Salvación

By: Sandra Proudman

Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal

"A heartfelt, swashbuckling, standout novel."—Kirkus (starred review)

In this Latinx YA fantasy inspired by El Zorro, Lola de La Peña becomes the masked heroine Salvación 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 Peña 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 mamá 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 Salvación, 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 Hernández. So when Hernández arrives the next day with a party of fifty strong and promises of returning Alta California to México, Lola knows it’s only a matter of time before he brings the region under his rule—all Hernández 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 Salvación to stop his plans. What she didn’t count on was the distracting and infuriating Alejandro, who travels with Hernández but doesn't seem to share his ambitions. With the stakes higher than ever and Hernández 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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books.

©2025 Sandra Proudman (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

The Nerd Daily, "72 Of The Most Anticipated YA Books Of 2025"

FIERCE by mitú, "Un Poco de Todo: 2025 Books by Latina Authors You’ll Want on Your Shelf"

Pop! Goes the Reader, "36 Most-Anticipated Young Adult Books January-March 2025"

HipLatina, "14 Romance Books by Latina Authors Coming Out in 2025"

"Action-packed and thrilling with a touch of romance, Proudman’s debut novel is an homage to folk hero stories told through a feminist lens...A heartfelt, swashbuckling, standout novel."—Kirkus (starred review)

"In this swashbuckling, Zorro-inspired historical fantasy set after the signing of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Proudman (Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories) utilizes a stubborn yet vulnerable heroine and an inventive magic system drawing from the history of Central American salt mines to levy weighty examinations of colonization and tradition."—Publishers Weekly

"From the gorgeous world-building to Lola’s absolutely compelling voice, everything about Salvación makes it difficult to put down. As you root for Lola and her devoted family, their world, so thick with salt magic, feels as though it seeps into your bones as you read."—Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, USA Today bestselling and Pura Belpré Award-winning author