Aurelia, the heroine of my earlier books Aurelia and Exile, is busy dealing. And Robert as well as Aerin and Dane, from Academy 7, wisely declined to join the game. Besides, this is Salva’s blog tour, and he should really take the lead in answering the guest posts.

“Why do I write YA?” I say to him.

He switches around the cards in his hand, then stretches out on the carpet, rolls over on his back, and pretends to be concentrating. “Not sure. You love teenagers?” he pretends to answer.

“That is such BS and you know it,” I say.

He rolls back over on his stomach, trades in a card, and feigns nonchalance. “You find us more of a challenge than adults?” he asks.

I squelch a smile. There may be something to that. Salva, Beth, and I do have a hard time taking the easiest path.

“You read YA,” Beth says calmly. She exchanges a card, then refills her snack bowl with M&M’s.

Salva reaches for the bowl, but she tugs it away.

“Yes, I read YA,” I say. “I like young adult books because they’re fast and get right to the action and the writing is often stronger than adult fiction; but really, you know, it’s because of—”

“The characters,” Aurelia blurts out.

I glare at her. We had an agreement that she wouldn’t take over this tour.

She claps her hand over her mouth, rolls her eyes at Salva, then ditches her cards and heads for the kitchen. Clearly poker isn’t her game.

“True,” I admit. “I read YA for the teenage characters. Because, I think, by their very nature . . . the fact that they have their own minds, their own opinions, their own view of the world—”

“And they aren’t trapped in that viewpoint,” Beth adds.

I nod, folding my cards. It’s pretty obvious this game is going to be won by either Salva or Beth.

“And because they haven’t lived their entire lives yet,” I continue, “there’s always . . .”

Salva calls.

“Hope,” Beth says, laying down her cards.

He grins, pushing his chips in her direction.

She passes him the M&M’s.

He empties most of the bowl into his hand, then looks at me and finally contributes to the conversation. “And you choose your subject matter based on the stories we tell you. You really don’t have any say in it.”

“Maybe not,” I admit. “But I do provide the M&M’s.”



Thank you so much to Anne for joining us here on The Paperback Princesses.

Exile by Anne Osterlund

Published: April 2011

Publisher: Speak

Pages: 295

Copy: Bought

Summary: Goodreads

Crown princess Aurelia is a survivor. She survived attempted assassination. She survived the king's rejection. She survived her mother's abandonment. And now, in exile, she must survive her kingdom-from hostile crowds to raw frontier to desert sands. But even as unknown assailants track Aurelia and expedition guide Robert, she knows what her greatest risk is: falling in love

This is the third book that I have read by Anne Osterlund, and for me, they just keep getting better and better. Exile is the follow-up to Aurelia (Read my review here), and continues the story of princess Aurelia and her childhood friend Robert.  I loved Aurelia, it was full of wonderful characters and in Exile we get to know them a little better.  Having been exiled after the death of her father, Aurelia is trying to put her finger on the pulse of her people by visiting different areas of the country and trying to find out what life is really like for them, and in the process she grows as both a person and a princess. 

Her ongoing relationship with Robert was both charming and frustrating. Looking from the outside in on a romance in progress is fun and I really enjoyed the way these two find each other in the midst of all that is going on. They are both so sure of themselves and at the same time so unsure of their feelings.  Robert is such a noble person - altho' at times I was saying to myself, 'just kiss her already!' 

The uncertainty of whom they could put their trust in kept things tense and I found myself racing through pages to find out what would happen next.  At one of their stops, Aurelia comes face to face with someone from her past and this throws her into extreme confusion.  Sorry, can't say whom, because that would be a spoiler, but her acceptance of the situation and realization that she has to move on was well done.

'She had survived.  And somehow, in the process, the chasm within her own chest had healed, if not filled' (page 116)

Once again Ms Osterlund treats us to mystery and adventure, with sword fights, treachery, chases and romance in spades.  I'm really hoping that she is already in the process of writing #3, because I really want to see how Aurelia handles her treacherous step-mother and sister  (what wonderful behind-the-scenes baddies they were).

For anyone who enjoyed Graceling, or Fire, you will love this series, and if you haven't already tried it you're in for a wonderful treat.

