Salt to the Sea

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Throughout the deadly journey, the team faces bombs, cruel soldiers, and a sea of ice. They seek shelter in abandoned buildings and homes. I had received the sign six years ago. It was Saint John’s Night, the longest day of the year. Mama loved Saint John’s celebration—a night of bonfires, singing, and dancing. The tradition called for girls to make wreaths of flowers and candles. At dark, they would light the candles and send their wreaths floating down the river. Legend said that the boy who retrieved your wreath downstream was the boy you would marry. The year Mama died, the older girls let me make a wreath of flowers and candles with them. I chose all of Mama’s favorites—hibiscus, roses, poppies, and dried herbs. By the time the group of refugees finally arrives to the port of Gotenhafen, their lives are increasingly intertwined. Joana and Florian fall in love. Emilia views Florian as proof that there are good men in the world. At Gotenhafen, they all depend on Alfred’s help to get boarding passes.

Salt to the Sea Quotes and Analysis | GradeSaver Salt to the Sea Quotes and Analysis | GradeSaver

Sepetys uses the metaphor of a pregnant ship that will give birth to draw a parallel with Emilia's pregnancy. Emilia gives birth on the ship. While giving birth should represent life, for Emilia it signifies death. She feels certain that she is doomed, and that she will die in childbirth just like her mother. Moreover, Emilia’s baby is the result of her rape by Russian soldiers. Therefore, giving birth forces Emilia to confront this traumatic experience and the shame it has left her with. Although a young adult novel, I knew Salt to the Seawould be graphic and tragic, especially since Sepetys focuses on children and teens during WWII. Not to mention that the sinking of the IRL Wilhelm Gustoff is at the heart of this story. You can always find a plethora of book quote gold in Sepetys’ books, and Salt To The Sea has many quotes worthy of attention. Here are a few that I enjoy:I wanted my mother. My mother loved Lithuania. She loved her family. The war had torn every last love from her life. Would she have to learn the grotesque details of our suffering? Would news make it to my hometown of Biržai, to the dark bunker in the woods where my brother and father were thought to be hiding?

Salt to the Sea Study Guide | Literature Guide | LitCharts

I am so glad that you loved Salt to the Sea. I just love Ruta Sepetys, and I agree, it's a wonderful novel. Have you read other Sepetys' books? I had no idea the historical event this book was based on, and I'm glad I didn't find out before I read this book. It made the events and the lives of the refugees caught in the middle come to life. You are able to see the worry and the suffering these people went through. Also, you get an accurate portrait of the cruelty perpetrated against innocent people. There is the usual violence that goes with war, but the book leaves you with the notion that the human spirit is something that is stronger and more hopeful than you've ever imagined. Great read! Emilia Stożek: A 15-year-old Polish girl from Lwów who was raped by Russian soldiers not far from Nemmersdorf. She is caught in an illusion that a boy named August, a member of the family she was working for, was the source of her pregnancy. She planned on finding him after the war. She gives birth to a daughter, Halinka, whom she saves and hands over to Florian during the sinking before dying and being washed up in Bornholm, Denmark. One of the four principal characters and narrators. From the first chapter, Sepetys notes that Joana is primarily motivated by guilt. Joana is a young Lithuanian woman, who repatriated to Germany from Lithuania in 1941…Unofficial Sequel. One of the protagonists of Salt to the Sea, Joana Vilkas, is the cousin of the protagonist in Sepetys’ first novel, Lina Vilkas, who appears in Between Shades of Gray. The Wilhelm Gustloff was pregnant with lost souls conceived of war. They would crowd into her belly and she would give birth to their freedom. But did anyone realize? The ship was chistened for a man, Wilhelm Gustloff. My father had told me about him. He had been the leader of the Nazi Party in Switzerland. He was murdered. The ship was born of death.” Emilia, p. 245