Salt to the Sea

Salt to the Sea

• Genre: Fiction; young adult historical
• Originally Published: 2016
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 560L; grades 7-12
• Structure/Length: Unnumbered chapters in multiple character perspectives; approx. 448 pages; approx. 8 hours, 47 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Four main protagonists, including a young Lithuanian woman, a young Prussian on the run from Hitler, and a 15-year-old pregnant Polish girl, make their way to the port of Gotenhafen, Prussia, and the refugee ship Wilhelm Gustloff in an attempt to flee the Russian army during late WWII.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Wartime violence; profanity; mature content; rape; racism, insensitivity toward people with disabilities

Ruta Sepetys, Author

• Bio: Born in 1967 in Michigan; daughter of a Lithuanian refugee; bestselling writer of historical fiction for adults and young adults; known for treating historically underrepresented groups in her stories; recipient of The Rockefeller Foundation’s prestigious Bellagio Fellowship, acknowledging her studies on human resilience; considered a humanitarian and invited to speak at NATO, the US Congress, and the European Parliament; currently lives in Tennessee
• Other Works: Between Shades of Gray (2011); Out of the Easy (2013); The Fountains of Silence (2019); I Must Betray You (2022)
• Awards: Goodreads Choice Award for Best YA Fiction (2016); Carnegie Medal (2017); Golden Kite Award (2017); Audie Award for Young Adult (2017)