coleanne's review against another edition
4.0
Read this as a summer reading book back in high school and thought I would hate it, as I did most books I had to read for school, but I loved it. A really beautiful and sad story as far as I remember.
guineapiggirl's review against another edition
5.0
Ruta Sepetys' books are always so heart-wrenching and thought-provoking.
debrudreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
xiekaili's review against another edition
3.0
3,5 stars
I wanted to read the book for three years now, I think, and during that time I only heard positive Things about that book, so you can imagine my high expectations.
Sadly, this book couldn't hold them for me.
This Review is my personal opinion. I want to Point that out, because I can see why others loved it so much, I just didn't.
What I liked:
I really appreciate the hard work, the author put in this book and recommend to everyone to read the whole book, with note of thanks and so on. To imagine how much time and effort she took makes the Story valuable.
Also you could feel the respect, love and pain the author felt herself. Since many authors use traumatic issues just to sell their books better, this is a big plus too. Ruta Sepetys wanted to share sth with the world what's important to her.
My Problems:
It's hard for me to say that I had problems with this book. As I said in the beginning, I had high expectations and really wanted to love this book.
The chapters were too short. Normally I like that, it gives you the feeling you fly through the book, as you finish chapter after chapter in a few minutes.
But here it didn't feel good, the chapters always ended abruptly, trying to hold a thrill.
I guess, the goal was to keep you reading.
And I did, but I was annoyed. It felt like a Wattpad story which have to end every chapter like that, that's how Wattpad works, but for me it's not how a novel should work. (Maybe an exception for Thrillers, although I still think that it should be dosed, how often chapters are ending too opened up.)
Also you get to know the characters over the whole book. Everyone has only ca. 2 pages, until the next one is coming.
Because of so many breaks between a character and the time it took to really get to know them, I couldn't really build up a relationship with them.
Until I knew the Story behind everyone of them, the Drama was already on, so it was sad, yes, but I wasn't with 100 % of my emotions in it.
It may sounds heartless what I wrote, but what I love about historical fiction is, that it doesn't only give you facts. It gives you relatable characters, making the scene worse, showing you the pain people went through. That's why I'm reading historical fiction: I want to understand through my emotions.
In this case I couldn't, I didn't have the time to build a connection until it happened, and it was too late then.
I repeat myself: I have great respect to the author and I see why this book is good.
I just couldn't cry and feel the whole pain, what I wish to do when reading books like that one.
And I was sad after that, but I moved on now really fast, which is sad too.
I wanted to read the book for three years now, I think, and during that time I only heard positive Things about that book, so you can imagine my high expectations.
Sadly, this book couldn't hold them for me.
This Review is my personal opinion. I want to Point that out, because I can see why others loved it so much, I just didn't.
What I liked:
I really appreciate the hard work, the author put in this book and recommend to everyone to read the whole book, with note of thanks and so on. To imagine how much time and effort she took makes the Story valuable.
Also you could feel the respect, love and pain the author felt herself. Since many authors use traumatic issues just to sell their books better, this is a big plus too. Ruta Sepetys wanted to share sth with the world what's important to her.
My Problems:
It's hard for me to say that I had problems with this book. As I said in the beginning, I had high expectations and really wanted to love this book.
The chapters were too short. Normally I like that, it gives you the feeling you fly through the book, as you finish chapter after chapter in a few minutes.
But here it didn't feel good, the chapters always ended abruptly, trying to hold a thrill.
I guess, the goal was to keep you reading.
And I did, but I was annoyed. It felt like a Wattpad story which have to end every chapter like that, that's how Wattpad works, but for me it's not how a novel should work. (Maybe an exception for Thrillers, although I still think that it should be dosed, how often chapters are ending too opened up.)
Also you get to know the characters over the whole book. Everyone has only ca. 2 pages, until the next one is coming.
Because of so many breaks between a character and the time it took to really get to know them, I couldn't really build up a relationship with them.
Until I knew the Story behind everyone of them, the Drama was already on, so it was sad, yes, but I wasn't with 100 % of my emotions in it.
It may sounds heartless what I wrote, but what I love about historical fiction is, that it doesn't only give you facts. It gives you relatable characters, making the scene worse, showing you the pain people went through. That's why I'm reading historical fiction: I want to understand through my emotions.
In this case I couldn't, I didn't have the time to build a connection until it happened, and it was too late then.
I repeat myself: I have great respect to the author and I see why this book is good.
I just couldn't cry and feel the whole pain, what I wish to do when reading books like that one.
And I was sad after that, but I moved on now really fast, which is sad too.
tuttersuperfan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
afutt92's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably the most important book I've read all year. It's historical fiction, but shares the real sinking of the ship Wilhelm Gustloff, which was carrying over 10,000 refugees fleeing from advancing Soviets at the end of WWII. The Soviets struck the ship with torpedoes, and over 9,000 people lost their lives. It is the worst maritime disaster in history (worse than the Titanic or the Lusitania) and yet very few people know about it. I concentrated in WWII-era European history in undergrad, and even I had never heard of it. This is a devastating book, but is also filled with moments of friendship, bravery, resilience, and love. It was extremely moving, and I highly recommend it.
ebuxton2's review against another edition
5.0
The audio book of this was amazing. I felt like the readers embodied the characters so well that it made the “reading”/listening experience even better. A very tragic story and based off true historical events I personally never heard about until this book.
msvenner's review against another edition
3.0
This is a lovely book. It is very readable despite the difficult subject matter. The author made some interesting choices in terms of writing style and characterization that kept the pages turning. The knowledge that tragedy was looming was kept at bay by the stories of these people. I like historical novels that make me want to learn more about the subject matter and this had me googling both the amber room and the Wilhelm Gustloff.
lissherondale's review against another edition
4.0
More like 4.4 stars
Such a powerfull story, the ending, the research everything. I loved that.
It doesn´t have 5 stars because I found it a little bit slow at the beginning and because I didn't liked Alfred's POV.
My favorite character is Poet/Heinz, LOVE HIM, such a beautiful human. And he actually is named after a hero.
I love Ruta Sepetys books I hope she writes more books like these, she is an amazing writer. Not just writes beautiful heart breaking storys, she speaks for those who couldn't, telling stories that no one knows, I learn so much with her books, so much about history and WWII.
Such a strong book
Such a powerfull story, the ending, the research everything. I loved that.
It doesn´t have 5 stars because I found it a little bit slow at the beginning and because I didn't liked Alfred's POV.
My favorite character is Poet/Heinz, LOVE HIM, such a beautiful human. And he actually is named after a hero.
I love Ruta Sepetys books I hope she writes more books like these, she is an amazing writer. Not just writes beautiful heart breaking storys, she speaks for those who couldn't, telling stories that no one knows, I learn so much with her books, so much about history and WWII.
Such a strong book
blacboba's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5