If you like survival stories, historical fiction, or WWII narratives, Salt to the Seawill intrigue and capture your heart. Although YA, this title will flood your soul. Florian steals the key and map to the Amber Room to take revenge on Dr. Lange. He steals the amber swan to take revenge on Hitler. However, by the end of Salt to the Sea, Florian realizes that he is caught in a vicious cycle of revenge. He realizes that all of his lying and killing was in vain. In part, this is because he believes that both he and the amber swan will end up at the bottom of the Baltic Sea as the Wilhlem Gustloff ship sinks. Moreover, he realizes that responding to lies with more lies isn't good for anyone and only creates more pain. In the end, Florian reflects that revenge is a useless cycle, since it tries to answer pain by inflicting more pain. Through Florian’s character, Sepetys develops the theme of revenge in the novel. For more information on this event, please Ruta Sepetys hit a home run with this one. I'd like to add a caveat about this book: If you are a reader (like me) who might generally shy away from young adult fiction, don't! I loved this! Although a young adult novel, I knew Salt to the Seawould be graphic and tragic, especially since Sepetys focuses on children and teens during WWII. Not to mention that the sinking of the IRL Wilhelm Gustoff is at the heart of this story.

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Sepetys’ mission is to bring these quiet but powerful stories to life. As salt is lost in the sea, so are the passengers and their tales on the Gustloff. Ms. Sepetys does a wonderful job of shedding light on the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a maritime disaster that claimed more than 9,000 lives and remains an overlooked part of history. Admittedly, I had never heard of this disaster until reading this book. Perhaps this is the result of a world that was less than sympathetic to German pain and loss following the end of WWII and the unveiling of the Nazi atrocities. Whatever the reason, I am glad that Ms. Sepetys brought this piece of history into the light. This story needed to be told. Unfortunately, you know that not everyone will make it–this is historical fiction based largely on true accounts. The youth starve and handle near-fatal injuries while trying to find light in a simple berry or abandoned fireplace dance. As they make a long and difficult trek, the refugees suffer many physical ailments. However, while Joana can cure the blisters, wounds, and frostbite of her fellow travelers, she has no treatment for their fear. Despite the physical troubles the refugees experience, fear is what ails them most. Throughout Salt to the Sea, Sepetys indicates that while war's physical impacts are terrible, it is often the psychological consequences of war that are the most permanent and difficult to deal with. While the characters may recover from their wounds, they will likely live with their trauma forever.

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Many of us know the tales of German and Polish Jews during the Nazi reign, far less know what Lithuanian refugees faced. Even fewer will know of the tragedy this book is about. I like that. Historical fiction that teaches me something is always appreciated. However, a few history lessons is truly all I took from this book. Montagne, Renee (February 17, 2016). "More Died On This WWII Ship Than On The Titanic And Lusitania Combined". NPR . Retrieved March 22, 2020. Joana still had her mother. Reuniting with her mother was her motivation. She would slay dragons to get to her. Mother was anchor. Mother was comfort. Mother was home. ” characterization - I know some reviewers couldn't connect with the characters, but I most certainly could! I really liked how Sepetys used four alternating POV (with four separate narrators on the audiobook), each with their own secrets that had "Aha!" moments for me as they were revealed.

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One only has to read the author’s note at the end to realise that Sepetys has written about an often-overlooked historical disaster so that the memory of those who lost their lives in this tragedy are never forgotten. “When the survivors are gone, we must not let the truth disappear with them” she writes, “Please, give them a voice.” The hard-hitting conclusion is testament to this, when the characters are forced to forget their own personal struggles in a horrific struggle for survival. While the four main characters are all fictional, the events in this novel are all real and, needless to say, the historical accuracy is exemplary. Without cramming the novel with too much historical information or dull explanations, Sepetys is able to transport her readers to another time. truly atmospheric! Thank goodness it's been quite hot here, because I could feel the cold throughout the story. Joana is a survivor. She survived while other members of her family and other passengers on the Wilhelm Gustloff died. All she wants to do is help those around her. Yet as the Gustloff sinks she helpless in the face of such a terrible tragedy. All she can do is watch thousands of people die around her.I really cared for Joana and Florian, Ruta Sepetys has a special talent for powerful romances. I can’t stop thinking about them. A young Lithuanian nurse, Joana flees from her home, leaving behind her family. She is brave, selfless, and a skilled, multilingual nurse. Empathy and compassion pour from her soul. Part of Joana’s story is a crossover with Between Shades of Grey, Sepetys other infamous YA Baltic novel. 2. Florian

