Paolo lives in the Flats, a dangerous, water-logged community where families survive by salvaging materials from skyscrapers hidden just beneath the ocean’s surface—remnants of a world before sea levels rose. Scavenging the depths comes with its risks, but when Paolo discovers a suitcase of designer clothes, he decides to fulfill his dream: To spend one night in the Uplands, a place of privilege, excess, and freedom. There he meets Jules and her friends, and what begins as a single night of reckless adventure turns into a secret double life—and a seemingly impossible romance that forces Paolo to reckon with who he is, where he belongs, and the importance of being true to himself.
My first impression of the story was that it was a little slow. I liked the beginning where we saw Paolo diving to find junk he can sell at the Vintage Market. The drawings show him entering waterlogged highrises that were buried after sea levels rose. Paolo looks for treasures people left in their homes. He always comes back with cool memorabilia that he and his parents can sell. The drawings from the Flats where Paolo lived reminded me of Thailand and Vietnam. It seemed like a nice place to live but, seriously, who wants to be poor? Only refugees from the climate crisis live in the Flats.
The story then moves to the Uplands where the rich reside. Paolo began taking a train to this area to see what it was really like. There were too many pages devoted to his visits. Eventually Paolo interacts with kids his age who all happen to be artists. The story picked up here but, again, there were too many pages with these interactions before Paolo finally meets Jules. They begin a relationship. Parents, there are only drawings of them kissing, nothing else.
My favorite character was Kappa. He is Paolo’s best friend. I liked Paolo’s parents too. Unfortunately, Paolo was my third favorite character. When the main character is not likable, the story crumbles. The characters from the Uplands were extremely wealthy, spoiled and jaded teens. I did not like any of them and don't know why Paolo wanted to be like them. It’s interesting that these wealthy elite of the Uplands continued the behaviors of extraction and overconsumption that resulted in the sea levels rising.
Salvage is a visual masterpiece. The story is rendered in vibrant watercolor illustrations that the author painted. She used different colors for each neighborhood. The Flats are colored with a cool toned teal, red and orange palette. In contrast, the Uplands are presented in bright neon colors. The author did an amazing job with her illustrations.
Salvage is the classic social divide love story. It is a pleasant read but it should have been 100 pages shorter than its 246 pages. 3 out of 5 stars.
