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Parents' guide to, salt to the sea.

Salt to the Sea book cover: Stormy sky above choppy sea with multiple life preservers floating on top of the waves

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 7 Reviews
Kids Say 35 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Heartbreaking WWII novel shows power of hope, connection.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

People die from bullet wounds, starvation, falling into a frozen river, and othe

A couple of passionate kisses and references to romantic experience. A young wom

Some drinking and brief cigarette smoking.

Insults such as "stupid," "fool," "filthy Pole," and "untermensch," a term the N

Any Positive Content?

Readers will learn a great deal about World War II, particularly about condition

The three main characters all have a lot to teach young readers about the nuance

Plenty of role models, and others offer a realistic view of how self-absorbed mo

The four main characters are White but diverse for the historical context. Germa

Parents need to know that Salt to the Sea is award-winning author Ruta Sepetys ' ( Out of the Easy ) stirring historical novel set during World War II about a little-known maritime disaster: the 1945 sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff , a German ship filled mostly with civilians trying to escape the advancing Russian (or Red) Army. The author doesn't shy away from the horrors people faced during the war, with references to the fact the army routinely raped (the word itself isn't used, but it's obvious) women in the countries they were occupying. People are shot at, drown, and die of injuries and sickness. Though there are only a few kisses, there's a teen pregnancy as the result of a brutal rape that's alluded to but not described. Readers will learn a great deal about aspects of WWII that aren't as frequently discussed, such as the Red Army's advance, what happened to ethnic Germans in the Baltic States, and the circumstances surrounding this wartime tragedy. Characters demonstrate courage and perseverance and show great compassion to each other, even in life-or-death situations.

Violence & Scariness

People die from bullet wounds, starvation, falling into a frozen river, and other injuries. Most of the people on the ship drown as it sinks. A young woman is pregnant after being raped by soldiers. The rape itself isn't described (the word "rape" isn't even used), but the book explores the woman's emotional trauma in depth.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A couple of passionate kisses and references to romantic experience. A young woman recounts a love affair she had while hiding with a Prussian family. A soldier reveals his all-consuming infatuation with a neighbor back home.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Insults such as "stupid," "fool," "filthy Pole," and "untermensch," a term the Nazis used to describe "inferior people."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Educational Value

Readers will learn a great deal about World War II, particularly about conditions on the Eastern Front as the Russian Army invaded. Historical details about what happened to the Poles, Prussians, Lithuanians, and ethnic Germans throughout the area. Thanks to Florian, readers find out about the countless treasures the Nazis stole from other countries, such as Catherine the Great's Amber Room, once considered the Eighth Wonder of the World. Through Alfred's perspective, readers will learn about what Hitler Youth and Nazi true believers did to ensure loyalty to the Führer. And the entire book is a history lesson in the sinking of the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff .

Positive Messages

The three main characters all have a lot to teach young readers about the nuances of staying true to your values and morals during difficult circumstances. Is it right to follow a law if the law itself is immoral? By subverting Nazi rules, these young characters (and a couple of older ones) are actually doing the right thing by humanity. The book encourages people never to lose sight of their humanity, their capacity to connect with others, and their chance to help someone other than themselves. It also shows how people who speak different languages and from different backgrounds can come together in solidarity against a common threat.

Positive Role Models

Plenty of role models, and others offer a realistic view of how self-absorbed most people can get in survival situations. Joana, Emilia, Florian, and the grandfatherly cobbler all act heroically and help, defend, or protect others. They do so even though they put themselves at risk by acting bravely. Multiple characters jeopardize their own safety to protect others.

Diverse Representations

The four main characters are White but diverse for the historical context. Germany's ethnic persecution of Poles is explored through Emilia. Florian is a Prussian who's working against the Nazis. Joana is half-Lithuanian but repatriated to Germany to escape the bigger threat of the Russian army, a background pulled from the history of the author, who is herself Lithuanian American. These three sympathetic characters are refugees, and the book deals mostly in their perspective. Alfred, the fourth main character, is an unsympathetic Nazi with a severe rash on his body that other characters find repulsive. Ingrid, one of the refugees traveling with Joana, is blind. Her other senses are portrayed as heightened as a result of her blindness, a real phenomenon known as "neuroplasticity," but her senses occasionally border on superhuman. The novel uses her to address the Nazi genocide of people with disabilities, among other groups.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update .

Where to Read

Parent and kid reviews.

Parents say (7)
Kids say (35)

Based on 7 parent reviews

Mature peer teen

Action-packed & emotion-filled historical fiction, what's the story.

SALT TO THE SEA follows four young adults harboring deep secrets. Their fates intertwine the winter of 1945 on the German ship the Wilhelm Gustloff , filled five times over capacity with mostly civilians as it attempts to flee the advancing Red Army on the Baltic Sea. Aryan-looking Lithuanian nurse Joana is around 21 and leads a motley group of refugees on foot; Polish 15-year-old Emilia only wants to stay away from the prying eyes of predatory soldiers; Prussian 19-year-old Florian is an art student and forger with a dangerous mission; and Alfred is the outlier, a young German soldier working on the Wilhelm Gustloff . After Florian saves Emilia's life, the two encounter Joana's group, and through a series of close calls and desperate situations they end up traveling together, protecting one another, and hoping the Wilhelm Gustloff will save them from the evils of the Russian Army, whose cruelty rivaled that of the Nazis.

Is It Any Good?

This powerful, gorgeously written exploration of a little-known WWII tragedy proves why Ruta Sepetys has emerged as a preeminent historical novelist in young adult literature. Salt to the Sea , which includes meticulously detailed author's notes, maps, and research and sources, is an ideal blend of historical facts, riveting drama, compelling characters, and suspense. Similar to when you watch Titanic for the first time, you know the ship is doomed but not exactly how the fictional characters will fare within that tragedy. In Joana, Emilia, and Florian, Sepetys has created three diverse characters who ultimately bond and care for one another. Sepetys also adds touches of humor and romance to her history, and it works beautifully.

