Salt to the Sea

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I enjoyed Salt to the Sea in the same way that I did Between Shades of Grey: I liked writing, plot and characters, but something is always missing for me. Her stories are dramatic, cruel and most of all real, but I can never fully commit myself to the book or its characters. H]aunting, heartbreaking, hopeful and altogether gorgeous…one of the best young-adult novels to appear in a very long time.”— Salt Lake Tribune August is the eldest child of the Kleist family, which took Emilia in on their farm in East Prussia. When he visits home he defends Emilia from his mother's cruel treatment. Emilia likes August. When Russian soldiers rape and impregnate her, she invents a story to make it easier to deal with. She says the baby is August's and that she is on her way to meet him. Martin Kleist Sepetys, Ruta (March 22, 2011). Between Shades of Gray (First; Hardcovered.). Philomel Books. ISBN 9780399254123.

Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys – review - The Guardian Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys – review - The Guardian

This novel follows Joana, Emilia, Florian, and Alfred. They are young adults vying for a passage on the Wilhelm Gustloff. It takes place in the Winter of 1945 during World War II. These young adults and the passengers on board the Gustloff are hoping for freedom and safety from the war. The whole thing’s unfair, Eva. You know that. Hitler allowed me into Germany. He thinks some Baltic people are ‘Germanizable.’ But for every person like me that Hitler brought in, he pushed some poor soul, like Emilia, out.” Sepetys uses the metaphor of a pregnant ship that will give birth to draw a parallel with Emilia's pregnancy. Emilia gives birth on the ship. While giving birth should represent life, for Emilia it signifies death. She feels certain that she is doomed, and that she will die in childbirth just like her mother. Moreover, Emilia’s baby is the result of her rape by Russian soldiers. Therefore, giving birth forces Emilia to confront this traumatic experience and the shame it has left her with. The writing in the book was so phenomenal. The way that Ruta laid out the story through her writing was so just beautiful. I felt like every single word in this novel had a purpose. There were these sentences that she would lace throughout the different points-of-view to connect them that I just thought was so brilliant.I’ll admit that I had very high expections for this book and I’m glad that every single one of them was met. I could not stop reading Salt to the sea, I kept telling myself just one more chapter, just one more (we all know how well that works). She also told the Tribune [3] that she wanted to write the story from the refugees' point of view. She says, "The concept of "refugee" is something frightening, it's something foreign. So I wanted to write from that point of view, which is why I have four alternating main characters, all young people from different nations, seeing life from four different cultural lenses on this refugee trek."

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

War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost.” No one wanted to fall into the hands of the enemy. But it was growing harder to distinguish who the enemy was.”

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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.

Salt to the Sea Summary | GradeSaver Salt to the Sea Summary | GradeSaver

Once a glorious luxury boat, the gutted ship’s sole purpose is to transport wounded soldiers, women, and children. Now filled with over 10,000 refugees, the Wilhelm Gustloff has barely any walking room let alone proper life vests and boats. Few authors truly capture the stark effects of war on youth–especially children who have no one to help them through it. You learn how fast the war forces teenagers to grow up. As the refugees undertake the long and difficult journey, they gradually reveal their secrets. Emilia is eight months pregnant after Russian soldiers raped her. She is also persecuted for being Polish and must hide her identity. Florian is also on the run because he stole Hitler’s favorite piece of art from the Amber Room. He did this to take revenge when he realized the Nazis were using his talent to help steal Europe's artistic treasures. Joana feels responsible for abandoning her family and leading to some of their deaths. The judges who awarded Sepetys the Carnegie Medal for this book noted "the powerful, crafted language, the tight, carefully shaped plot and the range of moods evoked throughout".. [1]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?

SALT TO THE SEA Read Online Free Without Download - ReadAnyBook SALT TO THE SEA Read Online Free Without Download - ReadAnyBook

What had human beings become? Did war make us evil or just activate an evil already lurking within us?” Florian, p. 102 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. Although the book was entertaining, I wish that it was focused more on the experience on the ship. Especially as that was how it was advertised. When 75% of the book was just getting to the ship it was a bit of a letdown.

Desperation leads to more death and utter devastation. Emaciated pets wander the streets. Mothers attempt to throw babies on the ship, accidentally bouncing them off the sides to their early demise. At first, it was very difficult acclimating to 4 different characters and their points of view. However, eventually you would get used to it. The character of Alfred, the Nazi, was a wasted character in my opinion. The author wrote him in a horrible light. Everything he did was terrible. I am viewing this book through the lens of 2020 as an American where we live in deeply divided political times. So for me, the author really painted Alfred as 100% horrible, but life is not that simple. In the past, when I was watching World War II movies, I would feel pride when the Americans were off bombing people. However, now when I watch World War II movies, I feel really sad because I have friends who are Italian. I imagine their faces: every time I see them, they say, "Leeza!" with big smiles, giving me hugs, and the kisses on the cheek. It is sheer joy. Although they obviously lived, their grandparents/parents probably suffered through the war. There is no us versus them. There is only us. Unfortunately, this book furthered perpetuated the lie that there is us versus them. I try very carefully not to hate other people because of their beliefs. I try to see the good in people. However, this author made that very difficult so I was very disappointed that other people could not also share the same experience that I did. You can always find a plethora of book quote gold in Sepetys’ books, and Salt To The Sea has many quotes worthy of attention. Here are a few that I enjoy: A wandering Prussian boy on a secret mission filled with revenge and pain, Florian possesses hidden artistical talents. He is mysterious, handsome, and cautious. An orphan of war, he must choose whose side he is on while remaining alive. Emilia coins Florian as “The Knight.”