Salt to the Sea

What a masterpiece of a story . I almost hate that it's called Historical Fiction..because it REALLY did happen. The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustoff, with thousands of its passengers aboard the ship with only one thing on their minds..They are safe now...they have come so far ..and through so much..to get away..before the Soviets advance upon them. How easy it is to develop almost a friendship with the 4 refugees that are brought together throughout the story . Together they become a team...eventually trusting , and caring for one another. Slowly opening up about their tragic lives..and the families and loved ones they have lost. You feel their pain...you feel the Bitter cold, and hunger, and how scared and frighten they are. You also sense..how they want to trust the ones their with..but it takes time..before any of them truly let's their guard down..and into their heart. When the tragedy stikes... your heart breaks..as they all fight to live and survive...and knowing they all won't...throw their beloved babies and children to the life boats below..so they may have a chance. Horribly...so many babies and children died. The Horror and inhumanity of the story is felt through every word she writes..and I almost feel bad saying how stunning this Novel is...because of the fact..the truths behind it ..that the fictional characters represent...are really about The Thousands of REAL PEOPLE that tragically lost their lives. This book and her writing is Exquisite !! If I could..it would be 10 stars !!! A must read book in your lifetime!! You WON'T Regret it ! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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.

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.