This is a book parents should read with their teens and recommend to school media specialists and English teachers. It has so much to offer teen and adult readers, and it's a perfect companion novel to Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray , which is set in 1941 at a Siberian forced-labor camp. In fact, those who've read that novel will recognize one of the main characters in Salt to the Sea . By focusing on aspects of WWII that are less saturated in historical fiction, Sepetys provides readers with a way to connect to the day-to-day battle civilians had to fight on all sides. This is a story of humanity in the face of unthinkable horror, of love blossoming in the midst of hatred, of kindness turning strangers into family. Read it, talk about it, and treasure that authors like Sepetys have chosen to write specifically for young adult readers.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the horrors of war as depicted in Salt to the Sea . Is the violence necessary to tell the story? If so, why? Is historically accurate violence different from completely fictional violence?

Salt to the Sea is written in four perspectives, three from sympathetic characters and one from an unsympathetic character. Why do you think the author chose to include Alfred's point of view? What does his perspective show about Nazi ideology and rule?

Why do you think the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff isn't widely known or memorialized? Is it because it was a German ship and some of the passengers were Nazi party officers or members? Does the book make you want to learn more about the tragedy or WWII stories in general?

How do characters demonstrate compassion toward one another? How do they summon the courage to help each other and the perseverance to keep going throughout their difficult journey?

Book Details

Author : Ruta Sepetys
Genre : History
Topics : Friendship , Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models , History
Character Strengths : Compassion , Courage , Perseverance
Book type : Fiction
Publisher : Philomel
Publication date : February 2, 2016
Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 18
Number of pages : 400
Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
Last updated : February 2, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Between Shades of Gray

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Awards & Accolades

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New York Times Bestseller

SALT TO THE SEA

by Ruta Sepetys ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 2, 2016

Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful.

January 1945: as Russians advance through East Prussia, four teens’ lives converge in hopes of escape.

Returning to the successful formula of her highly lauded debut, Between Shades of Gray (2011), Sepetys combines research (described in extensive backmatter) with well-crafted fiction to bring to life another little-known story: the sinking (from Soviet torpedoes) of the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff . Told in four alternating voices—Lithuanian nurse Joana, Polish Emilia, Prussian forger Florian, and German soldier Alfred—with often contemporary cadences, this stints on neither history nor fiction. The three sympathetic refugees and their motley companions (especially an orphaned boy and an elderly shoemaker) make it clear that while the Gustloff was a German ship full of German civilians and soldiers during World War II, its sinking was still a tragedy. Only Alfred, stationed on the Gustloff , lacks sympathy; almost a caricature, he is self-delusional, unlikable, a Hitler worshiper. As a vehicle for exposition, however, and a reminder of Germany’s role in the war, he serves an invaluable purpose that almost makes up for the mustache-twirling quality of his petty villainy. The inevitability of the ending (including the loss of several characters) doesn’t change its poignancy, and the short chapters and slowly revealed back stories for each character guarantee the pages keep turning.

Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-399-16030-1

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT HISTORICAL FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

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BOOK REVIEW

by Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin

by Ruta Sepetys

More About This Book

THE FIELD GUIDE TO THE NORTH AMERICAN TEENAGER

by Ben Philippe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 8, 2019

Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.

A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.

Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.

Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

More by Ben Philippe

by Ben Philippe

Alicia D. Williams, David Yoon on Shortlist for William C. Morris Award for YA Debut

SEEN & HEARD

THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS

From the girl of fire and thorns series , vol. 1.

by Rae Carson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011

Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...

Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.

Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra , but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra —can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

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Children’s Books

‘Salt to the Sea,’ by Ruta Sepetys

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By M. T. Anderson

Feb. 12, 2016

A group of teenage refugees meet on the road in the chaotic countryside of East Prussia in winter 1945. The Nazi Reich is collapsing all around them, and they, like hundreds of thousands, are fleeing the wrathful Soviet advance. They are trapped between their German conquerors and their terrifying Russian “liberators.” Their story is told through the voices of Joana, a pretty Lithuanian nurse; Florian, a Prussian with a mysterious letter of passage from a high-ranking Nazi officer; and Emilia, an idealistic but damaged Polish girl in a pink knit cap. Thrown together, struggling to survive, they at first hardly trust one another enough even to exchange names, and so they often just use epithets: “the knight,” “the nurse,” “the Polish girl,” “the wandering boy,” “the shoe poet.” (The last, an old cobbler, gets his name from his philosophy: “The shoes always tell the story.”) Each has secrets — the galling histories that haunt anyone who has lived through war, flight and deprivation.

In her debut novel, “Between Shades of Gray,” Ruta Sepetys shined light on the largely forgotten plight of the Baltic peoples crushed between the great powers at the beginning of World War II. Now she does the same for these survivors trapped in the interstices of history: neither German nor Soviet, trying to escape from a no-man’s land neither Axis nor Allied in a war already lost but not yet won.

The pacing is swift as a thriller as this group evades the vengeful brutalities of the encroaching Red Army — and then plays a dangerous game by lying to the Wehrmacht in order to secure themselves spaces on a refugee ship before the whole region collapses. In brief chapters, the narrative point of view swarms from character to character; the book’s drama comes not simply from the battlefield action — the bombings, the armies on the move — but from the constant wounding fire of lies and revelations, self-deceptions and desperate ententes. Occasionally, there’s even humor in these shifts: We read the blustering love letters of a proud young Nazi named Alfred only to discover he’s actually an acne-ridden deck swabber who spends his hours shirking in a supply closet. “Imagine, my darling,” he writes his sweet Hannelore, “your Alfred is saving 2,000 lives.” Then he’s interrupted by a barked “Have you cleaned the toilets yet, Frick?”

One thing that makes these distinctive characters so compelling for both adult and teenage readers is an awareness that though they may be fictional, the horrors and small acts of heroism we see played out before us could essentially be real — they are statistically real. World War II — any war — is constructed out of millions of such scenes of betrayal, sudden generosity, violence and canny alliance. There is only one larger-than-life detail: One of the characters carries the key to a real World War II mystery. But Sepetys is too invested in the essential reality of the story she tells to treat even that spy-novel circumstance as an invitation for easy heroics.

