Historical

Salt to the Sea

Salt to the Sea

  • Downloads：9233
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-22 11:00:16
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ruta Sepetys
  • ISBN：0142423629
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

While the Titanic and Lusitania are both well-documented disasters， the single greatest tragedy in maritime history is the little-known January 30， 1945 sinking in the Baltic Sea by a Soviet submarine of the Wilhelm Gustloff， a German cruise liner that was supposed to ferry wartime personnel and refugees to safety from the advancing Red Army。 The ship was overcrowded with more than 10，500 passengers — the intended capacity was approximately 1，800 — and more than 9，000 people， including 5，000 children， lost their lives。

Sepetys （writer of 'Between Shades of Gray'） crafts four fictionalized but historically accurate voices to convey the real-life tragedy。 Joana， a Lithuanian with nursing experience; Florian， a Prussian soldier fleeing the Nazis with stolen treasure; and Emilia， a Polish girl close to the end of her pregnancy， converge on their escape journeys as Russian troops advance; each will eventually meet Albert， a Nazi peon with delusions of grandeur， assigned to the Gustloff decks。

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Reviews

Rebecca ，

Please read this story - the voices of the lost should be remembered。

Brenda Morris ，

I loved the way each chapter was written from a different character’s point of view。 The short chapters made it a quick read。 I did not cry as much as I was expecting to。

Rosy ，

Decided to reread this book because I remembered loving the characters Florian， Joana， and Emilia and I found that to still be true！

Robin ，

I rated this book higher than I would have - just because it raises awareness of the topic。 This book is too long on fiction and too short on history for my liking。 I never felt connected to any of the characters。 After about the first half， I found myself skimming through the book in case I might run into an interesting plot or character development， but that didn't happen。 Near the end， I simply just couldn't wait to be done with the book。 At the end of the book there is what might pass for an I rated this book higher than I would have - just because it raises awareness of the topic。 This book is too long on fiction and too short on history for my liking。 I never felt connected to any of the characters。 After about the first half， I found myself skimming through the book in case I might run into an interesting plot or character development， but that didn't happen。 Near the end， I simply just couldn't wait to be done with the book。 At the end of the book there is what might pass for an epilogue， but it was hard to make sense of it。 。。。more

Silvia C。 ，

The audiobook was lovely， with a full cast for the different narrators。 I loved the multiple perspective narration。 Overall a lovely novel， on a very hard and sad historical time。

Sudeep ，

Beautifully crafted story around one of the greatest war tragedy。 This book made me feel all the hardships people had to suffer during WW2。

Lauren McCown ，

Read in 3 days amazing！

sof ，

Reading this book gave me another perspective to see how it was during WW II。 Though it was another historical fiction， I enjoyed reading this book。

marin anne ;） ，

5+++ truly incredible

Sheila Daley ，

Great historical fiction book

Sean ，

4。5 stars。 Quietly brutal。 But also doesn’t wallow in those harrowing details， finding moments of hope and connection in it all。

Raymundo ，

Como siempre， los libros de Ruta Sepetys son muy buenos， entretenidos y aprendemos algo。 Aquí narra la mayor tragedia marítima de la historia。 Las primeras 3/4 partes del libro desarrolla a los personajes， y en la última parte es el naufragio y lo que viven los tripulantes。 La narración es vívida y nos recuerda a la película Titanic。 Los capítulos son en Punto de Vista de cada personaje， y aunque esto hace ágil la lectura， cuesta acostumbrarse o valorar los personajes porque cada PV tiene página Como siempre， los libros de Ruta Sepetys son muy buenos， entretenidos y aprendemos algo。 Aquí narra la mayor tragedia marítima de la historia。 Las primeras 3/4 partes del libro desarrolla a los personajes， y en la última parte es el naufragio y lo que viven los tripulantes。 La narración es vívida y nos recuerda a la película Titanic。 Los capítulos son en Punto de Vista de cada personaje， y aunque esto hace ágil la lectura， cuesta acostumbrarse o valorar los personajes porque cada PV tiene página y media en promedio。 Pero si se supera eso， la experiencia es gratificante。 。。。more

Brynn ，

I really enjoyed this book， I found the characters well written and the plot fast paced and interesting。The only thing that bumps it down to four stars is the length of the chapters， which I feel limit the development of the characters。 If the chapters were a bit longer I bet the characters might have more time to grow on me。 Because of the short length I felt some of the characters actions didn't make much sense due to lack of time to explain them。 For example， when Emilia reveals there is no A I really enjoyed this book， I found the characters well written and the plot fast paced and interesting。The only thing that bumps it down to four stars is the length of the chapters， which I feel limit the development of the characters。 If the chapters were a bit longer I bet the characters might have more time to grow on me。 Because of the short length I felt some of the characters actions didn't make much sense due to lack of time to explain them。 For example， when Emilia reveals there is no August and she was actually raped by Russian soldiers， Joana and Florian are both kinda like "aw that sucks" and then they move on。 If there was more time， I'd think they'd feel worse and think about the trauma she must have， because they're written to genuinely care about her。 Still I would recommend this book to anyone， and I loved the Shoe Poet and Klaus the wandering boy， they were probably my favorite characters and they didn't even have a POV 。。。more

Maria ，

What a breathtaking story。 Bravo。

Bethany Wu ，

Sepetys chose the perfect event to write this story around。 Another humbling historical fiction that I’d recommend！

