Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Bibliography
Sepetys, R. (2017). Salt to the Sea. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0142423622.
Summary
Salt to the Sea takes place in East Prussia in January 1945 and tells the story of four characters: Joana, Florian, Emilia, and Alfred who are all separated from their families due to war. As they embark on their difficult journey to freedom, they each gradually reveal their secrets to one another.
Critical Analysis
This novel takes place in the last months of WWII and is told through four, first-person narratives which are told in short, alternating sections. The novel shows each character’s individual psychology and personal history. The plot becomes more action-packed as the relationships between the characters grow more intimate and truths are revealed. Ruta Sepetys shows how many families were affected and hurt because of this war and how these families had to make new connections in order to survive.
Strengths/Weaknesses
-Multiple Points of View (perspective of four different characters)
-based on a true story from the Second World War
-real-world connection
-inclusion of a real element of history
-character-driven novel
Connections
Theme: willpower, fate, survival, secrecy, heroism
Skills: making predictions, author’s craft, making inferences, point of view, figurative language, character development, cause and effect, sequence of events, problem and solution, text connections
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/rswhDmkPseA
Author Website: https://rutasepetys.com/
Other Books Written by Ruta Sepetys:
The Fountains of Silence
I Must Betray You
Between Shades of Gray
Personal Review
I am not a fan of historical fiction, but this book exceeded my expectations. The way Rita Sepetys tells the story through separate narratives from different points of view is captivating. Sepetys explored the individual lives, fears, strengths, secrets, and tragedies of the group of young adults seeking freedom. The characters had to grow up quickly due to living during wartime. The emotions and conflicts are mature and even adult readers will get enjoyment out of reading this novel.
Reader Reviews
Beckyh
Although a young adult novel, this tale of the end of World War II and the refugee ship Wilhelm Gustloff will also appeal to all who like historical fiction. Sepetys knows her subject well and is able to clearly voice each of the teens fleeing the fall of Germany. Each of the four teens tells their own story in alternating chapters, but the result is a devastatingly clear tale of desperation. A nurse, a possible spy, a pregnant girl, a sailor aboard the doomed ship -- each adds their part as the story races to its conclusion. Sepetys is an excellent writer of atmosphere and character who is able to maintain tension throughout the novel. Teens will love this book as will their elders. This would be a good book for a mother-daughter book group or any group interested in World War II and historical fiction. 5 of 5 stars
Sarah K
Florian, Emilia, and Joana are all from various countries that Hitler invaded. All three cross paths and help each other on the way to freedom. Florian protects them, Joana heals them, and Emilia provides hope for them. Each of the three have a rough background, starting from running away from definite death to leaving homes with families still inside. Sepetys brings out the worst and best of these relatable characters and really gives them a human face. This book is suitable for people who don’t like historical fiction because it’s filled with romance, friendship, and tragedy as well.
Review Excerpt
Horn Book Magazine (January/February, 2016)
The stories of four young adults -- each haunted by a secret -- converge in this heartbreaking illumination of a little-known WWII tragedy. As Russian soldiers push Nazi forces back to the Baltic Sea, thousands of refugees from the occupied Eastern European countries -- including Prussian defector Florian; Emilia, fifteen and pregnant, from Poland; and Joana, a young Lithuanian woman valued for her medical skills -- flee toward the slim hope of evacuation by sea. The narrative gains momentum as the travelers near their destination: the port of Gotenhafen (where they encounter Alfred, an inept Nazi soldier who constructs elaborate delusions of his own valor in imagined love letters to an unseen beloved) and ultimately the Wilhelm Gustloff, a vessel destined to sink in the icy Baltic Sea, killing an estimated nine thousand passengers, mostly civilians. Sepetys's (Between Shades of Gray, rev. 5/11) 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. Accordingly, each plot thread is a door to a larger history: Florian's secret relates to the systematic Nazi looting of precious art; Emilia, persecuted by both sides (German and Russian), illustrates Poland's plight. Despite a few jarring flaws -- in particular, a blind girl whom the author gifts with impossibly heightened other senses -- this 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. claire e. gross
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
Bibliography
Lee, S. (2021). The Downstairs Girl. Penguin Young Readers Group. ISBN 978-1524740979.
Summary
The young Jo Kuan works as a maid during the day for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. By nighttime, she is an author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, “Dear Miss Sweetie.” She writes about some of society’s rules which challenge ideas about race and gender. A letter entices Jo to uncover her own past and her parents who abandoned her when she was a baby. She comes face to face with a criminal and must decide if she is ready to step into the light.
Critical Analysis
Lee explores a part of history that schools tend to not cover. The story explores the way Chinese Americans were unseen by their society. The novel takes place during the women’s suffragist movement in Atlanta, Georgia. The main character’s voice makes the story come alive as she combines social and political observations with a hint of sarcasm. Over the course of the story, the main character has to decide if she is willing to risk it all for something she believes is right. Lee delivers an empowering message about fighting for social change, uncovering who we are, and creating new paths despite the oppressions we face.
Strengths/Weaknesses
-element of mystery
-foreshadowing
-historical setting
-empowering message
-main character is the protagonist
Connections
Theme: women’s rights, class, identity, racial tension
Audiobook Excerpt narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
Other Books Written by Stacey Lee:
Under a Painted Sky
Luck of the Titanic
Outrun the Moon
Personal Review
I enjoyed reading The Downstairs Girl because I learned something in history that is not taught in schools. Even with our society being multicultural, this perspective often gets forgotten. The novel gave a different insight into how these historical realities impacted the lives of day-to-day people. Stacey Lee did an amazing job in transporting the reader into another place and time in history. Stacey Lee created a vivid portrait of life in the south over twenty years ago after the Civil War about discrimination and adversity.
Reader Review
Nicole @ Nicoles’ Novel Reads
During the late 1800's Jo Kuan lives with her stand-in father, Old Gin, in a basement. She works as a milliner's assistant until she is let go one day because her employer deems that she is too opinionated and makes customers uncomfortable. However, there is one customer, Mrs. Bell, who admires Jo's craftmanship making intricate knots, which happens to be the lady who resides in the same residence as Jo. However, Mrs. Bell doesn't know Jo and Old Gin take refuge below the residence. Jo is given the opportunity to write as Miss Sweetie for the Focus's advice column when she sends an anonymous letter to the Bells. Miss Sweetie creates a huge buzz in her community. Jo anonymously writes articles regarding societal norms during the Gilded Age time period. What a great opportunity for someone who is "too opinionated." While she works as a lady's maid at the Paynes household during the day, she moonlights as Miss Sweetie at night.
Stacey Lee tells a wonderful and insightful story of what it means to be Asian in the South of the United States in the late 1800's. I am always delighted to read historical fiction with characters I can relate to. I often wonder how life was for Chinese-Americans in the past. There is hardly any information about the history of Chinese-Americans living in the United States and how life was for them. Lee is one of my favorite historical fiction novelists. Her characters are relatable and I love being transported to a different time period and a different location every time I pick up one of her books.
I absolutely love the voice of Jo. She is sassy but she knows her place. Jo is an advocate of women's rights and equality for all races. Being of Chinese descent, she teeters in between Whites and Blacks. It's hard to find a place in society, especially since there are not many Asian people living in the United States at the time. Most Chinese in the States at the time are men working on the railroad. Jo is longing to know more information regarding her parents. Who is her birth father? Who is her birth mother? Why was she given up? Jo is fortunate to have Old Gin raise her. The twist at the end caught me off guard for sure.
Although Jo may feel out of place, she has Old Gin as her family. I also enjoyed reading how Jo finds solace in Sweet Potato and she finds friendship with Noemi. Jo even has a complex relationship with Caroline Payne, who can be very cruel.
The Downstairs Girl shows readers a glimpse of the Gilded Age and what is it like to live as an Asian American during that time period. Jo defies the stereotype of Asian women being docile and quiet. Not only does she defy the stereotype for Asian women but she defies the gender stereotype of being a lady. Jo is quite capable of doing what a man does and she is quite outspoken. From writing in a newspaper to horse racing, Jo can do anything!
Review Excerpt
Kirkus Reviews starred (June 1, 2019)
Jo Kuan leads a double life: a public role as a quiet lady’s maid and a secret one as the voice behind the hottest advice column in 1890 Atlanta. Chinese American Jo is mostly invisible except for occasional looks of disdain and derisive comments, and she doesn’t mind: Her priority is making sure she and her adoptive father, Chinese immigrant Old Gin, remain safe in their abandoned abolitionists’ hideaway beneath a print shop. But even if she lives on the margins, Jo has opinions of her own which she shares in her newspaper advice column under the byline “Miss Sweetie.” Suddenly all of Atlanta is talking about her ideas, though they don’t know that the witty advice on relationships, millinery, and horse races comes from a Chinese girl. As curiosity about Miss Sweetie mounts, Jo may not be able to stay hidden much longer. And as she learns more about the blurred lines and the hard truths about race in her city and her own past, maybe she doesn’t want to. In her latest work, Lee (The Secret of a Heart Note, 2016, etc.) continues to demonstrate that Chinese people were present—and had a voice—in American history. She deftly weaves historical details with Jo’s personal story of finding a voice and a place for herself in order to create a single, luminous work. An optimistic, sophisticated portrayal of one facet of Chinese American—and simply American—history. (Historical fiction. 13-18)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Bibliography
Zusak, M. (2007). The Book Thief. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0375842207.
Summary
The novel is narrated by Death and is centered around the life of a teen, Lisel Meminger, living in Germany during WWII. After the death of her brother, Lisel goes to live with her foster family in a small town. While with her foster parents, she learns how to read and finds comfort in books so she begins to steal books from the Nazis.
Critical Analysis
The Book Thief is told from the narration of Death which is a unique point of view. Markus Zusak provided insight into what life must have been like for many Germans during WWII and the difficulty they had to go through to reconcile the treatment the Jews went through versus the loyalty to follow Hitler’s demands. From the beginning of the book to the end, you will be reading about the lives of people which make them seem real to the reader. To see the world through the innocent eyes of Lisel makes you rethink how the world appears to young children. Lisel found joy in reading books which in return made her become a book thief which at this time was dangerous because they were burning the books.
Strengths/Weaknesses
-told from the perspective of Death
-foreshadowing
-metaphysical dilemmas
-examples of allusions
-use of anaphora
Connections
Theme: power of words, sense of guilt, humanity, death, friendship, cruelty, kindness
Skills: compare/contrast, inference, interpretation, cause and effect, point of view, characterization, foreshadowing
Movie Trailer: https://youtu.be/92EBSmxinus
Other Books Written by Markus Zusak:
I Am the Messenger
Bridge of Clay
Underdogs
Personal Review
I like how Markus Zusak used Death to narrate the story and the use of poetry-like language. The novel made you think about the soldiers of Germany and the destruction they caused, but the people living there as well. This was another historical fiction book that I could not put down. Zusak caught my attention from the first page. The relationships between the characters are like no other and the author draws you into their lives and paints a vivid image of what they went through. From Lisel stealing her first book and how it intrigued her really showed how the impact of words and knowledge from reading is powerful.
Reader Review
SEB
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2018
Eleven-year-old Liesel Meminger is a foster child who has recently arrived in a small town outside Munich, Germany during WWII. Liesel has been sent to live with Hans and Rosa Huberman, presumably for the small stipend they’ll receive. Liesel is still suffering from the loss of her little brother and the difficult and somewhat mysterious separation from her mother. She takes an immediate like to Hans, who is kind and thoughtful, but takes much longer to warm up to the abrasive Rosa.
Liesel makes friends with next-door neighbor Rudy and establishes herself as a self-proclaimed book thief. Becoming unlikely friends with the Mayor’s wife Ilsa affords Liesel the opportunity to read the books in the Mayor’s massive library. Along the way, Liesel is witness to the atrocities of war, heartbreaking events, love, loss and other life-changing events.
I saw the movie The Book Thief several years ago and loved it. When I decided it was time to read the book I was absolutely captivated. Although the book is 550 pages long, I read it in just two days – it was THAT good.
The book is different in several ways, ways in which I won’t go into in my review. Suffice it to say that I’m glad I saw the movie first and then read the book. I think I might have been disappointed with the movie version if it had happened in opposite order. This just goes to show how well the author has written this important piece of fictionalized history. The time period, location, mood, characters, etc. come to life as the story unfolds.
I was surprised at some of the other reviews, stating that the book was just plain depressing. I’m not at all sure how a book that deals with the systematic extinction of a race of people can be written about in an uplifting, happy way. Yet, the book is so much more than a story about a German girl who is living in Nazi Germany during WWII. There are many lovely, tender elements to be found in The Book Thief. The additional anniversary edition footnotes written by the author (at the end of the book) provide wonderful insight.
I think it’s extremely important that all generations read books like The Book Thief. This is part of history and, as poet and philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it." This is a book that is emotionally draining, but very much worth the read!
Review Excerpt
Publishers Weekly (January 30, 2006)
This hefty volume is an achievement-a challenging book in both length and subject, and best suited to sophisticated older readers. The narrator is Death himself, a companionable if sarcastic fellow, who travels the globe "handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity." Death keeps plenty busy during the course of this WWII tale, even though Zusak (I Am the Messenger) works in miniature, focusing on the lives of ordinary Germans in a small town outside Munich. Liesel Meminger, the book thief, is nine when she pockets The Gravedigger's Handbook, found in a snowy cemetery after her little brother's funeral. Liesel's father-a "Kommunist"-is already missing when her mother hands her into the care of the Hubermanns. Rosa Hubermann has a sharp tongue, but Hans has eyes "made of kindness." He helps Liesel overcome her nightmares by teaching her to read late at night. Hans is haunted himself, by the Jewish soldier who saved his life during WWI. His promise to repay that debt comes due when the man's son, Max, shows up on his doorstep. This "small story," as Death calls it, threads together gem-like scenes of the fates of families in this tight community, and is punctuated by Max's affecting, primitive artwork rendered on painted-over pages from Mein Kampf. Death also directly addresses readers in frequent asides; Zusak's playfulness with language leavens the horror and makes the theme even more resonant-words can save your life. As a storyteller, Death has a bad habit of forecasting ("I'm spoiling the ending," he admits halfway through his tale). It's a measure of how successfully Zusak has humanized these characters that even though we know they are doomed, it's no less devastating when Death finally reaches them. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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