Book Trailer: Salt to the Sea - Ruta Sepetys

I've been browsing YouTube book trailers recently & I thought it would be fun to start highlighting some of the books that I really want to read but haven't quite got around to yet. Some of these have been on my to read pile for months (or even years!) but these trailers make me want to read them ASAP.

I absolutely loved Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (read my review here) so of course I immediately wanted to read Salt to the Sea and I have absolutely no excuse for not getting to it sooner! If anyone has read it I'd love to hear your thoughts so hit me up with a link to your review in the comments.

It's early 1945 and a group of people trek across Germany, bound together by their desperation to reach the ship that can take them away from the war-ravaged land. Four young people, each haunted by their own dark secret, narrate their unforgettable stories. Fans of The Book Thief or Helen Dunmore's The Siege will be totally absorbed.

This inspirational novel is based on a true story from the Second World War. When the German ship the Wilhelm Gustloff was sunk in port in early 1945 it had over 9000 civilian refugees, including children, on board. Nearly all were drowned. Ruta Sepetys, acclaimed author of Between Shades of Grey, brilliantly imagines their story.

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge: Day 5 - Recommend a tear jerker

I stumbled across the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge hosted by April from Good Books Good Wine and it looks like so much fun that I have to take part. You can find out all about the challenge and how to join in HERE. Obviously the idea of the challenge is to take part 15 days in a row but I don't have enough time for that and since April is so relaxed over the rules I've decided  dedicate one day a week to the challenge.

The Day 5 topic is: Recommend a tear jerker

When I'm in the right mood I absolutely love a good tear jerker so I found it impossible to pick just one book to recommend. In fact I'm going to recommend 3 very different books, each of which is absolutely amazing in a very different way, so in no particular order here are my recommendations:

Before I Die (recently re-released with the title Now is Good) by Jenny Downham:

It's really going to happen. They said it would, but this is quicker than anyone thought.

Everyone has to die. We all know it.

With only a few months of life left, sixteen-year-old Tessa knows it better than most.

She's made a list though - ten things she wants to do before she dies. Number one is sex. Starting tonight.

But getting what you want isn't easy. And getting what you want doesn't always give you what you need. And sometimes the most unexpected things become important.

Uplifting, life-affirming, joyous - this extraordinary novel celebrates what it is to be alive by confronting what it's really like to die.

Read my review HERE

Before I Die is a beautiful but heartbreaking story about a 16 year old girl who is dying of leukaemia, the title and blurb give away the fact that there is no miracle happy ending for Tessa so you know right from the beginning that you're going to need tissues to read this one. Having said that I still found it a beautiful story, one that teaches you to live your life to the fullest because you never know how long you've got. This one hit a bit close to home for me because there were a lot of parallels to when my Nan died of cancer, it was very realistic, very hard hitting and I don't think I've ever cried so much reading any other book.

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Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth?  That morning, my brother's life was worth a pocket watch . . .

One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away. They are being deported to Siberia.

An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun.  Lina doesn't know if she'll ever see her father or her friends again.  But she refuses to give up hope.

Lina hopes for her family.

For her country.

For the future.

For love - first love, with the boy she barely knows but knows she does not want to lose . . .

Will hope keep Lina alive?

Set in 1941, Between Shades of Gray is an extraordinary and haunting story based on first-hand family accounts and memories from survivors.

Read my review HERE

Between Shades of Gray touches on a part of history that tends to get brushed under the carpet, we all know about the atrocities committed by Hitler but if you're anything like me you won't have heard so much about the millions of people who were sent to concentration camps in the Arctic Circle thanks to Stalin. Ruta Sepetys has written the harrowing story of a young girl called Lina whose life is turned upside down when her family is taken by Soviet guards and deported to Siberia. This isn't a biography but a lot of the events that take place were inspired by the interviews Ruta carried out with survivors of the concentration camps. This is a book that I think everyone should read, one that should be part of every school curriculum to bring this hidden side of history to life. There is just no way I can do this book justice but please, please watch this interview with Ruta to find out more about the book, I'll warn you now you're going to need tissues to hand before you press play!


Ruta Sepetys discusses her upcoming novel, Between Shades of Gray from Penguin Young Readers Group on Vimeo.

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Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

"You've always been my best friend, my soul mate, and now I've fallen in love with you too.

Why is that such a crime?"

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed.

He is seventeen, gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future.

And now they have fallen in love.  But... They are brother and sister.

Read my review HERE

My third and final recommendation is a book that I wasn't even sure I wanted to read. When I was sent a copy of Forbidden for review and realised it was a book about a relationship between a brother and sister I had absolutely no interest in picking it up. Then I started seeing some fantastic reviews for it and decided to see for myself if it was worth the hype it was getting. I'm so glad I gave it a chance because it absolutely blew my mind and three years on it's still one of the best books I've read since I started blogging. I know this is a tricky subject matter - I felt uncomfortable about it myself! - but the story is written in a way where you can completely understand how Maya and Lochan ended up developing such forbidden feelings for each other. Teenagers who are dealing with a very difficult home life they are basically acting parents to their 3 younger siblings, they are the glue that is holding their family together and they only have each other to rely on. Neither of them are able to share their home life with their friends and Lochan is painfully shy and unable to cope in any social situation. I never expected to find myself rooting for them as a couple but they so badly deserved a happy ending after everything they'd been through. This is one of those books that challenged my opinion on a lot of things and I love a book that makes me think.

