Ruta's work is a gift.

⸨ Your daughter, your sister. She is salt to the sea, ⸩ This was my first book by Ruta Sepetys, and it won't be last. I have already bought "Between Shades of Gray", and "Out of the Easy" is on it's way. :DI am obsessed with this remarkable author. She is so inspiring, and down to earth. Most importantly, she is a powerful storyteller. I loved the way this book is written. There are 4 POVs and each chapter is about 2-4 pages long. There are no unnecessary details, which i highly app

That was sad but there was some happiness too. But some of the things put some horrific images in your head =( Mel 🖤

First Read: August 2016, Rating: 5/5 starsSecond Read: March 2020, Rating: 5/5 starsI am an emotional wreck! This is such a wonderfully evocative and poignant recount of such a dark period in human history. Sepetys has brought history to life in amongst these pages filled with pain, grief and heartbreak of the worst possible kind - that caused by other human beings.This split narration follows the lives of four young individuals and their alternate opinions and stances in the war. The year is 19...

“On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west. On September 17, 1939, Russia invaded Poland from the east. I remembered these dates. Two warning nations gripped Poland like girls fighting over a doll. One held the leg, the other the arm. They pulled so hard that one day, the head popped off. The Nazis sent our people to ghettos and concentration camps. The Soviets sent our people to gulags and Siberia. I was nine years old when it started. People changed. Faces shrived and sunk, li...

(4.5) This book was beautiful. It's gonna take a minute for all my thoughts to set in. Video review to come!

This book leveled me. I was unprepared. Beautiful.

This book covers the largest loss of life in maritime history- the sinking of the German Wilhelm Gustloff in January 1945. It was torpedoed by Soviet forces during WWII. Over 9,000 people lost their lives including many civilians (including children). The book is told in very short chapters from 4 different characters: Florian, a Prussian man fleeing his post, Emilia, a pregnant 15 year old Polish girl, Joana, a Lithuanian medical assistant, and Alfred, a young Nazi. Most of the book (about 75%

I try, I really do, but Sepetys's war stories do nothing for me. Yes, I know I'm in the minority. I was one of few who didn't love her debut - Between Shades of Gray - and much preferred her second book - Out of the Easy. Now she returns to World War II and, once again, I don't get it.As with her first novel, I feel a little uncomfortable being negative about these kinds of books. This was a horrific time when some terrible atrocities were committed and I applaud the author for always focusing o...

This swift-footed, kind-hearted historical is intensely satisfying in just about all the ways a novel can be satisfying. Without further ado, here are five things you should know about it before picking it up:1. A lot of times, historical fiction shows its work. As a history major, I don't mind a research-filled brick of a book, but I'd think carefully about who I recommended it to. Historical can be dense. Salt to the Sea is not that book: Sepetys chooses her word battles carefully for an incre...

I have never been so simultaneously sad and angry while reading a book in my whole life

Update: Here is my video review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oubBC...This book is a masterpiece. 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. Going into it I was very apprehensive about reading it. Historical fiction is not a genre I typically reach for. But this book blew me away. It's safe to say that this book was the best book I have read this year. The writing in the book was so phenomenal. The...

Such a beautiful yet tragic story. Ruta Sepetys has such a way with words. Video review to come

“How foolish to believe we are more powerful than the sea or the sky.” ALL THE FEELS! Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys nurtured my body, it fed my soul, it made my heart soar. I also had a wave of despair and a feeling of intense longing when the book ended, coming to the unfortunate and fortunate realization that I would be experiencing a book hangover. (A phenomenon that occurs when you read something so good, you think you will never find something quite as good again)This book was by no means...

“Joana Vilkas, your daughter, your sister. She is salt to the sea.”I’ve been waiting for this book ever since I finished reading Between Shades of Grey back in August.I’ll admit that I had very high expections for this book and I’m glad that every single one of them was met. I could not stop reading Salt to the sea, I kept telling myself just one more chapter, just one more (we all know how well that works). I enjoyed reading from every main character and (view spoiler)[ wished we got to read at...

Before starting 'Salt to the Sea', I had heard quite a lot of praise for the book. In fact, I was a little nervous to start it because I was afraid that it wouldn't live up to it's reputation. Thankfully, that didn't prove to be the case. This book was beautiful, devastatingly so.Ms. Sepetys does a wonderful job of shedding light on the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a maritime disaster that claimed more than 9,000 lives and remains an overlooked part of history. Admittedly, I had never heard

“War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost.”A Pole with a past. A Prussian with a mission. A Lithuanian with a secret. A German with issues. One ship. Three torpedoes.Nearly one year ago I read the highly acclaimed novel Between Shades of Grey. Now Ruta Sepetys is back, with another historical telling set against the backdrop of World War II.Sepety's novels often talk of dark and dangerous times, with a light and comforting to...

"What had human beings become? Did war make us evil or just activate an evil already lurking within us?"Ruta Sepetys`s novel Salt to the Sea is the story of four individuals - Joana, Florian, Emilia and Alfred - who make their way to the ill-fated ship, Wilhelm Gustloff. This little-known unfortunate event `the sinking by Soviet torpedoes of the Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945` is mentioned as the single greatest tragedy in maritime history.This book is about the importance of hope for survival. The bo...

Wow, what a beautiful, breath taking, eye opening story.

YOWZA SHE DOES IT AGAINIn both of Ruta's books, somehow my tears get saved until the moment I close the book, then everything I just read collapses down on me and it gets me choked up. I really really liked Between Shades of Grey because of its ending, and I was so excited to hear about Ruta's second book following non-German (mostly) WWII. I've mentioned before that i'm not a fan of books that are told by a handful of characters. I think they're hard to get into, can be confusing, and none of t...