Salt to the Sea

by Ruta Sepetys

Book Overview

#1 New York Times bestseller and winner of the Carnegie Medal!

"A superlative novel . . . masterfully crafted."--The Wall Street Journal

Based on "the forgotten tragedy that was six times deadlier than the Titanic."--Time

Winter 1945. WWII. Four refugees. Four stories.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies, war. As thousands desperately flock...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142423629
• ISBN13: 9780142423622
• Release Date: August 2017
• Publisher: Philomel Books
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.4" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Masterpiece of Historical Fiction

Ruta Sepetys has become one of my auto-buy authors because of this work specifically. It's action-packed from literally the first sentence and is basically like the movie Titanic meets the historical event of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. I loved how she highlights the horrors, the griefs, and the loss of innocence due to war instead of romanticizing the whole story. It was very impactful and truly a masterpiece.

Amazing book

I was not expecting this book to be so good, its on my top 5 books to read list

Hidden Gem

I truly did not expect this book to be much good. However, it tells a very unknown story of survival from 4 different points of view and it truly captivated me. Feeling things from the words of a book are the whole purpose and this book made me feel so much.

Sequel book

Loved the prequel between shades of grey and loved this book both great reads

So many emotions all in one

This book held so many different emotions - happy, sad, suspenseful, etc. I liked how the chapters were split into different characters. It made it easier to follow. Highly recommend!

Heartwarming yet Heartbreaking

I didn’t know how I really felt about the book until the end whenever I realized just how attached to the characters I really was. I couldn’t bear to think that this revealing, truthful story had actually come to an end. This has changed my perspective on what people in WWII went through because initially, we all automatically think about the Holocaust. This book is definitely a new favorite on my shelf.

Absolutely Riveting

From the first page to the last I was enthralled as have others who I've lent the book to as well. The characters are all young, under 21, but the story is not for kids. It is just a younger perspective from 4 very diverse individuals. There are other characters as well such as the Wandering Boy and Shoe Poet and Giant Ava and they are people you love but the four main characters drive this story. The most interesting part of the entire book is the boat they board and the true story within the fictional one. After reading the book I took an interest in that part and have done research and found it very interesting and amazing that something so tragic could be held in such secret. This book is riveting and had me feel the spectrum of emotions. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in only a few hours. If WWII and the occupation are of interest, this book is a must. If you like it also try The Devil's Arithmetic and The Boy In the Striped Pajamas. While all are fictional, they meld fiction and reality in a way that catches the reader from the first paragraph to well past the last page. These books begin dialogues and when reliving history, dialogue is often needed to prevent history happening again.