I was so bowled over by Ruta Sepetys’ first novel,
Between Shades of Gray, that I gave it
to my teen cousin for her birthday (she likes historical fiction), and she went
crazy over it, too. So, when I heard that Sepetys had another historical novel
coming out, also set in the World War II time period, I pre-ordered copies for
both my cousin and me. We were both blown away by
Salt to the Sea, a powerful, moving novel about a virtually unknown
historical event that affected many thousands of people.
Salt to the Sea
follows four young people, all in their mid- to late teens, in 1945 as they
each make their way across East Prussia to the port of Pilau, Poland, to
hopefully board a ship and be evacuated away from the rapidly advancing
Russians. Each of the main characters is introduced gradually, through
alternating chapters. Joana is Lithuanian but has been living in East Prussia,
working as a nurse, for the past four years. She is leading a small ragtag
group of refugees cross-country to the coast. Florian is a bit of an enigma for
much of the novel. He is Prussian but is clearly in fear of both the Russians
and the Nazis. Florian comes across Emilia, a Polish girl of only fifteen, who is on
her own and in dire danger from a Russian soldier when Florian finds her. They
tentatively join Joana’s group for a while, while their wounds heal, though
Florian is obviously anxious to be on his own again. Alfred is about the same
age as the others but in completely different circumstances. He is serving in
the German navy, proud to be a Nazi, and currently assigned to the port,
helping to prepare several large ships for evacuating both citizens and wounded
soldiers.
The story centers on one particular evacuation ship, the
Wilhelm Gustloff, that was a real
historic ship, though few have heard of it. In fact, its sinking was
the deadliest disaster in maritime history, killing approximately 9,000
people, mostly civilians and about 5,000 of them children. For
comparison, about 1,500 people died when the
Titanic sunk. As the author explains in a note at the end of the
book, this was just one of several huge evacuation ships destroyed in the
Baltic Sea at that time, killing approximately 25,000 people total, mostly
civilians. Yet, we never hear about these disasters in history class.
The novel expertly weaves these four young people’s stories
together to create a picture of the desperation felt during those frantic
months, while people tried to escape from the advancing Russians. This is not a
military story of war but a tale of ordinary people, trying to save themselves,
their children, and their families. Some were Polish, some Lithuanian, some
Prussian, some German, but they were all in the same desperate circumstances,
all rushing toward the port cities in the bitter winter weather, trying their
best to find food and shelter and stay warm and alive.
As the novel continues, the four main characters’ lives
continue to intersect in sometimes surprising ways. I always enjoy novels that
focus on connections between people like that. We also learn more about each of
the individuals as the story progresses, and there are plenty of surprises
along the way. There is even a little link to the characters in Between Shades of Gray, a wink to readers who enjoyed that first book. All of that intricate story-telling is set against a fascinating
historical backdrop that most of us alive today can’t even begin to imagine that will be particularly shocking for teens readers of about the same ages as the main characters.
The result is a fast-paced, suspenseful, emotionally
powerful tale of survival against all odds. As with her first two novels,
Sepetys is a talented writer who immerses you in the lives of the characters and
makes them feel real. I came to care about each of them (well, most of them)
and was rooting for them to survive and thrive. The entire novel is a
page-turner but the last part, once they board the ship, is especially tense
and riveting. Sepetys has done it again, with a powerful, engaging novel filled
with characters who feel real, set against a little-known historical event that
deserves to be recognized.
448 pages, Philomel Books (imprint of Penguin Random House)
Listening Library
P.S. I mentioned two of Sepetys’ novels here,
Between Shades of Gray and
Salt to the Sea, because they both take
place in roughly the same time period and focus on little-known but important
historical events. However, Sepetys wrote another novel, in between these two,
that was also very good.
Out of the Easy
is set in 1950’s New Orleans, about a teen girl whose mother is a prostitute.
Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in
return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced
by my relationship with the publisher or author.
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