This is the story of the author’s Lithuanian ancestors. It is told from four different perspectives: a Prussian boy, a Lithuanian nurse, a young haunted Polish girl, and a Nazi sailor. It is set in 1945, as they attempt to escape the war on a ship named the Wilhelm Gustloff.
This was the first book I read with many different perspectives, and initially, I was lost and had to go back and re-read what was happening when I last left each character. But then I got into the rhythm, and it was masterful! Sepetys is a historical poet.
You will not want to put it down, and you will ponder it later. It is so important that we tell the stories that we haven’t yet heard. And that we learn from them. At the end of the book, she challenges readers everywhere to tell the stories of their ancestors. Her challenge inspired me to write the story of my Italian ancestors, now in my book, Echoes on the Rock.