In Case You Missed It - Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

Published: April 2008

Publisher: Penguin Speak

Pages: 246

Copy from: Library

Summary: Goodreads

Princess Aurelia is next in line to rule the kingdom of Tyralt, but she would rather be one of the common folk, free to learn and roam and . . . not marry the next tyrannical prince that comes courting. Naturally, the king wants Aurelia to marry for political power. Aurelia wants to marry for love. And someone in the kingdom wants her . . . dead. Assigned to investigate and protect Aurelia is Robert, the son of the king’s former royal spy and one of Aurelia’s oldest friends.

As Aurelia and Robert slowly uncover clues as to who is threatening her, their friendship turns to romance. With everything possible on the line—her life, her kingdom, her heart—Aurelia is forced to take matters into her own hands, no matter the cost.

I discovered Anne Osterlund just a short while ago when I read her novel 'Academy 7', you can read my review HERE. At that time I was determined to find something else that she had written, and so I discovered Aurelia, her debut novel. Now perhaps this was talked about at the time it came out, but I wasn't blogging then and I missed it. I am so glad that I found it now. It was a wonderful fantasy novel that was also romantic suspense, and I loved it.

Aurelia is a Princess hemmed in by duty and protocol and all she wants is to have some freedom. Right from the opening sentences you realise how trapped she feels. I must admit that the quality of the writing made it quite easy to step into Aurelia's shoes.

'On the night of her younger sister's coming out party, Arelia almost died. Of boredom. Her ankle itched as though a single ant were casually creeping over her flesh. ..... She longed to reach down and scratch, but years of royal training had not been entirely lost. She could not afford such a dramatic movement while her father was speaking."

Robert, an old friend of Aurelia's, arrives at the palace unexpectedly, with a secret. He has to find out who is trying to kill her, without letting her know about it. A seemingly impossible task, but the price of failure is her death. The interaction between Robert and Aurelia was fun and interesting and the romance was not instant, took time to mature, and that's always a plus for me.

' "I must say that as a frontiersman, you are an abysmal disappointment. Where are the scars, the hunting knife, and the buckskin jacket?" she could always parry with her tongue as well as he could with a sword.
"I'm afraid I collected more bruises than scars. ..." '

As the story progresses and the attempts on Aurelia's life become more obvious, the suspense becomes addictive. I raced through the story, absolutely sure I knew who the culprit was, only to find out that I was wrong - that's what happens when you jump to conclusions! There are riots, races, sword fights, cat fights, picnics and romance, and the mystery just keeps getting deeper. I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining debut novel, and encourage readers to try it if you haven't already.

Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund

Published: May 2009
Publisher: Puffin

Pages: 259

Copy from: Library

Summary: Goodreads

Aerin Renning is a scarred fugitive, Dane Madousin a rebellious son of privilege. On the surface, they have nothing in common. But the two most competitive freshmen at Academy 7 share an undiscovered bond. Both harbor a dangerous secret that threatens their own destruction. And while their safety depends on their staying apart, the two are inexplicably drawn to each other.

Even as unknown forces conspire to separate them, their competition turns to friendship, and their friendship to romance. Now not only their lives—but their hearts—are at stake. To survive, the two must unite all their knowledge, skills, and gifts to uncover a secret bigger than either could have imagined. A secret as big as the entire universe...

I discovered Academy 7 on the shelf at the library when I was looking for something else. I had never seen or heard of it before, and I was not aware of the author, so I was doubly delighted when I read and really enjoyed it. The 2 main protagonists, Aerin and Dane are from 2 wildly different backgrounds and are both emotionally scarred for wildly different reasons - a match made in heaven? You'd think so wouldn't you, and eventually, yes, things do turn out well, but they have a long harrowing road to get there.

Set at some unknown point in the future, when space travel is taken for granted and there are many inhabited worlds, Aerin and Dane end up together at the most prestigious school in the universe. Not the 'World', but the universe! Other than that, it could be any boarding school in America. What I found interesting was the lack of secondary characters in the school. This story really was centred just around the 2 students, and other than an annoying queen bee who pops up every now and again, most of the other characters are adults, good and bad.

I enjoyed the growth of the characters, who despite their differences, had a lot in common, and the journey to acceptance of each other was fun to read. There were a couple of rather disturbing interludes with Dane and his father, and Aerin's parents, but they added dimension to the story. The romance was gentle, the mystery exciting and the characters were real. If you haven't already come across this one, try it out, I think you'll enjoy it.

It turns out that Anne Osterlund has also written 'Aurelia' and 'Exile', so I'm off to see if I can find a copy of either, or both!