This was one of those books that you dip your toe in and end up completely submerged (if you'll forgive the water analogies). The relationships between the sibling characters pulled me in immediately, even more than the story line of hunting sea monsters (which was why I picked it up). Come for the supernatural hunting, stay for the family. A quick, adventurous, exciting read.

Overall, this was a quick and easy read. The main plot revolves around Indi who is traveling the seas and hunting monsters with his older sister, younger brother and younger sister. Their parents have gone missing at sea and Indi assuming there are dead is forced to proceed to follow in their steps as monster hunters, but all he really wants is to be part of the real world. What I really liked about this book is that it focused solely on family rather than being ruled with a love story. We see the siblings grow and develop together which is really special. I feel as though the story did lack a bit of substance at times, especially at climax scenes I see the opportunity for much more build up. Because of this the story did drag a bit. However, this was a good read.

Seventeen year old Indi and his siblings find themselves navigating the Mediterranean Sea on a rickety sail boat, the Salgada, in search of a legendary sea monster. Their parents, in search of this unknown monster, set sail a few months prior and never returned. Their disappearance leaves the four siblings having to grow up fast and take over the family business. Indi and his family are known as sicarios or sics, hunters of sea monsters. They hunt down creatures that very few realize exist; protecting those in danger of being eaten, while earning a living. Indi dreams of a quiet life, away from danger for his siblings, hoping to find the treasure his parents wrote about in their journal. His sister Beleza, is determined to find the monster she believes destroyed her family...even if they have to die trying.

Salt is a YA dystopian fantasy novella primarily about family with a secondary plot involving hunting sea monsters. Overall I really enjoyed this novella but I can see why there might be mixed reviews on this one. As a reader, if you are anticipating an action packed plot with lots of mythical creatures and epic battles then you will probably be disappointed. However, if you go into the story accepting that it is primarily about family dynamics, then you might just find yourself pleasantly surprised. The characters are charming and well developed with some very relatable sibling interactions, intensified by living in cramped quarters. The plot is well written and there are a few enjoyable monster hunts along the way. There are some sexual material, nothing too graphic, and a devious female pirate whom you will love to hate. Indi's siblings all have their own endearing personalities that often clash but ultimately showcase a very realistic version of family. The plot is interesting and entertaining fused with cultural language and exotic travel. This quick read is among my favorites for 2018 and definitely worth checking out.

The premise of the book really intrigued me, as I am a very avid reader of everything weird and supernatural... this did not disappoint. It was not scary by any means, just very imaginative with the sea monsters, and the way the siblings went about hunting them and the different species of.

However, the book was confusing at times to read, I found myself having to go back and reread pages multiple times to understand what was going on, I have never had to really do that before while reading a book like this. The sibling dynamic was amazing, to read about.

Overall I would recommend to read, and I would read other books by this author, the solid three stars basically was just due to the confusing nature of the story at times which really annoyed me personally.

This book was well written and very fun to read. The characters were great and I enjoyed the world building. The author does a great job at introducing the characters and moving the plot along. There were a few things that I didn't like, but it wasn't enough to really sway me one way or the other. It's definitely a story that I can get lost in and both feel for the characters. It is definitely a go-to novel that I highly recommend to anyone who loves a great read. Definitely a highly recommended read that I think everyone will enjoy.

Yes Hannah Moskowitz. Toss me in the middle of a story in a strange place and just let me figure it out. Pacing was quick, characters distinct. Family of monster hunters but the focus isn't in the mythology, it's with the relationship between the oldest siblings trying to hold their family together in the absence of their parents. More 9th grade than 8th, some non-graphic sex.

I don't know what I expected when I started Salt. I knew of Hannah Moskowitz from Twitter, so I was excited to read a book by her, and the synopsis sounded interesting. Sibling fighting monsters? Yes, please. The story is definitely different than what I'm normally drawn to, but as I'm trying to read more fantasy, I figured I'd give it a try. Spoiler alert: it did not disappoint! But before I give away everything in the intro, let's get to the review!