Looming above the personal struggles of these young refugees is a devastating historical tragedy: The ship onto which they flee with the ugly inevitability of fate is the Wilhelm Gustloff, which was sunk by a Soviet submarine in January 1945. Of the estimated 10,500 people on board, more than 9,000 perished in the icy seas. We watch these characters start to find love for one another and protect one another even as we recognize the heartbreaking certainty that not all of them will make it off that ship alive.

It would be near blasphemous to use suffering on this scale as the backdrop to provide the beats of suspense and near escape if it weren’t for Sepetys’s clear commitment to preserving the memory of the forgotten, the drowned. Though there are a few clumsy gestures at moments of great crisis — as a mother dies in childbirth, a startled stork takes off from the roof — the most moving and even uncomfortable images are clearly taken from Sepetys’s extensive sources: A mother desperate to get her baby off the sinking ship hurls the infant down to a sailor and misses; the corpses of children in life jackets float upside down because of the disproportional size of their heads. Not merely harrowing, such images remind us that even “the good war” was a messy calamity. And once again, Ruta Sepetys acts as champion of the interstitial people so often ignored — whole populations lost in the cracks of history.

SALT TO THE SEA

By Ruta Sepetys

391 pp. Philomel Books. $18.99. (Young adult; ages 13 and up)

M. T. Anderson is the author, most recently, of “Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad.”

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Book Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Publisher: Penguin Books

Genre: Historical Fiction

First Publication: 2016

Language: English

Major Characters: Joana, Alfred Frick, Florian Beck, Emilia

Setting Place: East Prussia during World War II

Theme: Willpower and Fate, Storytelling and Fantasy, Memory and Survival, War

Narrator: First person, from the perspective of four different characters

Book Summary: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

It’s early 1945 and a group of people trek across Germany, bound together by their desperation to reach the ship that can take them away from the war-ravaged land. Four young people, each haunted by their own dark secret, narrate their unforgettable stories. Fans of The Book Thief or Helen Dunmore’s The Siege will be totally absorbed.

This inspirational novel is based on a true story from the Second World War. When the German ship the Wilhelm Gustloff was sunk in port in early 1945 it had over 9000 civilian refugees, including children, on board. Nearly all were drowned. Ruta Sepetys, acclaimed author of Between Shades of Grey, brilliantly imagines their story.

I had never heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff before I read this book. I had a morbid fascination with the Titanic as a child, but I guess it never occurred to me to research other maritime tragedies? Anyway, the Wilhelm Gustloff is like the Titanic disaster on steroids: Three Russian torpedoes sank this ship so damn fast during WW2 ; There were too few lifeboats, and too much panic/disorganization in filling the lifeboats; It was the dead of winter (just being exposed to the frigid sea air for too long could kill you, let alone the water itself). Top all that with the fact that this ship was filled five times its capacity with the sorriest kind of passengers, namely: wounded German soldiers, refugee children.

Apparently, the Gustloff disaster claimed the largest loss of life in ship sinking history (over 9,000 lives). So why haven’t I (or anyone I know) heard of it? I suspect it’s because it happened during wartime- there were so many unspeakable tragedies that this was just another on an endless list of catastrophe.

But Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys shows another side to the story- the innocent bystanders of war. The children who had everything stolen from them: their homes, their families, their futures. The ones who never got to choose which side to be on and spent each day thereafter just trying to survive. After a long journey, they, too, boarded this ship with the hope that finally they were safe.

“What had human beings become? Did war make us evil or just activate an evil already lurking within us?”

Abandoned or separated from their families, they were forced to battle the beast of war on their own, left with an inheritance of heartache and responsibility for events they had no rile in causing.

In this story, we have all the bleakness and hardship of war combined with an extremely tragic maritime disaster. I knew I was in for a heartbreaking story with this book, and I was right.

The story is told from four point-of-views. I liked Joana and Florian from the start. Emilia took some time to grow on me but ultimately became my favorite character. I wasn’t sure what to think of Alfred. I wasn’t sure if I should feel bad for him because he’s obviously delusional and has major issues but one thing is certain: I haven’t so passionately disliked a character this way in a long, long time.

“War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost.”

Joana is part of a group of refugees trying to stay ahead of the rapidly advancing Red Army. It’s the winter of 1945, and the East Prussia has dissolved into chaos. The German government refuses to issue evacuation orders, but, with rumors swirling about unspeakable atrocities committed by the Russians, most civilians are uninterested in waiting for protocol. Joana uses her training as a nurse to help who she can along the arduous trek to the Baltic Sea. In addition to her luggage, she carries her emotional baggage: her actions might have murdered her cousin and best friend, Lina.

Emilia is fifteen and eight months pregnant. She’s already seen what the Russians do to the townspeople they “liberate,” but, as a Pole, she isn’t welcome among the Germans, either. Her father sent her to East Prussia to work on a farm. It was to keep her safe, but Emilia suffered more than her father could probably ever imagine. Along the way, she meets with a German man who saves her from a would-be rapist. She will follow her knight to safety.

“Killers aren’t always assassins. Sometimes, they don’t even have blood on their hands.”

Florian is a talented art restorer who thought he was helping the Reich preserve some of the most important pieces in history. When he realized what his talents were really being used for he fled but not before enacting a little revenge. Now he wants to reunite with his sister in Denmark and hopefully leave the Nazis behind for good. Unfortunately, a Polish girl latches on to him as her savior, when it’s very inconvenient of him to feel things for other humans. And then he gets embroiled with a group of refugees headed up by a pretty Lithuanian nurse.

Alfred knows he’s very valuable to the Reich, even if he was a late recruit into the Navy. He’s a true believer in Hitler’s vision and works very hard to have no empathy for others. After all, there are winners and losers in the game of life, and Germans like him are winners. In his head, he writes imaginary letters of all his adventures to Hannelore, the girl back home he fancies. When he comes across a soldier with a top secret mission, Alfred knows helping him could earn him a medal, and the respect he finally deserves.

“Just when you think this war has taken everything you loved, you meet someone and realize that somehow you still have more to give.”

