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While I enjoyed the content of this book, the format took away from the narrative a bit. It's the story of several refugees making their way to a Prussian port near the end of WWII. I liked that some characters were more trustworthy than others and it's a very readable book. But the extremely short chapters and constant switching from one narrator to another ultimately left me feeling a bit less connected to the characters than I might otherwise have been.
If you're a fan of Sepetys' other work, ...more
If you're a fan of Sepetys' other work, ...more
I liked this book; it has a lot going for it - great storytelling, memorable characters, hidden plot twists - and it sheds light on a forgotten piece of history. Set during the waning days of World War II, East Prussians, Poles, and Lithuanians flee the advancing Soviet troops for relative safety in Western Germany. More than 10,000 refugees will board the doomed Wilhelm Gustloff, a re-purposed cruise ship meant to hold fewer than 2,000. Among them are Joana, a Lithuanian nurse; Amelia, a Polish
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This book is kind of incredible. I did not know about the main historical event at the climax of this book, which made the whole story all the more surprising/devastating. I appreciate that this raw historical novel is technically for teens—nothing is sugarcoated and I can see it opening minds to history over and over. Also, I haven’t had a book make me cry like this in a while! The only reason not 5 stars is that the multiple POVs were a bit much for me at first, along with the somewhat lack of
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Jul 02, 2017
Terri
rated it
it was amazing
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review of another edition
Shelves:
blue-hen,
teenbookgroup
Powerful!
Beautiful and tragic. I love the use of fast-paced, short chapters, the slow reveal of secrets, and multiple POVs. And I appreciate the respect shown to those who suffered in this book (basically everyone). I really enjoy Ruta Sepetys's writing style and look forward to reading her other works.
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Feb 08, 2016
gremlinkitten
marked it as to-read-own
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
store-the-ark
Feb 13, 2020
Emily
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fabulous-ladies-book-club
