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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSSet in the bitter winter of 1945, Salt to the Sea follows four young people caught in the desperate final weeks of World War II as Soviet forces close in on East Prussia. Joana is a Lithuanian nurse who fled her homeland four years earlier and now leads a small band of refugees westward through frozen forests and bombed roads. She is joined by Florian, a secretive young Prussian art restorer carrying a dangerous secret in his pack, and Emilia, a fifteen-year-old Polish girl whose pink woolen hat and wide, frightened eyes hide a history of unimaginable trauma. A fourth voice belongs to Alfred, a delusional German sailor stationed at the port of Gotenhafen who narrates partly through imaginary letters to a girl back home, convinced he is a hero. All four are moving toward the same destination: the massive German evacuation ship the Wilhelm Gustloff, which promises passage away from the advancing Soviet army.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Salt to the Sea
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Salt to the Sea. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a delusional sailor compose letters in his head to a girl in a red sweater?
✓ Answer
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Alfred, a young German sailor at the port, mentally writes grand boastful letters to a neighbor girl named Hannelore. The letters reveal how much he twists reality to make himself the hero.
- First half
In what book does a hidden tiny carved amber swan glimmer inside a small wooden box?
✓ Answer
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Hidden behind a cathedral organ, Florian lifts the lid of his little box to reveal the priceless amber swan he stole. He calls it his revenge against Hitler, and people have killed and died for it.
- First half
In what book does a blind girl walk out alone onto cracking ice to test if it will hold?
✓ Answer
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Ingrid insists on crossing the frozen lagoon first because she believes she can feel the ice better than anyone with sight. She wants to keep the others safe by sensing weak spots ahead.
- Second half
In what book does a girl fake going into labor to escape attention at registration?
✓ Answer
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Emilia drops to her knees on the dock and wails as if in labor so the officers will hurry her along instead of questioning her papers. She is hiding that she is Polish and using a dead woman's Latvian identity in Salt to the Sea.
- Second half
In what book does a desperate woman try to buy a small orphan boy to board a ship?
✓ Answer
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
As the group nears the boarding line, a woman grabs the young man carrying the wandering boy and asks how much the child would cost, certain she will be turned away without one. The old shoemaker raises his walking stick and tells her that clearly not everyone has a soul in Salt to the Sea.
- Near the end
In what book does a heavy anti-aircraft gun break loose and crush a lowered lifeboat full of people?
✓ Answer
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Joana watches in horror as the massive deck weaponry slides free, smashes through the rail, and sinks a freshly lowered boat with everyone aboard. A scream tears out of her at the sight in Salt to the Sea.
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