These four people, just getting a start to their lives, are all aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff when Soviet torpedoes sink it into the icy waters. The vessel was filled several times over capacity with German refugees escaping East Prussia. Of the 10,000 approximately on board, less than a thousand would survive.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys was an excellent book. She is one of the best female authors writing historical fiction books about second world war. It’s fast-paced, thoroughly-researched, basically it encompasses all the best things about historical fiction. Ruta Sepetys’ novel Between Shades of Gray has been on my tbr for a long time and I’ll definitely be bumping it up to a higher priority.

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Salt to the Sea: Read This Heart-Wrenching Historical Fiction Novel

Salt to the sea (2016) by ruta sepetys.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys book cover with a dark blue gothic background

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.

Salt to the Sea Book Review

Ruta Sepetys’ award-winning Salt to the Sea is historical fiction with a capital H. Based upon true events, on a horrific disaster in the Baltic Sea, and the events leading up to it, Salt to the Sea sets human faces and fates and stories to a little-known wartime tragedy. Sepetys has drawn upon actual accounts of the tragic sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, interviewing many survivors and their relatives.

The Wilhelm Gustloff carried upwards of 10,000 refugees when it was torpedoed by Soviet submarines the 30 th of January 1945. Over 9,000 perished. It’s the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in maritime history, far surpassing the losses of the Titanic and the Lusitania.

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And to that date with fate, our protagonists walk. Get the tissues ready, this is a weepy read.

Four Narrators, One Common Thread

Joana, Emilia, Florian, and Alfred – these are the four voices of Salt to the Sea . The narrative hops between these four differing perspectives every few pages. This makes for quite a gripping page-turner. It flows fantastically well.

Joana is a young Lithuanian nurse separated from her family.

Emilia is a young, Polish woman, fifteen years old, separated from her family. She knows they’re dead.

Florian is a young Prussian man, artist, and art restorer, separated from his family. He’s on a secret mission of his own.

Meanwhile, Alfred is a young, German soldier, posted far from his family. He cites the Führer and composes mental letters to his love back home.

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Joana, Emilia, and Florian all end up on the same refugee road, hiding from Soviet and German soldiers alike. The Soviets because they kill and rape and pillage without a second thought. And the Germans because none of them have papers to travel – the Reich has not given permission to flee from the advancing Soviet troops. Their destination is to get to a port, where ships wait to take refugees to safety.

Circumstances thrust these three together, along with some other lonely, lost souls: the wandering boy, the shoe poet, the blind girl, and the giantess. In the intensity of their journey, guards are eroded, trust is earned, secrets are revealed, and they come to love one another deeply, this little rag-tag band of refugees.

And can I just say that a gentle romance builds between Joana and Florian in an understated and lovely way? Sigh. Sniff.

Heart-Wrenching and Heart-Warming Historical Fiction

Salt to the Sea is a lovely, lovely, bittersweet read. It’s also a surprisingly quick read, the pages just fly by, as you find yourself wrapped up in the fates of these young people.

The book puts you in the shoes of refugees, people just trying to live, to find a safe harbor. It shows desperate circumstances and desperate decisions. Fate is cruel and fickle. War is brutal, the brunt of its brutality hitting the young, denying them a future.

Yes, it’s all there in Salt to the Sea . And yet, there is also much beauty and tenderness and goodness and compassion and love, self-sacrificing love. Oh man, the tears are welling in my eyes again. Read this book.

There is a powerful message within its pages about humanity and our potential for greatness – great and terrible things and great and good things. And about choosing how we will be.

Sniff. Tearing up again…

Content Note: The whole subject matter of Salt to the Sea is sobering and violent. It’s in the middle of a war. People do die. But there is nothing explicit in terms of violent descriptions, profanity, etc.

Adaptation Recommendation: Yes, please. Universal Pictures has optioned the book, so a film is hopefully in the works.

MORE ROMANCE:

Romance Archives: A Collection Sorted by Genre

A lover of words, stories and storytellers since her youth and just plain curious by nature, Jessica embarked on a very long academic journey that took her across a continent (from Canada's west coast to its east) and even to the other side of the globe, where she currently lives an expat existence in Denmark. She now trails many fancy initials behind her name, if she ever cares to use them, and continues to be ever so curious. She's a folklorist, a mother, a wife, a middle child, a small town girl, a beekeeper, an occasional quilter, a jam-maker. She curates museum exhibits, gets involved in many cultural projects for this and that, collects oral histories when she can find the time and continues to love stories in all their many and varied forms. The local librarians all know her by name.

3 thoughts on “Salt to the Sea: Read This Heart-Wrenching Historical Fiction Novel”

This fits in with the novel I’ve been working on/researching. I’m going to check it out. 🙂

Do! It was such a good surprise to me. I had picked it up just because, not knowing much about the book or the author and was so blown away by it. I really enjoyed it. And it sounds like quite the interesting novel you’re working on!

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Book Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

WOW… another 5-star read for 2020. It’s only been two days, and I already want to re-read this exceptionally powerful novel.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Genre: YA, historical fiction, survival

Favorite quote: “I wept because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.”

First line: “Guilt is a hunter.”

It’s January, 1945, and Germany is falling. Thousands of people flee northeastern Europe as the Soviets close in from the East, desperate to escape both Stalin and Hitler.

“Evacuation orders had been issued. Germany was finally telling people what they should have said months ago. Run for your lives.”

Refugees pour into East Prussia, attempting to pass as German citizens and board the overcrowded ships that will carry them west to relative safety.

Joana : a Lithuanian nurse hiding a dark secret

Florian : a Prussian escaping with stolen contraband from the Nazis

Emilia : a pregnant Polish girl concealing her traumatic past

and Alfred: a delusional and sociopathic Nazi soldier with a superiority complex.

The paths of these four people unexpectedly cross when they all find themselves aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff : the ship that is so many people’s last hope. The ship that is loaded 9,000 people over-capacity. The ship that only has 12 lifeboats.

The ship that will be torpedoed by a Russian submarine in the Baltic Sea and become the single most deadly maritime disaster on record .

Ruta Sepetys’ writing in this book is amazing.

I had 50 Kindle highlights because, as I read in someone else’s review, almost every word had a purpose.