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Even though their parents disappeared during a hunt three months ago, seventeen-year-old Indi and his siblings, Beleza, Oscar, and Zulu, continue to roam the Mediterranean on their sailboat and hunt down monsters--but Indi yearns for a more settled life for his family, and he hopes that his parents' journal with its tantalizing hints of a treasure, will provide them all with the means of escape from their nomadic and dangerous life before it is too late.

Indi is the main character of the book. He is a 17-year-old boy and a monster hunter. Yes, that's right. Monsters are real in this world. He lives on a boat with his older sister, Beleza, and two younger siblings, Oscar and Zulu. They are searching for their parents, the ones who brought them into this lifestyle (if that's what you want to call it lol). Their parents went on a big hunt without them, and it soon becomes pretty clear, they didn't make it out alive. So it is now the siblings' mission to find the monster that killed their parents and repay the favor.

While I usually talk about each character before I get into my feels, it's hard to talk about one sibling without talking about how they relate to the others. So let's talk feels for a minute! I absolutely loved this book. My initial feeling that this book wasn't something I would enjoy went right out the window pretty much after the first chapter. I loved each character for their own unique traits and loved the journey they took together.

Beleza is the badass leader of the clan. She is the only one who has ever lived a "normal" life, not on a boat, not hunting monsters. But she is the one who is fighting the hardest (maybe too hard) to find the monster that killed their parents. She seems to be willing to do just about anything.

Indi is the caretaker. He takes care of the kids, tries to get Beleza to see sense when he thinks she's pushing them all too hard, and worries about what their lives will become if they keep living the way they do. He is very much the mother of the group.

Oscar is the thief. He's around 12, so he's doesn't have the best attitude, but he's great at stealing food, items, and pretty much anything he wants or thinks they need. He may put on a bit of a tough facade, but he cares about his siblings as much as the rest of them.

Zulu!! Omg, Zulu is the cutest character to ever exist. She's the youngest (six years old) and the one that butchers the monsters after they kill them. And her age does not mean she doesn't fight or use weapons. Everyone in the family has to do their part. She's been trained from birth to fight and I love her so damn much. There is a point in the story where she is possibly lost and I almost had a freaking heart attack. I love me some Zulu!

This book is such a breath of fresh air for me. Like I said, I don't read too much fantasy, but this book is just so good that I'll definitely be looking into other fantasy books soon. The boat, the siblings' relationships, Indi's struggle to figure out where he belongs, and the ending are so well-written and give just enough "realness" to the story. I connected to this family completely (and you know what that means...there was crying) and was on the edge of my seat anytime I thought there was a possibility one of them could get hurt. The description is also incredible. I can still picture their sad little boat in my head. Everything is described so well.

Rating time! I am giving Salt by Hannah Moskowitz 4 out of 5 stars. Y'all really need to read this book when it comes out.

Salt by Hannah Moskowitz will be released October 30, 2018 (make it a Halloween gift to yourself!)

Thank you, NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

WOW! I truly enjoyed SALT, this was a quick, sometimes confusing read but worth it! One of the many things I loved were the sibling relationships, they were very realistic, and honest. Siblings are annoying, whiny but they're there for you when you need them. There was so much happening in this book, I was confused at times. The siblings had real problems, oh and they haunted and killed sea monsters. Yeah that totally happened, definitely gave the book a supernatural feel. The siblings are recent orphans, well not exactly but the parents haven' returned yet. So the siblings set out to avenge/find the parents, it depends on how the main character is talking if he thinks the parents are alive. I loved, loved the sea monster plot in the book! I do wish we could have more about them, where do they come from, were there always monsters in the ocean, who was the first person to kill a sea monster, who is the original Sic or Sicario? Salt is an excellent example of exploring a family where the parents are presumed dead or currently missing...We get to see how it affects each character differently. Beleza is the oldest of the siblings, and not exactly very nice. Confident, exasperating but loves her family and being a Sic more than anything, Indi is the second oldest, and also the narrator, who just wants to be able to love more than just his siblings. He wants to explore the world just not on a boat. Oscar is the third child who is a master thief, and liar but he gets it honestly. Family is everything to Oscar, did I mention he is stubborn like Beleza... Zulu is the youngest child, who just so happens to be their cook, and she loves knives...She enjoys leaning, and tormenting Oscar because it bothers him.. This is definitely a book to read, if you're looking for a book with siblings who just so happen to kill sea monsters....

