Monday 8 February 2016

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Synopsis (from Goodreads

Pages: 400
Publisher: Puffin 
Released: 4th of February 2016 

Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

Yet not all promises can be kept.

What I Have To Say 

This is very much not a book for the faint-hearted. It is tragic and heartbreaking from the word go, taking it to harrowing extremes in the climax. Sepetys writes about a great tragedy without holding back from the details of it. There are some images in this book that will stay with me for a long time. 

Each voice was very different. I loved the switch between the voices in the narrative, showing things from different perspectives and revealing the character's secrets bit by bit. I only took a couple of days to read through it, because the characters and their mysteries caught me up in the story and compelled me to read on. 

This is definitely one for those who like a good cry at sad books. It's also a very good and well researched look into Germany and the surrounding countries during the Second World War. 


My thanks go to Netgally and Puffin for providing me with this e-Arc. 


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