Like most of Sepetys’ novels, Salt to the Sea is a very character-driven story. It has a lot of action as well, but much of the plot is focused on the characters. You find yourself emotionally invested in each one of them (except Alfred) and that makes everything that happens seem even more brutal.

Emilia was my favorite character; I also really liked Florian. And Joana as well. Okay, I loved all of them.

But don’t even get me started on ALFRED. I feel like Ruta may have tried a little too hard to get us to hate him.

He spends the entire book composing narcissistic letters to his “darling”, a girl named Hannelore, and being an insufferable creep. He doesn’t even write the letters down, just composes them in his head, which is… very creepy. He’s psychotic. It was pretty obvious that his perspective was intended to make you uncomfy.

His character raised some exceedingly interesting and relevant points about propaganda and brainwashing , though .

Alfred completely buys into the idea of being a “Good German” and contributing to the Third Reich. Everything he does is specifically calculated to advance his rank and fulfill his grandly inflated ego. He worships his superiors and doesn’t question a thing.

“‘ You’ve read Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf ?’ [Alfred] asked. I didn’t answer the question. ‘You know, you strike me as an intelligent guy. It might be better for you to think for yourself, rather than memorizing the words of others.’”

Although- fortunately- we don’t live in Nazi Germany, this quote is indubitably relevant. Every single day, I see people regurgitate things on social media without an ounce of fact-checking or independent thought; it’s genuinely concerning.

Also, I had never heard of the tragedy of the Wilhelm Gustloff before I read this book, and I was shocked to learn that the sinking was more deadly than both the Titanic AND the Lusitania – yet I had never heard anything about it.

The facts of this event are shocking: the ship was filled to 10 times its intended capacity. There were only 12 lifeboats. 9,000 people died when it was torpedoed on January 30, 1945. I honestly couldn’t believe I never heard about this.

All of Ruta Sepetys’ books focus on “forgotten history” and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

( here’s an article I found while doing some extra background research on the Wilhelm Gustloff , if you want to read more about it)

It’s also really rare to find a WW2 book in YA (and the historical fiction market is saturated with them) that doesn’t take place in a) America b) England or c) western Europe. I had never read anything that takes place on the Eastern Front, so I learned a ton from this book.

This probably sounds ignorant, but it truly never occurred to me that people living in the Baltic region would rather flee to Germany than be overtaken by Stalin. Salt to the Sea places a lot of emphasize on the crimes of Russia during the war, which is a side of history I hadn’t thought as much about.

That brings me to my next point: this is an (unsurprisingly) dark & violent story . I promised myself I wouldn’t cry while reading this because I was reading it on the beach! in public! I succeeded, but barely.

Sepetys’ writing is so vivid, and as I said before, you can’t help but fall in love with the characters. It’s equal parts sad and horrifying, but definitely worth the read.

As you can probably tell from this extraordinarily long-winded review, I loved this book.

I would recommend it to any historical fiction fans, or anyone who wants to read a beautiful, albeit fairly dark story.

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 devastatingâ€”yet unknownâ€”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 â€œA rich, page-turning story that brings to vivid life a terrifyingâ€”and little-knownâ€”moment in World War II history.â€ 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 Childrenâ€™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 â€œFew books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both.â€ â€” The Washington Post * â€œA harrowing page-turner.â€ â€” Publishers Weekly , starred review * â€œA gripping story.â€ â€” School Library Journal , starred review * â€œBitterly sad, fluidly writtenâ€¦Sepetys' flowing prose gently carries readers.â€ â€” Kirkus , starred review * "Beautifully written and deeply feltâ€¦an important book that deserves the widest possible readership.â€ â€” Booklist, starred review â€œStalin 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€ â€” Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak and Wintergirls â€œIn 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€ â€” Richard Peck, Newbery Awardâ€“winning author of A Year Down Yonder â€œ 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€ â€” Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honorâ€“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 receivingÂ 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,Â 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 SepetysÂ is a fast moving, harrowing narrative.

I thought I would break down my review by point of view character. As I mentioned about the storyÂ Salt To The Sea Â 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 inÂ 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 theÂ 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 readÂ Between Shades of Gray orÂ 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 forÂ Salt To The Sea . I never knew about theÂ 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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Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, salt to the sea.

SALT TO THE SEA is a jarring, emotional and deeply moving novel by Ruta Sepetys, the author of OUT OF THE EASY and BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY, that truly lives up to the hype. Told in the alternating perspectives of four young people, SALT TO THE SEA is the story of a little-known maritime disaster that claimed the lives of thousands during World War II. Following the tradition of her previous novels, Ruta Sepetys presents a mixture of fact and fiction that is surprising and incredibly human.

It’s the winter of 1945, and Europe is facing a refugee crisis. Thousands of people have been displaced due to war between Germany and Russia, and the resulting conflict in the rest of the area. For the four protagonists, the Wilhelm Gustloff is their chance at freedom and a new life. All four carry secrets --- some life-changing, some more benign --- but all integral to the novel’s plot. Joana, a Lithuanian nurse, harbors mysterious guilt, while Florian, a Prussian art conservationist, carries an item that could result in his death if discovered. Emilia, a 15-year-old from Poland, carries her secret inside of her, and Alfred, a German sailor on the Gustloff , keeps his fear secret from even himself. Their stories meet and intertwine on journeys that are both personal and universal.

My expectations for this book were incredibly high and yet were somehow exceeded. Sepetys has a gift for handling sensitive subjects with grace and dignity, without glossing over or minimizing their atrocity. I was completely blown away by what I consider her best book yet.

"Sepetys has a gift for handling sensitive subjects with grace and dignity, without glossing over or minimizing their atrocity."

I loved the characters, especially Joana and Florian. I cannot get over how human they were. In a primarily character-driven story, it is understandably important for the characters to be strong and unique. And they were. But I was most intrigued by their individual brokenness, and surprising resilience, especially Emilia’s. The youngest of the protagonists, Emilia, is simultaneously vulnerable and innocent and remarkably strong and worldly. Sepetys manages to strike a balance between these seemingly incompatible characteristics in a way that is subtle and believable.

This prowess extends to almost every character in the work, from lead to supporting. Characters like the shoe poet, the wandering boy, and sorry Eva made the story more realistic than many I’ve encountered. The flawed, generally good leads make for a story that works its way into your heart.