Wow, this was a refreshingly imaginative book. It’s about family and the complex relationships between siblings.

Four orphans try to find their way in the world without their parents. Literally, because they live on a boat. And they fight sea monsters. And they need to watch out for pirates.

Despite all of their unique skill sets, they know very little of the world beyond the shore. All they really know is the sea and each other.

I really enjoyed how this book blended modern-day life with sci-fi. It was different. Some details about the story were a little questionable, I won’t get specific to avoid spoilers. But it’s fiction, so it’s ok. And the monster hunting scenes were exciting. I wish there was more.

Thanks NetGalley and @ChronicleBooks for a copy of this book.

This book had an awesome summary, but just didn’t deliver. It was awkwardly written, and the dialogue often went back and forth without the descriptions to cut in, just like after line of dialogue. Anyway, the plot builds up for lost of the book, to be completed in a couple pages. It had a satisfying ending, but it just wasn’t all there. It happened to quick and too clean. I had trouble staying motivated but I kept pushing through.
Overall, just not for me.

So the first thing you need to know is that this book almost perfectly encapsulates Hannah Moskwitz's writing (according to the three others books of hers that I've read). The characters are so real and messy — that's the way I always describe her characters. They're just a mess, in the best way. They don't always make sense, even to themselves; they have deep desires they don't know how to fix and bitter humor about their situation. They're paradoxes. And though there's romance, the richest relationships aren't romantic at all.

This book is about family. Yeah, there's sea monsters too, but that's just a cool framework for Hannah Moskowitz to hang this story of sibling love and frustration and fear on. Indi and his siblings are confined to the small space of their boat in the middle of the vast ocean, intensely codependent yet unable to communicate what they need. Their parents are missing, Indi wants out, and his older sister just won't give up this futile revenge quest.

I love how Indi's mixed up emotions rule the book. He's so angry and scared and frustrated and lost, and he loves his siblings so much. And Zulu, by the way, is adorable, and Indi trying his hardest to make everything good for her is so much.

I do wish there had been more about the sea monsters, since that was the idea that excited me about the book, but like I said, the sea monsters aren't the point anyway. That's a little disappointing, but it's fine. The one place I think it really hurt was in the big final sea monster battle. It was lacking some drama. Like, there was some intensity, but the way it ended? It needed something. Some more buildup, or an explanation of why it worked. (I know I'm being vague. Spoiler-free.)

But the real ending of the book... ugh, that was good. I hope they get to be happy forever now.

This book surprised me - it is action-packed and feels like an old-fashioned pirate adventure but with modern dialect and pace. Hunger Games meets Pirates of the Carribbean, if I had to peg it. It is fast-paced and a fun sea-centric adventure story.

So the best blurb i saw for this was Supernatual: Sea edition. ....

Okay that grabbed me hook, line, and sinker....(i am slightly obsessed with that show.)...This fun short little novel was everything it promised to be. You see the older siblings stepping up and caring for the younger siblings in light of the of the parents absence. You see family dynamics play out as each sibling learns to step up into their own role, fighting, making up, protecting, sacrifice, etc. Overall i give this short novel 4 stars.

SALT was an absolutely precious book about siblings and sea monsters! I honestly love sibling books above all else, and having this tie it up with monsters and pirates?! It's like Supernatural, but with adorable little kids and beautiful writing and quiet sadness and boats! And I'd only read Teeth by this author before this so I officially love her words and want them all.

It's the story of these 4 siblings who are sea monster hunters after their parents go missing. They're also (a) trying to find their parents, and (b) playing to slay the monster that might be the blame. Indi is the 2nd oldest and he totally thinks they're orphans. But his older sister Beleza is viciously holding out hope to find them. And they're like on this tiny dingy horrible little boat, loaded up with weapons, and they're off to cut off monsters' heads. An indestructible foursome you can't help but root for.

