Info: Philomel Books, copyright 2016, 391 pages
Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.
Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.
As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.
Yet not all promises can be kept.
Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope. -Goodreads Description
The Rundown
This book is everything YA historical fiction should be. It informs. It moves. It stirs something within about humanity, love, fear, heroism, and friendship. Mostly, it's a reminder to never forget the stories of those who survived, and who were lost, during the most devastating war in world history. I have to confess that my background with being a history major in college makes me feel like I'm well informed with this era. While I can regurgitate facts and dates like a pro, I'm guilty of forgetting the experience of the average European civilian.
The novel follows four teenagers: Joana, Emilia, Florian, and Alfred as they try to flee west from Eastern Europe ahead of the advancing Red Army of Russia. This was known as Operation Hannibal, when Germany began mass evacuations of its people near the end of World War Two.
Though told in multiple view points, the chapters are short (between a few pages to a few sentences) so that you really get to connect with each character without losing them from going too long into the story with another's view. You get pulled into each character, as well as the others on their journey, quickly. The pace of the story will leave you going "Okay just one more chapter!" till all hours of the night.
Joana was allowed to relocate to Germany from her home in Lithuania because she's half German on her mother's side. She spent much of the war working as a surgical assistant in a hospital. Joana was my favorite character! She has the heart and soul of a healer. That she never lost her desire to save others despite all she had been through on her journey is so very admirable. She cares for others in her group that most would have let fall behind: a blind teenager, an young orphaned boy, and an old shoemaker. When Emilia and Florian join their group, she takes Emilia under her wing and feels something even stronger for Florian.
Emilia. If your heart doesn't break and mend and break and mend for her throughout this book, you may be a robot. I try not to give spoilers away in my reviews and if I told you too much about Emilia's journey during the war I fear it would give away key points of the story. I can say that readers will weep for Emilia's native Poland right along with her. The injustice Poles endured during World War Two at the hands of both Germany and Russia is beyond words.
I didn't know what to make of Florian when he's introduced. Is he cold or is he a hero? He's just wise beyond his years and had an extremely hard exterior because of his experiences during the war. He was saved from active duty because of his ability to restore art. In particular, art that Hitler was "rescuing" for Germany (aka stealing). Now he's on another mission, one that could mean death if he's caught by either Germany or Russia. Young Emilia calls him her knight and sees infinite good shining from him. Her judgement is well placed as Florian grows from insisting he goes at his journey alone to feeling a bond with Joana, Emilia, and their group of refugees. It's a bond that will change his life forever and make him see that there are things more rewarding than revenge.
We come to Alfred. Oh Alfred. He was a recent addition to the German Navy, having avoided the early years of the war for being deemed too sickly. I wanted to like Alfred, so what I'm about to say borders in spoiler territory, but it's my review so I'm going to say it: it never happened. I never liked Alfred. The most I felt was sorry for him. When he was first introduced, I had hopes. Hopes that he would grow out of his immaturity, stop being so naive and self-centered, and see the Nazi propaganda for what it really was. I wanted his character to have some epiphany, some defining moment where he has the opportunity to become the hero he's convinced himself he is in his mind, but it never happened. There's a point when Florian, who relied on Alfred's desires to be the hero to help him, realizes that Alfred isn't just a delusional hero, but a sociopath. And he's not wrong.
Even in my years of studying history, I feel like I only knew the cold facts of Operation Hannibal. I think I remember maybe once or twice coming across the name of the ship Wilhem Gustloff in a college textbook. I knew it was one of many German refugee ships sunk by the Russians at the end of the war. For some reason the enormous loss of life, the families ripped apart, and the multitude of stories at the bottom of the sea never made a real impression on me until I read this book.
Over 9,000 people, more than half of them children, perished the night three torpedoes hit the Wilhelm Gustloff. If you added up the death tolls of more famous shipwrecks including the RMS Titanic, the RMS Lusitania, the HMHS Britannic, the SS Andrea Doria, the RMS Empress of Ireland, and the USS Indianapolis it would still be around half of the lives lost on the Wilhelm Gustloff. Combined. And yet how many of us had never heard of it, or knew very little?
For those who survived, their journey was far from over. At the end of the war much of Eastern Europe, including part of Germany, all of Poland, and all of the Baltic countries fell under the Iron Curtain drawn by the Soviet Union. Some refugees would wait nearly 50 years to return home. Many more never did.
I am so grateful that Ruta Sepetys took the time and did the marvelous research to tell the stories of so many in this powerful novel. I would encourage anyone to read this book, but if you're a fan of historical fiction please don't pass this one up! And grab the tissues because the end...so many tears.
I'll end my review with a quote that brought me to tears, spoken by the kind old shoe poet: " 'There's a saying, 'Death hath a thousand doors to let out life; I shall find one.' But the children. That's what I struggle with.' He shook his head. 'Why the children?' "
Rating: 5/5 Stars. You totally must read this book!!!
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