The one character I was not completely satisfied with was Alfred. Told primarily in letters to his sweetheart, Alfred’s point of view seemed dependent and brain-washed. To me, the other characters were much more appealing, and I found Alfred to be a robot to his superiors. Even his backstory and actions throughout the book did nothing to sway me. However, this could be just my opinion. As I found no other flaws in the entire story, I’m inclined to think Alfred is an anomaly.

Although there is very little plot, it is very easy to stay engaged in SALT TO THE SEA. Much time is spent exploring characters’ backstories, so the reader becomes attached to them as they move closer to the inevitable disaster. I legitimately cried at the end of this book. Maybe that’s not much of an endorsement, but to me it’s more important to make people feel than to just tell a story. This is a testament to the impeccable writing of Ruta Sepetys: She connects characters to reality and breaks your heart.

For fans of historical fiction, mild romance, and plot twists that will keep you guessing, Ruta Sepetys’ SALT TO THE SEA is an inspiring and terrifying look into one of the great unknown disasters of World War II and the people who lived through it.

Reviewed by Maggie D. on February 25, 2016

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Publication Date: August 1, 2017
Genres: Fiction , Historical Fiction , Young Adult 12+
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN-10: 0142423629
ISBN-13: 9780142423622

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Salt to the sea by ruta sepetys.

A compelling–and ultimately hopeful–crossover title for teens and adults about Hitler’s evacuation of Germany and the biggest maritime disaster in history.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Philomel, 2016. 400 pages.

Reading Level: Teen/Adult , Ages 16 and up

Recommended For: Teens and Adults, ages 15 and up (see cautions)

Four young people claiming different national allegiances and bearing heavy emotional baggage (but little else) desperately flee WWII-era Prussia and Germany, hoping to get out before the Soviets reach them. Will there be enough room on the overcrowded ships that await them and thousands of other refugees converging on a single port in Northern Germany? Joana is a young Lithuanian nurse weighed down by guilt. Florian is a young German art historian carrying a heavy secret. Emilia is carrying an unborn child, desperately trying to keep her own secret. Alfred, a young German sailor, is carrying the heaviest burdens of all: hate and ignorance and pride. Joana, Florian, and Emilia have formed an unlikely group together with scattered other refugees (an old man, an orphan, a blind girl and others). All, like themselves, are homeless and starving; all are better together with their varied gifts than going it alone, so they forge on ahead.

The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was a maritime tragedy that far outweighed the Titanic in terms of sheer number of people drowning. And yet, the desperate refugees who’d survived long enough to make it to the ship itself had already witnessed unspeakable things, much like three of the four young narrators of this novel. Sepetys speaks in turn through each of the four main characters, allowing readers to witness events and piece together secrets and back stories along with the characters in the book. She affords the reader a slight distance from the events, though; hearing everything through one voice would be too much, too personal. Because war is hard stuff. And there is hard stuff in this novel: rape, violence, murder, starvation, drowning, atrocities born of fear and true desperation (such as mothers throwing their children to the ship only to have a child fall and drown). Rarely does Sepetys devote more than a sentence or two to a single event, nudging her readers along to the end just as the refugees trudge along. And yet, despite the many horrible events recounted, this is a book that is ultimately hopeful: each human life is worth saving, each human life is valuable no matter its apparent weakness or disability, and each human life has a unique contribution to make. Not everyone makes it to the end of the book, but heroes rise up and nurture the next generation. This would be a good (albeit hard) read for older teens and parents together; both will enjoy it and there is much to discuss!

Cautions : Violence (war-time acts of violence; see second paragraph)

Overall Rating: 4.5

Worldview Rating: 4.5

Artistic Rating: 4.5

Discussion Questions :

If you read Between Shades of Gray by this same author, it’s worth noting that Joana (in this book) is a cousin to Lina (in the other). Which book do you think is ultimately more hopeful in the midst of war and dark times?
The hopeful characters in this novel do not profess any spiritual leanings of significance. Do you think it’s possible to have real hope without a firm faith in the Lord? What is our ultimate hope? How does the Bible define hope? (Hint: search for “hope” in the Bible or simply look at Lamentations 3 and Romans 5 as good starting points!)
Think about the various people in your life whom you may have overlooked, perhaps because they are physically handicapped in some way, are very young or very old, are of a different race or ethnicity than your own, are secretive and quiet…. Are you quick to dismiss (mentally, if not in outright actions) someone’s apparent worth to you? Do you look for other friends or other sources of help? Why or why not?
How does the motley crew of Joana, Emilia, Florian, and the rest illustrate the body of Christ at work?
How can Christians bring a true message of hope to those around them? What sorts of experiences are your family members, friends and acquaintances going through in which you could come beside them, walk alongside, and offer comfort? What would be the most sensitive way to do that? (Sometimes, it’s not the words we say, but our patient actions and consistent presence that speak the loudest.)

For another WWII book that crosses over from the teen to adult market, check out All the Light We Cannot See .

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Book Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Though I applaud Ruta Sepetys’s attention to historical detail and her dedication to shedding light on the important true story of the largest maritime disaster in history, Salt to the Sea somehow falls short of true emotional resonance.

Title: Salt to the Sea

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult

Publisher: Publication Date: September 2014 Paperback: 352 Pages

Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets. Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war. As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom. Yet not all promises can be kept. Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope.

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel, though loosely tied through one character to Shades of Gray

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the Publisher

Format (e- or p-): Hardcover

The year, 1945. The place, the frigid road to Gdynia, Poland.

The players, four young souls from different homelands and of different backgrounds: Joana, the compassionate and educated Lithuanian nurse, who yearns for her beloved cousin and lost family; Florian, the Prussian artist who has a score to settle with his mentors and the Reich; Emilia, the Polish girl fleeing the Russian troops, who protects a secret under her coats and layers; and Alfred, the SS officer and sailor, who so passionately worships Hitler and yearns to prove his heroism to the world (and to his dear Hannelore).

In the last days of Nazi Germany, fleeing from Russian troops, these four characters all meet on the snowy path to Gdynia, to board the ill-fated Wilhelm Gustloff bound for Kiel, the northmost German city of Schleswig-Holstein.

