Salt to the Sea

Product Information

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. It has so much to offer teen and adult readers, and it's a perfect companion novel to Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray, set in 1941 in a Siberian forced-larbor camp. On May 25, 2017, Variety reported that Universal Pictures was developing Salt to the Sea into a film.

Salt to the Sea - Wikipedia

A young refugee who joins with Joana, the Poet, Ingrid and Eva as they flee the advancing Soviet forces. The sinking of the Gusloff is the largest maritime disaster, yet the world still knows nothing of it. But with death counts of about 1,500 and 1,200 respectively, both are dwarfed by what befell the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German ocean liner that was taken down by a Soviet sub on Jan. As it departed, “she was standing in the port crying, thinking that her life was over,” Sepetys says. 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.Without cramming the novel with too much historical information or dull explanations, Sepetys is able to transport her readers to another time. In both books, Sepetys sought to tell the “lost stories” of people who had been unable to tell their own stories about the horrors and complexities of war. They] work together to create a vivid and well-rounded reading experience, [and] bring forth the truth of the wartime experience. The Allied forces are gaining ground both to the west and the east, and so German civilians are evacuating, fleeing violence and running towards the Baltic Sea where the German navy will transport them to safety.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys | Goodreads

Shot down by Stalin’s torpedoes soon after departure, passengers find themselves trapped below deck on a quickly sinking boat. It's told from four points of view to allow the reader to spin around the story from all angles, and because each of the POV characters brings something very different to the table, this swapping of eyes is satisfying rather than frustrating. Part of Joana’s story is a crossover with Between Shades of Grey, Sepetys other infamous YA Baltic novel. After Florian’s father becomes involved in an unsuccessful plot to assassinate Hitler and is executed, Florian rebels against his superiors, steals a precious artifact, and flees. Some survivors reported that when they spoke of it, there was a knock on their door, and they were told, ‘Why are you telling stories about some ship?She continues writing: "Every nation has hidden history, countless stories preserved only by those who experienced them. He cried when he told me that he was sending me away to the Kleists’ farm in East Prussia for safety.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys | Waterstones

Each character has a strong identity that Sepetys develops through anecdotes about their hometowns, memories of their lives before the war, and information about their family dynamics. All are trying to make their way to West Germany, to the ports of Gotenhafen and Pillau, in the hopes of boarding evacuation ships to safety. Joana worries the pregnancy is the result of rape, but Emilia assures her that the father of her child is a man named August, whom she loves and is on her way to meet. It takes place during WW2 and follows 4 characters as they are seeking freedom on the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety to all.The author hopes getting to know her protagonists could help young readers and grown-ups alike empathize with people in situations far from their own. 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. A soldier and inspector who checks the paperwork of Florian, Klaus, and the Poet when they are boarding the Wilhelm Gustloff. For the German people and their surrounding allies, it is a time to flee from the approaching Russian army, whose terrifying reputation for rape and slaughter precede them. Florian has altered his identification papers to make it look as though he is on a personal mission for Erich Koch, and so the soldier offers to take him by boat wherever he needs to go.

Emilia Stozek Character Analysis in Salt to the Sea | LitCharts Emilia Stozek Character Analysis in Salt to the Sea | LitCharts

Emilia Stożek: A 15-year-old Polish girl from Lwów who was raped by Russian soldiers not far from Nemmersdorf. H]aunting, heartbreaking, hopeful and altogether gorgeous…one of the best young-adult novels to appear in a very long time. August is the eldest child of the Kleist family, which took Emilia in on their farm in East Prussia. Under federal law, if you knowingly misrepresent that online material is infringing, you may be subject to criminal prosecution for perjury and civil penalties, including monetary damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees. The Wall Street Journal ♦“[Sepetys is] a master of YA fiction…she once again anchors a panoramic view of epic tragedy in perspectives that feel deeply textured and immediate.

When three torpedoes hit the ship, there weren’t nearly enough lifeboats, and many of the those that did exist were frozen to the deck.