"A heartfelt, swashbuckling, standout novel." - Kirkus (starred review)
In this Latinx YA fantasy inspired by El Zorro, Lola de La Pena becomes the masked heroine Salvacion in order to save her family and town from a man who would destroy it for the magic it contains...if she doesn't fall in love with a boy in his company first.
Lola de La Pena yearns to be free from the societal expectations of a young Mexican lady of her station. She spends her days pretending to be delicate and proper while watching her mama cure the sick and injured with sal negra (black salt), a recently discovered magic that heals even the most mortal of sicknesses and wounds. But by night, she is Salvacion, the free-spirit lady vigilante protecting the town of Coloma from those who threaten its peace and safety among the rising tension in Alta California after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
But one night, a woman races into Coloma, barely alive, to tell the horrifying tale of how her town was obliterated by sal roja (red salt), a potent, deadly magic capable of obliterating anything it comes into contact with, and about the man who wields it: Damien Hernandez. So when Hernandez arrives the next day with a party of fifty strong and promises of returning Alta California to Mexico, Lola knows it's only a matter of time before he brings the region under his rule—all Hernandez needs is the next full moon and the stolen, ancient amulet he carries to mine enough sal roja to conquer the land. Determined to protect everything she loves, Lola races against time as Salvacion to stop his plans. What she didn't count on was the distracting and infuriating Alejandro, who travels with Hernandez but doesn't seem to share his ambitions. With the stakes higher than ever and Hernandez getting closer to his goals, Lola will do anything to foil his plans, even teaming up with Alejandro—who she doesn't fully trust but can't help but fall in love with.