The result, the largest maritime disaster and loss of life in recorded history.

Salt to the Sea is Ruta Sepetys’s highly-anticipated and much-hyped new novel–a work of historical fiction, telling the story of the tens, hundreds, thousands of souls displaced during World War II. Facing the dual threats of Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia, and the regimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and atrocities on both fronts, Salt to the Sea is novel rooted in history and years of careful research (per Sepetys’s author note). Through the eyes of four young narrators, this book reveals the tragic story of the Wilhelm Gustlof –which, despite its 9000+ deaths at the hands of Russian torpedoes, half of which were children, remains an oft-overlooked disaster in maritime history. Salt to the Sea is also a book loosely tied to Sepetys’s bestselling and award-nominated novel Between Shades of Gray , which similarly told the story of Lithuanians during WWII.

There is no denying that Ruta Sepetys’s has done an impressive and exhaustive amount of research for this book–her touching author’s note and the further backmatter in Salt to the Sea speaks for itself. The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlof was something I had heard and read of before, but only because I studied and focused on 20th century economic and political history as an undergraduate–and even then, this vessel’s fate was a paragraph in a textbook. Certainly, it’s not a story as well known as the tragic fate of the Titanic, the Lusitania, the USS Arizona… and for wanting to tell this particular story and draw attention to this forgotten ship and its civilian cargo, I deeply respect and applaud Ms. Sepetys. If nothing else, Salt to the Sea impresses upon readers the enormity of the impact of this second great war on the civilians who were kicked out of their homes, who trudged kilometer after kilometer through snow and cold. It captures the sheer scale of loss for countries and states either forgotten, or absorbed, or reclaimed: Eastern Prussia, Poland, and Lithuania most especially, but also the German state civilians who were relocated and made their desperate way to the coast in Operation Hannibal to escape the Eastern Front press of the Russian Red Army.

This huge, sweeping scale of loss and horror, examined through Sepetys’s young narrators as they make their way to port, is where Salt to the Sea is most effective. I felt these characters’s desperation, their will to survive and make it one day further towards hopeful salvation, their grief and guilt for all those who were left behind or who died on the long hard road.

And yet, for all of this research, scale and gravitas, somehow Salt to the Sea remains strangely lacking as a story and a novel. That is to say, though I applaud Sepetys’s attention to historical detail and her dedication to shedding light on the important true story of the largest maritime disaster in history, Salt to the Sea somehow falls short of true emotional resonance.

A large part of this is structural–the novel is told from the perspective of four narrators in rapid, alternating chapters. Each chapter is at most 4 pages long, and more often a scant few paragraphs on two double spaced pages. The effect is jarring and often unsatisfying, and the overall impression is that these characters are mere impressions of people rather than actual people–a situation exacerbated by each character’s tendency to end each chapter on a melodramatic, forced-cliffhanger type of note.

Beyond the structural objection, the other issue I had with the characters themselves lies with some of the associations made. Joana is repeatedly referred to by all as the “Pretty Nurse”–not only by the Nazi characters at port and on the ship, but more disturbingly by Florian, her love interest–over and over and over again. She is not the nurse, or Joana, but the Pretty Lithuanian or the Pretty Nurse. Similarly, Florian is a beautiful, tall, noble young man who is not only physically gifted as a fighter, but also as an exceptional artist. (The romance that–OF COURSE–blossoms between Florian and Joana is contrived and felt, to me, pandering and inauthentic.) The other narrator, Emilia, is a younger teenage Polish girl who is beautiful as well, with her pretty blonde hair and blue eyes–as we are told many times throughout the book.

Finally, there’s the problem of Alfred. Alfred is a Nazi sailor, who spends much of his narrative composing mental letters to his beloved Hannelore, a neighbor from home. Alfred is not only a delusional young man, but he is also a Hitler worshipper who takes his charge to eradicate Jews, Poles, Yugoslavs, socialists, gays, and other enemies of the Nazi state as personal doctrine. He is also a sociopath and a peeping Tom, with a horrible skin disorder. He is, in other words, a vile caricature who is almost laughably villainous and painted as horrible in every respect–which is as frustrating to read as it is problematic. Salt to the Sea showcases a horrible maritime disaster and wartime loss of civilian life–each one of those thousands of souls aboard the Wilhelm Gustlof a real living and breathing person. The resort to simplistic caricatures–beautiful noble skilled heroes, versus the mealy-mouthed, delusional, eczema/blistered-sociopath-peeping-tom villain–is disappointing and detracts from the overall message of the book.

Ultimately, I appreciate the story, the history, and the research that went into Salt of the Sea . I deeply respect Ruta Sepetys’s desire to tell this story, and recognize its importance and its poignancy.

I only wish that the story itself and its characters could have been a bit more powerful.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Chapter 1:

joana Guilt is a hunter. My conscience mocked me, picking fights like a petulant child. It’s all your fault, the voice whispered. I quickened my pace and caught up with our small group. The Germans would march us off the field road if they found us. Roads were reserved for the military. Evacuation orders hadn’t been issued and anyone fleeing East Prussia was branded a deserter. But what did that matter? I became a deserter four years ago, when I fled from Lithuania. Lithuania. I had left in 1941. What was happening at home? Were the dreadful things whispered in the streets true? We approached a mound on the side of the road. The small boy in front of me whimpered and pointed. He had joined us two days prior, just wandered out of the forest alone and quietly began following us. “Hello, little one. How old are you?” I had asked. “Six,” he replied. “Who are you traveling with?” He paused and dropped his head. “My Omi.” I turned toward the woods to see if his grandmother had emerged. “Where is your Omi now?” I asked. The wandering boy looked up at me, his pale eyes wide. “She didn’t wake up.” So the little boy traveled with us, often drifting just slightly ahead or behind. And now he stood, pointing to a flap of dark wool beneath a meringue of snow. I waved the group onward and when everyone advanced I ran to the snow-covered heap. The wind lifted a layer of icy flakes revealing the dead blue face of a woman, probably in her twenties. Her mouth and eyes were hinged open, fixed in fear. I dug through her iced pockets, but they had already been picked. In the lining of her jacket I found her identification papers. I stuffed them in my coat to pass on to the Red Cross and dragged her body off the road and into the field. She was dead, frozen solid, but the thought of tanks rolling over her was more than I could bear. I ran back to the road and our group. The wandering boy stood in the center of the path, snow falling all around him. “She didn’t wake up either?” he asked quietly. I shook my head and took his mittened hand in mine. And then we both heard it in the distance. Bang.

