The visually euphoric YA graphic novel Salvage by debut author/artist Renée Nault (The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel) features immersive world-building, memorable characterization, and sadly relevant social and environmental commentary.
In the aftermath of rising sea levels and mass "climate displacement," the characters of Salvage live in a coastal city divided into two neighborhoods: the glamorous, hilltop Uplands and the poverty-stricken, waterlogged Flats. Teenager Paolo, who lives in the Flats, earns a living diving to salvage objects from the ruins of a drowned city. Paolo spends his free time painting and scrolling Moshi (Media Online Social Hub Interface), a social media platform where influencers from the Uplands post about their luxurious lives.
On one particularly lucky dive, golden-skinned, red-haired Paolo finds a watertight suitcase filled with designer clothes that look like what "people in the Uplands wear." Paolo decides to dress up and visit the Uplands "just for one night" to satisfy his curiosity. There, he meets Jules, an aspiring sculptor and the daughter of one of the Uplands' biggest movie stars. Rosy-skinned and white-haired Jules introduces Paolo to her friends--influencer Emi, DJ Ash, and fashion designer Felix. The group mistakes Paolo for an Uplander; enamored by the teens' lives of leisure and creativity, he doesn't correct them. He begins leading a double life, diving by day, partying with Jules and her friends by night, and building a romance with Jules as they bond over generating art "to say all the things we can't say with words." But the charade puts a strain on Paolo's relationship with his parents and his Flats friend Kappa, causing him to wonder if it's possible to merge worlds.
Nault brings Paolo's and Jules's dissimilar neighborhoods to dazzling life with ink and watercolor illustrations. She juxtaposes scenes in the earth-toned, cluttered yet close-knit Flats with the neon-hued, chaotic, and decadent Uplands. Details such as signs, labels, and billboards organically reveal the current world and hint at the one now gone. Nault's character designs are cartoony yet expressive, conveying complex emotions, such as the discomfort on Paolo's face as affection for his family conflicts with his shame over their poverty.
Salvage's stark rich/poor divide and rising seas are a pertinent commentary on 21st-century life, as is Paolo's irrepressible urge to compare himself to the idealized images he sees online. Jules, who is neglected by her famous mother and feels isolated even when surrounded by friends, reveals the discontent that can hide behind curated social media feeds. Readers will root for Paolo's and Jules's emotional and artistic journeys as they struggle to remain true to themselves in a precarious world. --Alanna Felton, freelance reviewer
Shelf Talker: A poor teen in a city threatened by rising seas sneaks into an elite neighborhood and falls for a privileged yet lonely girl in this gorgeously illustrated, near-future-set graphic novel.