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)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Reinventing the Familial Unit
• Coming of Age Through Trauma
• The Movement of Identity in Times of War

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the geographical and historical context regarding the setting of war-torn Europe during WWII that incites the refugees’ conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the themes of Reinventing the Familial Unit, Coming of Age Through Trauma, and The Movement of Identity in Times of War.
• Plan and construct a memorial to commemorate the sacrifice of the refugees in the novel based on text details.

Analyze and evaluate plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding Eva’s character, the first-person narrative of four characters, and other topics.