Meredith Sheridan

Meredith Sheridan asked Ruta Sepetys:

AHHH! Salt to the Sea was so good and I'm looking forward to reading Between Shades of Gray! Which character in Salt to the Sea was the hardest research/write? Love your book(s) and I hopefully you can come to Washington soon! :)

Ruta Sepetys Hi Meredith!

In Salt to the Sea, my favorite character to write was the shoe poet :) The hardest was probably Alfred. In order to create the character of Alfred, I studied Adolf Hitler as a youth. Hitler wrote lengthy letters to a girl but never mailed them, he had a difficult relationship with his father. Hitler also had a fascination with hands so I included that via a manifestation on Alfred's hands.

For me, Alfred was also a study of visibility. He was rejected and invisible for much of his youth, but when Alfred put on a uniform he suddenly became/felt visible (even if only in his own mind) and that visibility then mutated into a sense of power. Alfred felt that he was superior and entitled to possess beautiful, innocent things - like the butterflies pinned to his closet wall - and Hannelore.

Thanks for your question!

More Answered Questions

Kassie Jones

Kassie Jones asked Ruta Sepetys:

Hi, Ruta! HS English teacher here--my students and I are big fans. My question involves the creation of Alfred's character... He's obviously the odd-ball of the four teens, so I'm curious about his purpose. Was he a parallel character to Hitler? Or, was an archetype of sorts for German young-adult males? His sociopathic nature shows me he is the brainwashed, model Nazi Hitler envisioned...

Alzada

Alzada asked Ruta Sepetys:

Between Shades of Gray is one of the greatest books I have ever read as it sheds light on a topic many people aren't aware of. Have you ever considered writing a story based in Chile during the rule of Augusto Pinochet?

A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Ruta Sepetys:

Dear Ruta Sepetys, I read your book Between Shades of Grey back in I believe 2012, and the one thing I distinctly remember was being in tears because of how emotional and brilliant it was. My question is, how did you do it? How did you come up with the idea of the story and how where you able to make it so it connected with the reader on an emotional level? Thank you so much for taking the time to read my questio

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