Salt to the Sea

Product Information

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide. Get started Close She should know Poland. Looking at the child, I suddenly became hungry for my country, for its fat bees carrying nectar from apple flowers and for the birds singing in clusters of hazel. Many of the facts about the Wilhelm Gustloffare accurate. Historians will enjoy reading a little more about the Amber Room and Operation Hannibal, too. What do you think is the meaning in Salt To The Sea’s title? Let us know in the comments. 5 Thought-Provoking & Powerful Salt To The Sea Book Quotes

Salt to the Sea - Penguin Random House

War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost." Clara Christensen, p. 413 People die from bullet wounds, starvation, and other injuries. Most of the people on the ship drown as it sinks. A young woman is almost raped. A woman falls into a frozen river and dies. Characters shoot and kill a couple of different men threatening them or someone they're defending. A young Lithuanian nurse, Joana flees from her home, leaving behind her family. She is brave, selfless, and a skilled, multilingual nurse. Empathy and compassion pour from her soul. Part of Joana’s story is a crossover with Between Shades of Grey, Sepetys other infamous YA Baltic novel. 2. Florian I had received the sign six years ago. It was Saint John’s Night, the longest day of the year. Mama loved Saint John’s celebration—a night of bonfires, singing, and dancing. The tradition called for girls to make wreaths of flowers and candles. At dark, they would light the candles and send their wreaths floating down the river. Legend said that the boy who retrieved your wreath downstream was the boy you would marry. The year Mama died, the older girls let me make a wreath of flowers and candles with them. I chose all of Mama’s favorites—hibiscus, roses, poppies, and dried herbs. Salt to the Sea is a 2016 historical fiction young adult novel by Ruta Sepetys (book cover illustration and design by Matt Jones i UK). It tells the story of four individuals in World War II who make their way to the ill-fated MV Wilhelm Gustloff. The story also touches on the disappearance of the Amber Room, a world-famous, ornately decorated chamber stolen by the Nazis that has never been recovered.

Please join our community as we wander around the tipsy world reading books and watching movies to inspire travel. Salt to the Sea takes place in January 1945, during the final days of WWII. 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. Throughout this WW2 novel, we realize how much bigger the world is and our small part in it. War takes away personality–with the goal to dehumanize–just like salt blends and dissolves into the sea. Once the youth arrive at the port, they face even more danger and hardships than on their trek there. Everyone wants to escape the Soviet soldiers, but there is not enough room.

Salt to the Sea | Ruta Sepetys Salt to the Sea | Ruta Sepetys

Warning: Salt To The Sea is not an easy read. But should you read it? YES! Why Salt To The Sea Is An Essential WW2 History Novel Why are you so nervous?” said Eva. “You know you’re getting on a boat. You told me you’ve got a letter.” Sepetys’ mission is to bring these quiet but powerful stories to life. As salt is lost in the sea, so are the passengers and their tales on the Gustloff. Best Children's Book of the Year 2017 with Outstanding Merit, Children's Book Committee of Bank Street College of EducationHere, Joana reflects that guilt is the price of surviving a tragic event. When a tragic event is over, survivors must deal with their own trauma. But often, they must also deal with guilt about the fact that they survived while others did not. So, dear one, I have grown old now and my Niels is gone. Receiving your kind letter brought such peace to my heart, knowing that you, Joana, Klaus, and Halinka are together in America along with a child of your own. I do understand how you have struggled for this new life. The sinking of the Gusloff is the largest maritime disaster, yet the world still knows nothing of it. I often wonder, will that ever change or will it remain just another secret swallowed by war? It could have been so easy. I could have walked across the ice myself, without the burden of the group. They could have tried to save the blind girl. Maybe they all would have drowned in the process. That would have been so much easier.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys | Waterstones

Are you okay?” I asked, barely recognizing my own voice. His face twisted at the sound of my words. Why do you think the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff isn't widely known or memorialized? Is it because it was a German ship and some of the passengers were Nazi party officers or members? Does the book make you want to learn more about the tragedy or WWII stories in general?

From the author of Between Shades of Grey comes another gripping, heart-breaking novel, inspired by the worst disaster in maritime history. Told from four intertwining perspectives, this is a book that is sure to delight all historical fiction fans and people who enjoyed Sepetys’s first novel. The book was honored as a finalist of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award in 2017 [6] and was listed as a 2017 Best Children's Book of the Year with Outstanding Merit from the Children's Book Committee of Bank Street College of Education. [7] Characters [ edit ] As they make a long and difficult trek, the refugees suffer many physical ailments. However, while Joana can cure the blisters, wounds, and frostbite of her fellow travelers, she has no treatment for their fear. Despite the physical troubles the refugees experience, fear is what ails them most. Throughout Salt to the Sea, Sepetys indicates that while war's physical impacts are terrible, it is often the psychological consequences of war that are the most permanent and difficult to deal with. While the characters may recover from their wounds, they will likely live with their trauma forever.