Salvation

Gr 9 Up—High school seniors Salvador Resendez and Beth Courant both struggle with family pressures and dream of leaving their small town where the only opportunity is to work in the local onion-processing plant. Salva's father demands perfection from his son to prove that leaving Mexico and creating a new life in America was worth it, and the popular teen is determined not to let his family down the way that his college-dropout older brother has. Shy and clumsy bookworm Beth copes with her mother's recovering alcoholism and wants to leave her trailer-park home behind to attend a good college on a full scholarship. Forced to work together for a school project, Beth and Salva soon experience a tender connection that has them flirting over Shakespeare in this modern Romeo and Juliet tale. Readers looking for a gentle story of first romance will enjoy this sweet offering.—Madigan McGillicuddy, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Atlanta, GA