Salt to the Sea: A Novel

Praise for Salt to the Sea:

"Ruta Sepetys is a master of historical fiction. In Salt to the Sea the hard truths of her herculean research are tempered with effortless, intimate storytelling, as her warm and human characters breathe new life into one of the world's most terrible and neglected tragedies." Elizabeth Wein, New York Times bestselling author of Printz Award Honor Book Code Name Verity

A rich, page-turning story that brings to vivid life a terrifying and little-known moment in World War II history.   Steve Sheinkin, author of Newbery Honor and National Book Award finalist Bomb
 
"Brutal. Beautiful. Honest."  Sabaa Tahir, New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes
 
* "Sepetys excels in shining light on lost chapters of history, and this visceral novel proves a memorable testament to strength and resilience in the face of war and cruelty."  Publishers Weekly, starred review
  
* "This haunting gem of a novel begs to be remembered, and in turn, it tries to remember the thousands of real people its fictional characters represent. What it asks of us is that their memories, and their stories, not be abandoned to the sea."  Booklist, starred review
 
* "Artfully told and sensitively crafted, Sepetys s exploration of this little-known piece of history will leave readers weeping."  School Library Journal, starred review

"The inevitability of the ending (including the loss of several characters) doesn't change its poignancy, and the short chapters and slowly revealed back stories for each character guarantee the pages keep turning. Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful."  Kirkus
 
"This book includes all the reasons why teens read:  for knowledge, for romance, for amazing and irritating characters.  This novel will break readers hearts and then put them back together a little more whole."  VOYA

"Sepetys s...scene-setting is impeccable; the penetrating cold of the journey is palpable, and she excels at conveying the scope of the losses while giving them a human face....[T]his elegiac tale succeeds with impressive research, affecting characters, and keen, often unsettling insights into humans counterposed tendencies toward evil and nobility. Readers will be left to discuss which impulse triumphs here."  The Horn Book