You can read the full excerpt online here .

Rating: 6 – Good, recommended with reservations

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Thea James is one half of the maniacal duo behind The Book Smugglers. She is Filipina-American, but grew up in Hawaii, Indonesia, and Japan. A full-time book nerd who works in publishing for her day job, Thea currently resides in Astoria, Queens with her partner and rambunctious cat. COOKING FOR WIZARDS, WARRIORS & DRAGONS (available August 31, 2021) is her first cookbook.

I really couldn’t agree more. I got a copy of Salt to the Sea at this year’s ALAN Workshop, where Ruta Sepetys was on hand to talk about the book and her research. I was moved to tears when she spoke (and I’m positive I wasn’t the only one), so Salt to the Sea was the first thing I read when I got back. I think part of my underwhelmed response was due to my ridiculously high expectations, but I think all the reasons you mentioned had more to do with it.

Kelly–I’m glad to hear I’m not alone (especially as the response to this book has been so overwhelmingly positive). I truly admire Ruta Sepetys as a writer and her desire to tell stories that haven’t been told–the personal history behind this book in particular is incredibly moving. I just wish that the book itself, and the characters, and the writing could embody all of that emotion and power.

I have to agree with the reviewer. As much as I was wanting to sink deep into this story and appreciate its historical component, I found that I was always skimming the surface. This, for me, was largely due to the construct of the novel. I could not engage with such short chapters, and with the abruptly switching narratives. It did not feel organic to me, and felt very forced and choppy. I didn’t even want to continue reading beyond the first few chapters, however I felt that perhaps it would work itself out as the story progressed. For me, this was not the case. It was a disappointment. It has generally received good reviews, so perhaps this literary style is just not to my liking.

Carol Wolfenbarger

Salt to the Sea is a powerful narrative created from the author’s literary skill and research. Each of the teen age characters presents as fully developed individuals. Their connections are revealed within the context of a hideous World War II disaster. Sepetys chose to tell the story through the perspectives of each for the four characters. She included a cast of supporting adults characters who provide the wider view of the consequences of Hilter’s maniacal. path to power. The result is a carefully constructed book that can leave the reader wondering at the human ability to endure fear, grief, pain, and loss. At the same time Sepetys provides the reader with a sense of hope that in time there can be recovery. For teachers and librarians who will recommend this book a very brief introduction to the author’s use of four voices and it could be like talking to different witnesses of an event. The reader must listening carefully to what the characters tell about themselves. Soon the reader can appreciate the whole fabric of the story being told. The back material that Sepetys includes gives credibility to her research. Perhaps not a book that will appeal to every reader, but for those readers who become immersed in characters in historical fiction this should be very satisfying.

this is a beautiful book and a deep dive into the tragic accidents so little known about.

The World is Small, but the Feels Are Large | Squid's Pod

[…] the surface for the possibilities of more than what is before me. The writing fully exemplifies the ” forgotten, or absorbed, or reclaimed”. This gave me a reaction of pity and guilt, for something that i didn’t even do or […]

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Salt to the Sea Book Review
Parents need to know that Salt to the Sea is award-winning author Ruta Sepetys' (Out of the Easy) stirring historical novel set during World War II about a little-known maritime disaster: the 1945 sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German ship filled mostly with civilians trying to escape the advancing Russian (or Red) Army.The author doesn't shy away from the horrors people faced during the ...
SALT TO THE SEA
Our Verdict. GET IT. Google Rating. New York Times Bestseller. January 1945: as Russians advance through East Prussia, four teens' lives converge in hopes of escape. Returning to the successful formula of her highly lauded debut, Between Shades of Gray (2011), Sepetys combines research (described in extensive backmatter) with well-crafted ...
'Salt to the Sea,' by Ruta Sepetys
SALT TO THE SEA. 391 pp. Philomel Books. $18.99. (Young adult; ages 13 and up) M. T. Anderson is the author, most recently, of "Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the ...
Book Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Book Summary: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. It's early 1945 and a group of people trek across Germany, bound together by their desperation to reach the ship that can take them away from the war-ravaged land. Four young people, each haunted by their own dark secret, narrate their unforgettable stories.
Salt to the Sea: Read This Heart-Wrenching Historical Fiction Novel
Salt to the Sea Book Review. Ruta Sepetys' award-winning Salt to the Sea is historical fiction with a capital H. Based upon true events, on a horrific disaster in the Baltic Sea, and the events leading up to it, Salt to the Sea sets human faces and fates and stories to a little-known wartime tragedy. Sepetys has drawn upon actual accounts of ...
Book Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Ruta Sepetys' writing in this book is amazing. I had 50 Kindle highlights because, as I read in someone else's review, almost every word had a purpose. Like most of Sepetys' novels, Salt to the Sea is a very character-driven story. It has a lot of action as well, but much of the plot is focused on the characters.
Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys
When a book of hers drops, you can expect to see several reviews of that book here on this site. Upon receivingÂ 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.
Salt to the Sea
Salt to the Sea. by Ruta Sepetys. Publication Date: August 1, 2017. Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult 12+. Paperback: 448 pages. Publisher: Penguin Books. ISBN-10: 0142423629. ISBN-13: 9780142423622. In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia, and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom ...
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
A compelling-and ultimately hopeful-crossover title for teens and adults about Hitler's evacuation of Germany and the biggest maritime disaster in history. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Philomel, 2016. 400 pages. Reading Level: Teen/Adult, Ages 16 and up.
Book Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Salt to the Sea is Ruta Sepetys's highly-anticipated and much-hyped new novel-a work of historical fiction, telling the story of the tens, hundreds, thousands of souls displaced during World War II. Facing the dual threats of Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia, and the regimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and atrocities on both ...

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