Take a photo of a barcode or cover
wvteddy 's review for:
Salt to the Sea
by Ruta Sepetys
I had never heard of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. It was so much worse than the Titanic. Ruta Sepetys captured the voices of some of the evacuees on board and the hardships they suffered. It is a picture of the fall of Germany and the inhumanity of war.
The story is told by 4 main characters with each chapter in the voice of one character building on the events of the previous chapter. At first the chapters were very short and the style was a little confusing but it soon all came together for me as I realized how the characters were connected. The characters were slow to develop but I thought that added to the tension. I thoroughly enjoyed Ms Sepetys' lyrical prose
Some feel the descriptions were too graphic for the tender eyes of the youth who are the audience of the book. God forbid that they learn about the atrocities of war. War is often romanticized or trivialized. War in their lifetime has been far away and has not involved American youth. Many still think the Holocaust did not exist nor do they care. How can we ever learn from past mistakes and move toward peace if we close our eyes to history?
I thought the romance and "soap opera" aspect was a good way to engage readers of that age group and indeed any age group. It made the whole thing personal. It did not read like a history book.
I am not sure I would be correct in saying I enjoyed this book. I found it educational and it led me to delve deeper into this tragedy. I found it emotional, appalling, heartbreaking. It makes human a group of people who were forgotten victims of war.
The author's note at the end was extremely informative.
I listened to the audiobook. The cast of talented narrators did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life.
The story is told by 4 main characters with each chapter in the voice of one character building on the events of the previous chapter. At first the chapters were very short and the style was a little confusing but it soon all came together for me as I realized how the characters were connected. The characters were slow to develop but I thought that added to the tension. I thoroughly enjoyed Ms Sepetys' lyrical prose
Some feel the descriptions were too graphic for the tender eyes of the youth who are the audience of the book. God forbid that they learn about the atrocities of war. War is often romanticized or trivialized. War in their lifetime has been far away and has not involved American youth. Many still think the Holocaust did not exist nor do they care. How can we ever learn from past mistakes and move toward peace if we close our eyes to history?
I thought the romance and "soap opera" aspect was a good way to engage readers of that age group and indeed any age group. It made the whole thing personal. It did not read like a history book.
I am not sure I would be correct in saying I enjoyed this book. I found it educational and it led me to delve deeper into this tragedy. I found it emotional, appalling, heartbreaking. It makes human a group of people who were forgotten victims of war.
The author's note at the end was extremely informative.
I listened to the audiobook. The cast of talented narrators did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life.