Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The author of Between Shades of Gray returns to WWII in this epic novel that shines a light on one of the war's most devastating—yet unknown—tragedies.
In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia, and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety.
Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.
Told in alternating points of view, and perfect for fans of Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize-winning All the Light We Cannot See, Erik Larson's critically acclaimed #1 New York Times bestseller Dead Wake, and Elizabeth Wein's Printz Honor Book Code Name Verity, this masterful work of historical fiction is inspired by the real-life tragedy that was the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff --the greatest maritime disaster in history. As she did in Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys unearths a shockingly little-known casualty of a gruesome war, and proves that humanity can prevail, even in the darkest of hours.
Advance praise for Salt to the Sea:
"Ruta Sepetys is a master of historical fiction. In Salt to the Sea the hard truths of her herculean research are tempered with effortless, intimate storytelling, as her warm and human characters breathe new life into one of the world's most terrible and neglected tragedies." â€”Elizabeth Wein, New York Times bestselling author of Printz Award Honor Book Code Name Verity   “A rich, page-turning story that brings to vivid life a terrifying—and little-known—moment in World War II history.” â€”Steve Sheinkin, author of Newbery Honor and National Book Award finalist Bomb
Praise for Between Shades of Gray :
A New York Times  Notable Book of 2011 A Wall Street Journal  Best Children’s Book of 2011 A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2011 The iTunes 2011 Rewind Best Teen Novel A School Library Journal Best Book of 2011 A Booklist  Best Book of 2011 A Kirkus  Best Book of 2011 2012 Indies Choice Young Adult Book of the Year A Carnegie Medal Finalist A William C. Morris Finalist A New York Times Bestseller An International Bestseller   “Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both.” â€”The Washington Post
* “A harrowing page-turner.” â€”Publishers Weekly , starred review
* “A gripping story.” â€”School Library Journal , starred review
* “Bitterly sad, fluidly written…Sepetys' flowing prose gently carries readers.” â€”Kirkus , starred review   * "Beautifully written and deeply felt…an important book that deserves the widest possible readership.” â€”Booklist, starred review
“Stalin deported and murdered millions, but he could not destroy the seeds of memory, compassion, and art that they left behind. From those seeds, Ruta Septeys has crafted a brilliant story of love and survival that will keep their memory alive for generations to come.” â€”Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak  and Wintergirls
“In terrifying detail, Ruta Sepetys re-creates World War II coming of age all too timely today. Between Shades of Gray is a document long overdue.” â€”Richard Peck, Newbery Award–winning author of A Year Down Yonder
“Between Shades of Gray is a story of astonishing force. I feel grateful for a writer like Ruta Sepetys who bravely tells the hard story of what happens to the innocent when world leaders and their minions choose hate and oppression. Beautiful and unforgettable.” â€”Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honor–winning author of Hitler Youth 

Here at Good Books & Good Wine, we are huge fans of Ruta Sepetys. When a book of hers drops, you can expect to see several reviews of that book here on this site. Upon receiving Salt To The Sea in the mail – which was one of my most anticipated reads of 2016, I put it on my stack to read immediately, and thankfully had an opportunity to do just that after finishing up my prior read. I feel like I am writing to the future with this post – because I am typing it in November 2015 but it goes live in January 2016 (hello new year! hope you are amazing!). As expected, Sepetys’s third novel, Salt To The Sea is a triumph and I feel like I have been bestowed a great honor in being able to read it early.

Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys is about four teenagers at the close of World War II who are connected by a ship called the Wihelm Gustloff. This is a ship that will take refugees across the Baltic sea to safer parts of Germany. Unfortunately, not to be all spoiler alert, but how can spoil things that actually happened in history, the ship is torpedoed by the Russians and sinks. This book, though, details the secrets these four teenagers have and how they get to the ship and the journey from there. Sepetys’s book is richly detailed, imbued with a sense of time and place, yet very real and relatable today – especially given the Syrian refugee crisis. What you’ll find when you read Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys is a fast moving, harrowing narrative.

I thought I would break down my review by point of view character. As I mentioned about the story Salt To The Sea is about four teenagers. Specifically – it is about Joana, Emilia, Florian, and Alfred. The book is written in chapters that are first person alternating points of view. So, anyways, I thought I would open up with Joana because she seemed one of the strongest characters to me and I liked her the best. Joana is a pretty Lithuanian girl who has been granted repatriation into Germany. She is a nurse and very good at what she does. She is evacuating from East Germany because the Russians are closing in.

Joana is kind and traveling with a group of people – a man known as the ‘shoe poet’, the wandering boy, Ingrid who happens to be blind, and a larger woman named Eva. The group travels through what was once Prussia in hopes of staying the night safe with a Junker family. Anyways, they make their way toward port hoping to find a ship. Joana, the nurse girl, is carrying a secret, like the four other teens. I won’t say what it is because it is best that you unravel that on your own. What I will say is that I felt she was incredibly well written and I loved reading her segments.

Joining Joana’s group is a Polish girl named Emilia, but first, Emilia is attacked by a Russian, kind of, however, she’s saved by this boy whom she views as one of the knights of old. Lucky for Emilia, she looks Aryan, so she’s able to traverse her way to safety without raising too much suspicion. So, okay, Emilia is a young girl, about fifteen or so. She is carrying her own secret and when you find out, I swear your heart will crack into a million pieces.

What you’ll discover is that this girl has seen more pain than most. She has seen more tragedy. Yet, she retains this child-like innocence which comes into play during her narrative quite a bit. I liked how different she was from Joana, it kept the prose from feeling stale or the voice from feeling too similar in tone. Emilia is the sort of character who you’ll find yourself really empathizing over.

Florian is another character in Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys that I quite loved. At first you think, wow, he’s selfish and kind of a douche, but then you find yourself rooting for him and totally shipping him with Joana. Florian is Prussian. He was an art restoration apprentice to some Nazis at a museum. He believes he is doing good work and that he is really helping to preserve art. He believes the man he is apprenticing under is someone who listens to him and finds him brilliant. This is not the case and so, there’s great disappointment.

Florian finds himself escaping using his wits and a certain insurance policy. When he saves Emilia, she kind of becomes attached to him. He doesn’t want this, but because he is good at heart, he finds himself protecting her, while joining up with Joana and getting to know that group better. Ugh, you guys I rooted for Florian and I won’t tell you more. All you need to take away from this is that I love this book and I love these characters.

The final point of view character is Alfred. Guys, Alfred is the actual worst. He is a member of the Nazi party. He is a sailor aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff and often composes these letters in his head to this girl, Hannelore. He is one of those people who subscribes wholeheartedly to Nazi Party ideology to the point of making a song out of the different types of undesirables. Alfred is the kind of character where something feels off. I will say I did not love his parts, but they serve as contrast to the other three and add in a whole new, chilling perspective. This is the character that I think proves Sepetys has these amazing writing chops.

If you’ve read Between Shades of Gray or Out Of The Easy, you know that Sepetys really excels in bringing history to life and making it feel relevant to today (it is INDEED relevant). She brings parts of history that maybe we didn’t already know all about to light. The same can be said for Salt To The Sea. I never knew about the Wilhelm Gustloff or how harrowing it was for refugees during World War II. I think that this is the sort of book that can help teenagers empathize with what other people their age are going through now with the Syrian refugee crisis. This is a great book to pair with current events and one that I think deserves a place in your library along with the other two written by Sepetys so far. Indeed, this book is a must read.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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