My heart ached for the girl. What had she seen? And deep down I knew the truth. Hitler was pushing out Polish girls like Emilia to make room for “Baltic Germans,” people with German heritage. Like me. My father was Lithuanian but my mother’s family had German roots. That’s why we were able to flee from Stalin into the barbed arms of Hitler.

Salt to the Sea Study Guide | Literature Guide | LitCharts

Salt to the Sea takes places in East Prussia in January 1945. Thousands of refugees try to evacuate as World War II draws to a chaotic close. Who will live? And how will those who perished be remembered? Historically, less than 1,000 passengers survived the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. The doctor aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff. When he learns Joana is a nurse, he asks for her help and secures her a boarding pass. HalinkaWarning: 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 Brutal. Beautiful. Honest.”— Sabaa Tahir, New York Timesbestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes

Salt to the Sea | BookTrust

Among the other characters you will come to know and care for are the young wandering boy and the Shoemaker, or the “shoe poet”. She also told the Tribune [3] that she wanted to write the story from the refugees' point of view. She says, "The concept of "refugee" is something frightening, it's something foreign. So I wanted to write from that point of view, which is why I have four alternating main characters, all young people from different nations, seeing life from four different cultural lenses on this refugee trek."

A friend of Emilia’s father, Martin Kleist owns a farm near Nemmersdorf, in East Prussia. The Kleist family takes Emilia in during the war and Martin promises Emilia’s father that they’ll take care of her. Erna Kleist

Salt to the Sea - Kindle edition by Sepetys, Ruta. Children Salt to the Sea - Kindle edition by Sepetys, Ruta. Children

Guilt is an important theme that Sepetys develops throughout the novel, particularly through Joana's character. Guilt torments Joana, who feels she is responsible for the likely death of her cousin Lina and other family members. While others see Joana as a kind and selfless mother figure, Joana sees herself as a murderer. I really cared for Joana and Florian, Ruta Sepetys has a special talent for powerful romances. I can’t stop thinking about them. Maybe I could put it down to recently reading a fast-paced, exciting (and horrifying) book set during the Second World War - Front Lines - but, to be honest, I just think the author's war stories are not for me. I'm an emotional reader, and this kind of narrative leaves me cold. We had lots of "mean" Germans in the novel, but did the only German main character necessarily have to be a sociopathic, Hitler-loving ass without a single trace of character development? I would have loved to see him develop a conscience or compassion.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% of it) is about the journey that each of these characters undergoes to get to the ship.