Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

35 reviews

lexluth0r's review against another edition

emotional sad tense 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

5.0

Yet another masterful work by Ruta Sepetys. I think this one was the hardest one for me to read, solely because of the amount of child death that takes place. It is a powerful book about the largest maritime disaster in history, the attack upon and sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. This story is told from four points of view; three refugees and one German sailor. The different points of view were very interesting in order to understand the history of the characters, as well as their struggles. I loved this book, and it left me thinking about it for hours after I finished it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical content, and War

sandy_dunes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Awesome book! The main characters were well-developed, the historical setting is really immersive, and I'm in love with the way that the themes are explored through the combination of both. Admittedly it was a bit hard keeping track of backstories at times, because all four main characters had pretty complex ones, but the gradual reveals were so satisfying! Oh, and of course I can't forget the amazing character dynamics <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Minor: Sexual assault and Pregnancy

taracloudclark's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An excellent story told from four perspectives of one of the most horrific events in history. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty

grammar_police's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Beautifully written, deep, and emotional. A spectacular story about the most devastating shipwreck in history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cursing

Most of your favorite characters will die, and it’s very dramatic and will have you crying…< / spoiler>

aphrochilds's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

froukjemelenhorst's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Just… deeply okay

Het is oprecht knap om een oorlogsboek te schrijven waarbij ik bijna niets voel voor elk personage 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit and Sexual harassment

alisonfaith426's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

amberinbookland's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

mformato's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Definitely one of the better YA books I've read in a while, which gives me hope that I haven't been completely turned off from the medium. Though it still had parts I wasn't a huge fan of.

I enjoyed that each character had their own distinct voice but I hated that they all withheld information from the reader. I understand that building up to a big reveal helps create tension but it felt unnecessary for all of them except Emilia. She was definitely the one with the most intriguing arc and I wish we had more depth with her.

I found myself skipping over most of Alfred's imaginary letters cause I just couldn't stand him and it really added nothing to the story. Even his big secret was muddied by his disillusion and not that monumental.

I adored the relationship between Klaus and the Shoe Poet; such a wholesome and tragic bond of two people in a time of war and I almost wish there was a novella from the Shoe Poet's perspective starting from right before he joined the group to how events played out in the novel.

Joana and Florian felt like generic YA characters to me. Not the worst, not the best. Just okay.

Overall I would recommend this book to others who enjoy YA and/or historical fiction. I am impressed with the amount of research Septeys does for her books; she truly cares about creating a historically accurate story with her own voice and I am definitely interested in more of her work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and War

bituinthepages's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Made me cry my eyes out 5 stars 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault