Historical fiction book · Curated
Salt to the Sea
Ruta Sepetys · historical fiction
In the winter of 1945, as the war closes in on East Prussia, Joana, Florian, and Emilia—refugees each hiding something—meet a sailor named Alfred on the road to the Wilhelm Gustloff, the ship that is supposed to carry them west. Ruta Sepetys’s 2016 novel is World War II military historical fiction of that evacuation and of the sinking that followed.
Why read it: A widely searched World War II novel—the Sepetys title readers look up by name (Carnegie Medal), and a Baltic-evacuation counterpart to All the Light We Cannot See already on the shelf (not Between Shades of Gray).
About this historical novel
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys is historical fiction set around 1945 in the World War II era period with key settings including East Prussia, the Baltic, the Wilhelm Gustloff. In the winter of 1945, as the war closes in on East Prussia, Joana, Florian, and Emilia—refugees each hiding something—meet a sailor named Alfred on the road to the Wilhelm Gustloff, the ship that is supposed to carry them west. Ruta Sepetys’s 2016 novel is World War II military historical fiction of that evacuation and of the sinking that followed.
On HisFic we tag it under 5. Military & war and 6. Adventure & epic so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include refugees, evacuation, the Wilhelm Gustloff, secrets, and survival. A widely searched World War II novel—the Sepetys title readers look up by name (Carnegie Medal), and a Baltic-evacuation counterpart to All the Light We Cannot See already on the shelf (not Between Shades of Gray).
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Plot summary
In the winter of 1945, as the war closes in on East Prussia, Joana, Florian, and Emilia—refugees each hiding something—meet a sailor named Alfred on the road to the Wilhelm Gustloff, the ship that is supposed to carry them west. Ruta Sepetys’s 2016 novel is World War II military historical fiction of that evacuation and of the sinking that followed. A widely searched World War II novel—the Sepetys title readers look up by name (Carnegie Medal), and a Baltic-evacuation counterpart to All the Light We Cannot See already on the shelf (not Between Shades of Gray).
Subgenres
Eras
Browse this mix
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Curated titles that share era, story type, or themes.
- City of Thieves · David Benioff
In the starving winter of the Leningrad siege, seventeen-year-old Lev Beniov is caught looting a dead German and spared only if he and Kolya, a deserting private with a story for every checkpoint, can bring a colonel a dozen eggs for his daughter’s wedding cake. David Benioff’s 2008 novel is World War II military historical fiction of a frozen city, cannibals on the road, and two young men sent behind the lines for a feast nobody can afford.
- The Bronze Horseman · Paullina Simons
In June 1941, Leningrad still has white nights when Tatiana Metanova meets Red Army officer Alexander Belov—then Hitler’s armies close the siege and hunger, secrets, and an impossible love take the city. Paullina Simons’s opening Bronze Horseman novel is World War II historical romance of the siege of Leningrad: war, family, and a passion that has to survive the winter.
- All the Light We Cannot See · Anthony Doerr
A blind French girl and a German boy’s paths converge in occupied Saint-Malo during World War II.
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz · Heather Morris
Based on a true story: a Slovakian Jew forced to tattoo prisoners at Auschwitz falls in love against impossible odds.
- Das Boot · Lothar-Günther Buchheim
In the autumn of 1941 a German U-boat commander—the Old Man—and his crew leave the French coast for another Battle of the Atlantic patrol, hunting supply ships through storms while destroyers and depth charges hunt them. Lothar-Günther Buchheim’s 1973 novel (English translation) is World War II military historical fiction of that boat: a war correspondent aboard, weeks underwater, and a crew the Atlantic is more likely to keep than to send home.
- Catch-22 · Joseph Heller
On the Mediterranean island of Pianosa in 1944, bombardier John Yossarian is told he can be grounded if he is crazy, and that asking to be grounded proves he is sane, while Colonel Cathcart raises the number of missions again. Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel is World War II military historical fiction of an American bomber squadron, the rule they call Catch-22, and a man the paperwork will not let leave the war.
Regions & places
Europe
East Prussia · the Baltic · the Wilhelm Gustloff
Themes
- refugees
- evacuation
- the Wilhelm Gustloff
- secrets
- survival
Tags
war · YA-crossover · juvenile · bestseller