Jessica Fleming ，

The author wrote a beautiful story about a tragedy that I never heard off。 The ending was hard for me to read， I couldn't even imagine what being in this situation felt like。 The author wrote a beautiful story about a tragedy that I never heard off。 The ending was hard for me to read， I couldn't even imagine what being in this situation felt like。 。。。more

Sylvia ，

Never knew about this shop and the sinking before reading this book， I learned something， which is always appreciated in historical fiction。

Queen Hale ，

wow。 So many books。 I have a lot of reading to do。。。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Hope Zastrow ，

I love Ruta’s books。 You learn so much about events while still enjoying the characters and plot

Katie Kaldor ，

A unique take on WWII historical fiction， Salt to the Sea follows four characters looking to flee Germany as the Russian forces advance。 While I appreciate learning about an event I did not know occurred prior to the book， I felt disconnected from the characters。 The four characters alternate narration， but chapters are brief （a few pages at most） and the content felt very watered down for YA。 Several of the "twists" or events that should have elicited emotion didn't hit the intended mark。 I don A unique take on WWII historical fiction， Salt to the Sea follows four characters looking to flee Germany as the Russian forces advance。 While I appreciate learning about an event I did not know occurred prior to the book， I felt disconnected from the characters。 The four characters alternate narration， but chapters are brief （a few pages at most） and the content felt very watered down for YA。 Several of the "twists" or events that should have elicited emotion didn't hit the intended mark。 I don't know if I should be concerned or not if my favorite chapters were narrated by the sociopathic Nazi soldier。 Check it out if you really like YA historical fiction and WWII stories。 It seems like I may be in the minority looking at other reviews。 。。。more

Franziska ，

I have no words for this book。 Need some time to get my heart back together 。。。

Ana Maria ，

I absolutely adore and admire the writing of Ruta Sepetys。 This book was great and it really had amazing characters。 I’m actually very disturbed by “Alfred” and how things looked from his perspective and what went through his mind was crazy。 The backstory of the characters breaks my heart and the journey they had。 This is a great book！！ Also I love her historical fictions

Emily-Carter Heany ，

This book really makes you think about the great life we have here in the United States， freedom。

Prashamsa ，

enlightened me about diverse subjects。 so tragic yet so， so beautiful。 3。5/5。

Cord Sheard ，

This book made my cry。 This book made me curse。 All the more so as it is based on an actual historical event。A completely unexpected emotional rollercoaster well worth the journey。

Bethany ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 It wasn’t bad but I couldn’t ever get into it。 I wanted to quit several times。 I had so many questions once I finished。 What happened to Eva？ Did Florian and Joana ever hear from her again？ Did Joana find her mom？ How did Joana， Florian and the kids get to the US？ What happened to Hannalore？ Did she think Alfred was annoying and weird as everyone else did？

Kate Leicht ，

Actually quite surprised at how much I ended up enjoying this story about the WWII tragedy of the Wilhelm Gustloff ship。 Even though it’s a fictional novel with historical information intertwined throughout; it’s not hard to imagine the characters as actual survivors of the horrible atrocities committed during the war。 Told from the viewpoints of multiple characters， you easily begin to form opinions， liking some while having a sharp disdain for others。 Rooting for some while hoping others get t Actually quite surprised at how much I ended up enjoying this story about the WWII tragedy of the Wilhelm Gustloff ship。 Even though it’s a fictional novel with historical information intertwined throughout; it’s not hard to imagine the characters as actual survivors of the horrible atrocities committed during the war。 Told from the viewpoints of multiple characters， you easily begin to form opinions， liking some while having a sharp disdain for others。 Rooting for some while hoping others get their due。 This book was a quick read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys YA fiction with a touch of historical context。 。。。more

Rayrumtum ，

Thousands of people are fleeing the advancing Soviet troops in the end days of WWII。 These refugees come from diverse backgrounds。 They are trying to reach a port for evacuation on a ship。 Not all of those who board the Wilhelm Gustloff find their destination。 Ultimately the ship is torpedoed by a Russian submarine and thousands do not survive the sinking of those grossly overloaded ship。 This disaster far exceeds the deaths on the Titantic and Lusitania， but few （including me） had heard of it。T Thousands of people are fleeing the advancing Soviet troops in the end days of WWII。 These refugees come from diverse backgrounds。 They are trying to reach a port for evacuation on a ship。 Not all of those who board the Wilhelm Gustloff find their destination。 Ultimately the ship is torpedoed by a Russian submarine and thousands do not survive the sinking of those grossly overloaded ship。 This disaster far exceeds the deaths on the Titantic and Lusitania， but few （including me） had heard of it。The story is told with alternating perspectives of four different people。 While this approach has worked for numerous classics like Moonstone and Dracula， this book has extraordinarily short chapters which makes it seem choppy。 I like short chapters， but in this book some were literally 3 short sentences which seemed weird。 。。。more

Marie-Eve Côté ，

i'm torn between 4 and 5 stars 。。 maybe 4。5 stars i'm torn between 4 and 5 stars 。。 maybe 4。5 stars 。。。more

Kamilė ，

I can't stop crying。 Now it's my favourite book。 I can't stop crying。 Now it's my favourite book。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Salt to the Sea

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Salt to the Sea&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Salt to the Sea&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0