Salvage the Bones

“Salvage the Bones” is a powerful novel by Jesmyn Ward that won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction. The story is set in the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and unfolds over twelve days leading up to Hurricane Katrina. It follows the life of Esch, a fourteen-year-old girl who is pregnant and living with her father and three brothers.