Salvation Blog Tour

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

Interview w/Anne Osterlund:
Q: What was different or similar about writing Salvation than writing your other novels, Academy 7, Aurelia, and Exile?

Although all of my books have alternating points of view, this is the first book in which the guy’s story defines the action. It required a great deal of tossing and catching of objects: footballs, oranges, keys. Ultimately, though, the challenge remained the same. Digging as deeply into the character’s head—and heart—as possible, and allowing the reader to see the world from that character’s perspective.

Q: How did you get the idea for Salvation?

I first met Salva and Beth in the middle of a collision. Papers, pencils, the contents of Beth’s backpack, and point of view everywhere! I didn’t realize there was an entire book coming, though, until Salva’s best friend, Pepe, shoved him into the prologue. 

Q: Salva and Beth were so different and yet so similar to each other. Are they based on anyone in particular?

Salva and Beth are very much themselves. They have their own desires, quirks, fears, and personalities. My job is to listen. To help bring those traits, thoughts, and emotions across to the reader. And to make discoveries even the characters don’t realize about themselves. Salva likes order. Beth likes chaos. But they both need the opposite. And that’s the joy of being an author.

Salva's struggles to stay true to himself while also pleasing his immigrant father were so vivid. Did you have to deal with something similar growing up? Or have you had students who were dealing with these high parental expectations?

I think the struggle to find one’s own path is a universal part of the senior year experience. Along with that rush of knowing the year is going to end, friends are going to move on, and that no matter what choice you make, life is going to change dramatically. Salva has plenty of his own problems without me pawning mine off on him. His sense of responsibility is heightened, both by his role as an older sibling in an immigrant family and as one in which a parent has died.

I just loved Salva and Beth! Are there any plans for a sequel or spinoff novel?

Salvation is a standalone novel; and unlike my earlier books—Aurelia, Exile, and Academy 7—it was conceived that way. Though, of course, anything is possible!

Thank you, Emily, for hosting Salva, Beth, and I on our tour! You and your visitors are all welcome to come visit us any time on:

Our Website ♥ Our Blog ♥ Salvation Blog Tour

Review:

My favorite thing about the novel was that the ending came out of nowhere. It was not at all what I was expecting and just as I was getting to know the characters and what to expect Osterlund changed the game and made me reevaluate everything. It is writing like this that takes me completely by surprise that I fall in love with and I think that is why I loved Salvation so much, it took me by surprise.

The book centers around Beth described as the “walking disaster area” and Salvador “Salva” who is class president, captain of the football team, and has a perfect GPA. He really is Mr. Right, and I was nervous beginning this novel that he might be too perfect. Salva though definitely has his faults, and that made him all the more likable.

One of the main themes of this novel is the pressure to do better then your parents did and to go to college. It was told through Salva’s perspective, so the perspective of a first generation Mexican-American, but a lot of it rang true for me. I remember how much pressure my parents put on me to do better then they did and to excel in school. Although, they were supportive when I was in high school and undergrad, I never really felt like they were truly proud of me until I began Law School. Despite Salva and I being from very different backgrounds I could relate him in a lot of ways.

I also enjoyed the relationship between Beth and Salva. It was a little bit formulaic in the fact that they are paired for a school project and then come to realize they have feelings for each other but this didn’t stop me from rooting for the two of them. Beth and Salva have both been through so much that above all I wanted them both to be happy and they were happy together.

Overall, I really enjoyed Salvation. The novel took me by surprise and had me rooting for the characters. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys contemporary novels and liked Pushing the Limits, or Perfect Chemistry.

Author Bio:
Anne Osterlund grew up in the sunshine of Eastern Oregon and graduated from Whitworth College. She lives in a cute little yellow house with her new feline friend, Charlotte, and her own library of young adult books. She also teaches sixth grade and enjoys immersing her students in language, literature, and imagination. Anne has written three novels, Aurelia, Academy 7, and Exile, all published by Penguin Books, and is polishing a fourth.

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Salvation Blog Tour