Salt to the Sea Characters | GradeSaver Salt to the Sea Characters | GradeSaver

Sepetys, for me, writes some of the most detached accounts of WW2 atrocities. It honestly shouldn't be that hard to evoke sympathy or some feeling for these poor people, but I genuinely felt nothing. You know those expendable people that get gunned down in movies while the hero runs from the bad guys? The ones who the camera brushes over and we never think about again? That is how I felt when learning of all the casualties and brutality in this book. The Nazis couldn’t stop the wind and the snow. The Russians couldn’t take the sun or the stars.” Emilia, p. 90 We can’t bring the girl with us. Her coat is splattered with blood. She’s clearly in trouble. And she’s Polish.” What do you think is the meaning in Salt To The Sea’s title? Let us know in the comments. 5 Thought-Provoking & Powerful Salt To The Sea Book Quotes

I have many interpretations of the phrase ‘salt to the sea,” and towards the end of the novel, Sepetys uses that exact phrase in one of her chapters. Also known as “the wandering boy,” Klaus is a six-year-old boy German boy who joins the group of refugees after his grandmother dies. He becomes attached to Heinz, whom he follows around and calls grandfather. Hannelore Jäger

Alfred Frick Character Analysis in Salt to the Sea | LitCharts Alfred Frick Character Analysis in Salt to the Sea | LitCharts

Sepetys, Ruta (March 22, 2011). Between Shades of Gray (First; Hardcovered.). Philomel Books. ISBN 9780399254123. In addition, I loved how the book was constructed. The chapters were very short. In fact, while I was reading, I kept thinking "Just one more chapter, Just one more chapter.." and then I noticed it was dark outside and I had finished the whole book! Gotta love those! #stayuptoolatecan'tfunctionbooks The three youth plus the shoe poet and small child receive passage on the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship meant for around 1,500 people. My heart ached for the girl. What had she seen? And deep down I knew the truth. Hitler was pushing out Polish girls like Emilia to make room for “Baltic Germans,” people with German heritage. Like me. My father was Lithuanian but my mother’s family had German roots. That’s why we were able to flee from Stalin into the barbed arms of Hitler. Here, Joana reflects that guilt is the price of surviving a tragic event. When a tragic event is over, survivors must deal with their own trauma. But often, they must also deal with guilt about the fact that they survived while others did not.Out of the four main characters I loved 3 of them. I felt so much for them and their struggles. Towards the end of the book I felt like they were people I knew and I desperately wished I could change their fate. I also LOVED the side characters just as much as the main. The one main character I didn't like was a character that you aren't suppose to like so that wasn't necessarily a problem. I just didn't find myself enjoying his chapters as much as the others. As an undergrad history major, I had never once heard or read about the Wilhelm Gustloff. Leo didn’t star in a movie even though this story is by far more disastrous. For some reason, the Baltic stories get left out of mostly eurocentric histories. And why is that? Artfully told and sensitively crafted, Sepetys’s exploration of this little-known piece of history will leave readers weeping.” — SLJ,starred review While there are many important stories of World War II, Sepetys chose to focus on the story of the Wilhelm Gustloff, because even though it is the deadliest disaster in maritime history, most people have never heard of it. Often, stories of war focus on great battles or famous historical figures. Yet Salt to the Sea brings to life the stories of the war's refugees, especially those who are not usually the focus of narratives about World War II. In this way, the novel questions which elements of history are preserved and which are forgotten. She insists that it is important for us to preserve the memory of those who perished and to give a voice to the survivors of historical tragedies. These four unlikely characters meet in 1945 as three of them flee Soviet advances as the Nazi regime collapses.