Salt to the Sea // Ruta Sepetys
Salt to the Sea // Ruta Sepetys
Genre ~ Historical, YA, Fiction
Page # ~ 391
ISBN ~ 0399160302
Published ~ 02/02/2016
Rating ~ ★★★★☆ (4.5)
(⚠Trigger Warning⚠: mentions of rape)
Synopsis ~
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.
Thoughts ~
I was so excited when I found out that there was another book after Between Shades of Gray. I was even more excited when I found out one of the main characters is the cousin Lina talked about. This story showed us yet another thing about war that I didn't know and brought up some very powerful topics and morals. From fighting to traveling to voyaging across the ocean, the plotline flowed seamlessly and made the story so captivatingly beautiful and harsh at the same time. The characters are wonderful and have so many deep secrets and layers that you uncover throughout the book, that make it almost mysterious. Anyway, it was a beautiful read that showed that proved that people have a deeper meaning and life isn't always easy.
Things I Loved ~
-The way it made me sob
-The little flashbacks that hinted at our characters and made us question what they really were up to
-The raw honesty that the characters had with each other and how you can see them all grow together throughout the book
-Florian and Joana make me so happy and their relationship brings that little bit of joy that we desperately need in this heartbreaking book 💖
-Emilia. That's it, just her. She is the sweetest soul and needs to be protected forever and definitely did not deserve what happened to her. My poor baby 😍
-The major twist in Alberts story that makes you really question everything about him and makes you go from loving him to hating him in 0.2 seconds
-Florian is a hotty and 100% reminds me of Will Herondale and I have no idea why
Things I Didn't Love ~
-The way it made me SOB
-I really can't think of much
-I took 0.5 stars off I think because of the little bit of confusion I had when reading 4 different POV's and remembering who was where and who had gone through what
Characters ~
-Joana Vilkas
"Joana Vilkas, your daughter, your sister. She is salt to the sea."
Joana reminded me a lot of Lina, which makes sense because they are cousins, but she was different, and I think I like Joana more than Lina. She just clearly has this side of her that will never give up and will keep going until she has found happiness and peace. She has this strength that I admire immensely and a real passion to help others. I really did love her.
-Florian Beck
"My body begged for sleep but my mind warned me not to trust these people."
I think you can tell just from this quote that my man Florian is a very closed off and impersonal person. Even though he is, I still love him so much and keep continuing my journey of finding fanfiction of this man. His story was probably the most confusing, just because I am not an art connoisseur so I didn't really understand the vocab that went along with his job and the big art treasure he was hiding. It wasn't too bad though and my mind filled in the gaps that I didn't understand pretty quickly. You can really see his character grow from this closed-off, playboyish attitude into someone that really cares about his new friends (and someone a little more than a friend😉).
-Emilia Stozek
"You love stories, Emilia. Well, the trees hold hundreds of years of stories."
Emilia was such a sweetheart and I loved reading her POV. Her story was pretty average when you meet her, but as the book goes on you learn more about her and it will break your little heart. She is a Polish girl who was in a bad situation when Florian found her and brought her with him, where they then meet everyone else. She is pregnant, but there is no father insight, and you will find out why. She was such a nice light in this harrowing book and the way she thinks of Florian as her knight in shining armor is so cute (though they are not the romantic couple, she is just very grateful).
-Alfred Frick
"Fear is a brave hunter. But brave warriors, we brush away fear with a flick of the wrist. We laugh in the face of fear, kick it like a stone across the street."
I have many confusing thoughts about this guy, and I bet after reading you will too. Throughout the book he is just seen as a German soldier that is just living his life and going on this ship (I don't remember if he was fleeing for freedom or why he was leaving). Most of his POVs consist of "letters" he was writing in his head to his love, Hannelore. He is really cocky (and not in a hot way) and just weirdly self-confident/assertive. But then you read the end and the big plot twist of his story, and you hate this man. He did some bad things and now I don't know what to think other than ew this man is a child. Anyway, he is definitely my least favorite POV to read.
Quotes ~
"I wept because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet."
"How foolish to believe we are more powerful than the sea or the sky."
"He wanted to know something about me. I leaned over and put my mouth to his ear. It was barely a whisper. 'I'm a murderer.'"
"I wanted to stay locked away from the pain and destruction. I didn't want to be strong. I didn't want to be the 'smart girl'. I was so very tired. I just wanted it all to be over."
"Killers aren't always assassins. Sometimes, they don't even have blood on their hands."
Do I Recommend?
YESSS! It was so good and heartbreaking and joyous and powerful and ahh. Again, there are darker parts of this book and it can get hard, but people actually had to go through this, so read it for them and the pain they went through to get to freedom.
Similar Books ~
Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys
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