I just love love love all 4 of the siblings. It's such a small book but they all INSTANTLY became alive and they were each so dynamic and complex and stole my heart.
Beleza: She is SO STABBY. She will shoot all the monsters in the eye with her crossbow and she is like the protective mother bear you won't ever cross.
Indi: he is so soft™ and omg I love soft boys like nothing else. He's basically the mum-sibling and patches everyone up and also haaates killing monsters. He's aware he's seriously codependent on his siblings though and he hates it but he can't stop.
Oscar: He's 12 and the utter Slytherin. Like he totally steals and schemes and he's pretty aggressive but also adorable.
Zulu: SHE IS SO CUTE. She's 6 and she is the one who cuts up the monsters for meat afterwards (who gave the 6 year old a knife) and she's hyper and adorable.

I just loved their bond omg. And it was messy and they often hated each other, but they love each other and felt cramped in the tiny boat. They were also biracial and spoke a lot of languages and really had no home except for their boat. (I did think it was weird they didn't speak English though. They spoke bits of 4+ other languages but English is the most universal so that felt weird.)

My only disappointment is that: it could've been fleshed out more. It's very VERY short, which is fine because I love short books, but there were so many scenes that just zoomed past so fast. I would've liked to go into more depth and actually have description. We stopped by a ton of cool countries but like 3% description had me not "seeing" it at all. And the ending was so fast it nearly felt anticlimactic (not quite, but nearly).

SALT is an absolute treasure and I loved the few hours I spent swept into this world of heartache and knives and monster blood and salty seas. It contrasted, with such masterful writing, with a protagonist with the softest heart struggling with the confusion of wanting more than this life of death and monsters, but not wanting to give up the family he loves more than his own heartbeat.

Loved this adventure! I adored these four siblings and their bond with each other they each have such a unique relationship with one another. The monsters were awesome and the ever changing scenery and the mystery of what happened to their parents kept the story interesting and the ending was perfect. It did go quickly at times but the characters were the heart of this story for me I fell in love with them and hope more of their monster tales are in the future.

Atmospheric and evocative. Reminiscent of poetry instead of prose. This was a short read about "sicarios," or monster killers, who just happen to be children looking for their parents who disappeared. It had a sort of Pippi Longstocking / Boxcar Children / Narnia feel to it in that it was children playing at being adults, out of necessity. Except, you know, if the boxcar children were fighting monsters the size of football fields with flame throwers and guns.

Interesting choice of the word "sicario," as the only other usage I know of essentially means "assassin" in the Mexican drug cartels. An apt term for monster killers.

A super solid 3 ½ stars. Hannah Moskowitz has a penchant for very small narratives in very big worlds, and it’s one I appreciate. And adore.

Okay, so what is this book? Salt is basically a very personal narrative about finding your place in the world, set in the environment of Supernatural: ocean version, feat. a really great focus on family.

Yeah. I know. Wild blurb.

I think I just really like contained narratives that focus around family groups. This one is intensely character driven and very contained, extroardinarily fast-paced - an easy binge - and overall a lot of fun. I wish I had more to say than that, but listen - if my one-sentence description was appealing to you, you’ll enjoy this. I don’t even know if that one-sentence description is appealing to me and I still thought this was a fun read.

This review was a mess and so am I. Recommended.

After reading this I now know that I NEED more. More sea monsters, more pirates, and more Indie! What a fantastic journey of the process of self discovery.

Beleza and her 3 younger siblings are monster hunters. It's the family business until her Mother and Father disappear. a few months before. There is salt in their blood and they live on a small boat killing monsters bigger than can be imagined. Their parents kept telling them that there is treasure for them but there is no mention of it in their Mother's journal and she is not around to explain it to them. Pirates come in all shapes and sizes. They were taught that " they’re useless scum that should not be allowed to be people.”. This is a great book that could be enjoyed by different age groups. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. The story of the orphan monster hunters, seeking the truth about their parents' disappearance, was at times a little rushed, but overall I really enjoyed it and hope there are more stories about the monster hunters.