Download PDF Salt to the Sea edition by Ruta Sepetys Children eBooks

Product details File Size 6214 KB Print Length 221 pages Publisher Philomel Books (February 2, 2016) Publication Date February 2, 2016 Language English ASIN B00YM34WM8

Salt to the Sea edition by Ruta Sepetys Children eBooks Reviews

• I’ve studied World War II for years. I’ve read countless books, both nonfiction and fiction, and watched a lot of documentaries. My undergrad degree is even in history. But somehow, before SALT TO THE SEA, I’d only heard about the Wilhelm Gustloff once.
  
  One mention of such an immense tragedy.
  
  I’m thankful to Ruta Sepetys for writing SALT TO THE SEA. I always enjoy historical fiction that introduces me to something I didn’t know before, which she certainly does. But more than that, the author has such a deft, confident hand that I could sense the amount of research she did and the respect she has for the survivors and victims of the Wilhelm Gustloff. Sepetys doesn’t overwhelm you with her knowledge, but inserts it subtly, weaving it into the backstories, thoughts, and actions of the characters.
  
  SALT TO THE SEA is told through the eyes of four characters. Joana is Lithuanian, a nurse who always wants to help people in need, even if helping them might place herself in danger. Florian is Prussian, a boy with a pack of secrets. Emilia is Polish, a girl on the run from unspeakable horrors. Alfred is German, a member of the Kriegsmarine, and loyal to Hitler’s every thought. By using characters of different nationalities and loyalties, the author is able to show the many sides of Operation Hannibal, when Germany evacuated soldiers and citizens ahead of the Red Army.
  
  The “chapters” in the book are short, often 2-3 pages before hopping to another character. For the first few chapters, this bugged me a bit, as I couldn’t get to know anyone with such short chapters. Then I got used to it and liked the short chapters, because the sparseness was more impactful than overloading me with details would have been.
  
  SALT TO THE SEA is one of those rare books that I’ll be thinking about for a while.
• Salt to the Sea tells of four passengers on the ill-fated Wilhelm Gusloff, a luxury cruise liner turned into supply and medical ship, last voyage on the Baltic Sea in 1945. The Wilhelm Gustloff is a tragedy greater than the Titanic. About 9K+ died. To tell this story, Ruta Sepetys chose a really unique storytelling mechanism. Each chapter is short and builds off of one another because each chapter belongs to a voice of each character. What I found really intriguing was that one character would describe something or have a conversation with another character, but a look or a conversation would build off the next character in the next chapter. It took some getting used to, but after a while, this technique really helped to drive the story forward.
  
  Winter of 1945. Prussia. Refugees and German civilians are fleeing because the Red Army is making a strong advance against Germany. It is clear that Germany has lost the war at this point, but is still hanging on. We all know why. Passage to safety is via the Baltic to West Germany. Everyone knows this and this is how 3 of our 4 characters meet, on this trek to safety. Each character holds a dark secret as they make their way to safe passage. The atrocities and mysteries of WWII follow each of these characters in one way or another.
  
  Sepetys really took the time set up each character background and their motivations, but toward the end the book, she appears to run out of steam. Another issue is that one character really could have used more development and background. The first half of the book, up to the embarkment on the Wilhelm Gustloff is actually the best part of the story. However, the secrets of each character are revealed mostly while on the ship, and since we already know what is going to happen and how soon, there is not enough time for that development and it feels rushed. We know from watching Titanic that major plot developments can occur during the sinking of a ship, but that does not really happen here. Resolution, if any, feels incomplete. While the final few pages (an epilogue?) were just mind boggling and made absolutely no sense.
  
  I would recommend this book. I studied WWII a lot in undergrad, and I find myself drawn to stories about or with women during WWII (no matter the country). So, if WWII is your thing, then despite its flaws, I found myself not wanting to put it down. The short chapters are perfect for working moms on the go, like myself, if you just so happen to find yourself with a pot of tea, five minutes, and in need of good book.
• Hitler's voice was being broadcast on shipboard radios on the anniversary of his appointment as chancellor of Germany, on a ship named after a prominent Nazi, Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship with the capacity of 1,463 but stuffed instead with 10,573 sailors, soldiers and predominately with women and children. But no one on board was listening to Hitler when the ship was struck by three missiles from a submarine and went down in only fifty minutes, with only 12 lifeboats on board. In the bitter cold of the Baltic Sea in January. Many of those fleeing the Russian Army had crossed ice while being fired upon by Russian planes in their effort to get to the ship in the first place, and most saw it as their last hope of escaping those Russians who would be determined to make the Germans pay for the atrocities of the past few years. In 1945 25,000 people lost their lives in the Baltic Sea, over 9,000 of them in this one ship catastrophe alone. Yet, we never hear about this shipwreck that was so much larger than the Titanic. This novel was a small glimpse into the stories of the many women and children. It was told in very short chapters, some only a sentence or paragraph, most only a page or two. It was told in four voices and that helped keep the pace fast, but the emotional involvement a bit removed. I came to care what was happening, but never really to feel involved in it. It did raise my curiosity and send me to google more about the ship, the region and the entire operation Hannibal which I had never heard of before. It was compelling to read and deeply researched and interesting in many ways.