The release date for the English version of 'Salt to the Sea' by
Ruta Sepetys is Feb 2016. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
The Wilhelm Gustloff, a German cruise liner that was intended to transport soldiers and refugees during the war to safety from the advancing Red Army, was sunk in the Baltic Sea on January 30, 1945, by a Soviet submarine. While the Titanic and Lusitania are well-known tragedies, this event is the single greatest tragedy in maritime history. The ship was overloaded with nearly 10,500 passengers while it was only designed to hold 1,800. As a result, almost 9,000 people, including 5,000 children, perished.
The author of "Between Shades of Grey," Sepetys, uses four historically correct but fictionalised voices to depict the tragic real-life event. As Russian troops advance, three individuals—Joana, a Lithuanian nurse with prior experience; Florian, a Prussian soldier escaping the Nazis with looted treasure; and Emilia, a Polish girl nearing the end of her pregnancy—converge on their escape routes. Eventually, they will all meet Albert, a delusional Nazi peon assigned to the Gustloff decks.