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So those are my favourite tear jerkers! Have you read any of them? If you have I'd love to know your thoughts on them! Which books would you recommend if you were making this list?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Feature Travel

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's theme is Books that Feature Travel and I have to admit that I initially thought I was going to struggle to come up with 10 books to include. I haven't actually read many road trip books but when I sat down to think of it I managed to come up with plenty of stories that involve travel in some form or another.

Anyway, lets have a look at a few of my favourites (links will take you to my reviews):

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

You don't get many journeys more epic than the one that Bilbo Baggins takes with Gandalf and the dwarves when they travel across the mountains to take back their home! Full of adventure, magical creatures, dragons and treasure this is a book I've read many times over the years and I really enjoyed the recent film adaptation too. I'm looking forward to watching the next two movies.

The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel

Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children series has been one of my favourites since I was a teenager (the less said about the 6th and final book the better though!) and I've lost count of the number of times I've read them. The series is set around the time of the last ice age (35,000 years ago) and follows a young girl Ayla as she travels across whole continents in search of a place to call home. I love this series for the rich historical data but more for the emotional journey that Ayla goes on as she grows up and finds her place in the world.

From What I Remember - Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas

From What I Remember is a more traditional road trip story that shows how one of the school's hottest guys Max ends up in Mexico with geek girl Kylie. The book is absolutely hilarious and I loved every minute of it!

Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck

Colleen Houck's Tiger series follows Kelsey on a journey across India as she tries to help brothers Ren and Kishan break a 300 year old curse. You get to visit various temples and the jungle, learn about some of the Indian gods and goddesses and fall in love with not one but two gorgeous Indian princes who have been cursed to spend the majority of their time living as tigers.

Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray is the heartbreaking story of a young Lithuanian girl called Lina and her family as they are captured by Soviet guards and forced to travel across Europe to a Siberian work camp in the Arctic circle. Set during WWII and based on true stories this book highlights the atrocities committed by Stalin and is an incredibly emotional read but it is a book that I can't recommend highly enough. If you haven't come across this book before take a few minutes to watch this video of the author Ruta Sepetys as she talks about the inspiration behind the story but make sure you have tissues to hand because you're sure to need them!


Ruta Sepetys discusses her upcoming novel, Between Shades of Gray from Penguin Young Readers Group on Vimeo.

A Conspiracy of Alchemists - Liesel Schwarz

Liesel Schwarz's steampunk adventure takes you across Europe stopping off at London, Paris, Venice and Constantinople. Main character Elle is a dirigible pilot so you'll get to fly in an airship but you also enjoy a luxury ride on the Orient Express!

Demons of the Ocean - Justin Somper

If you enjoy books aimed at a slightly younger audience or are looking for a fun family read then I'd definitely recommend Justin Somper's Vampirates series. Sail the seven seas with twins Grace and Connor in this futuristic world where the seas have risen and the waters are controlled by both pirates and vampirates (yes, you did read that right vampirates - vampires who are also pirates!)

Poison Princess - Kresley Cole

I love Kresley Cole's adult books so I was excited to get my hands on her first YA novel Poison Princess last year. Set in the future after an apocalyptic event that Evie had been having visions of before it happened this is a fab story and something that's really unique. Main characters are based on the Major Arcana cards found in a Tarot deck and each have different powers and abilities. Evie teams up with sexy Cajun Jack to try and search for answers and they travel across the country looking for the other main players.

Fire and Thorns - Rae Carson

Fire and Thorns is a fabulous fantasy adventure that follows princess Elisa when she is sent far from home to marry a man she has never met. Follow her epic journey across the desert as she fights to find a place for herself in a new country when she doesn't know who her enemies are.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

My last pick is a little bit of a cheat because although The Night Circus travels the world the focus of the story is much more on what is happening inside the circus than outside of it. It is such a beautiful novel that I couldn't resist including it anyway though and I can't recommend it highly enough!

So what books did you include on your list? Did we have any of the same picks? Leave me a link to your post in the comments and I'll stop by and check it out!

Puffin Live Panel Event - 30th March 2011

Back at the end of March I was invited to attend a live panel event at the Puffin offices with authors Anna Perera, Ruta Sepetys and Morris Gleitzman.  A few bloggers had been invited to arrive early so Carly, Dwayne, Jenny, Rhys, Ann (see links to their blogs below) & I got to have a chat with the authors before the official event started.

It was fascinating listening to them all talking about their different writing processes.  Morris writes a massive 2,000-3,000 word outline that he revises up to 10 times but doing this means he usually only writes about 3 drafts of the book before he finishes.  Having worked as a screenwriter in the past he tries to get into a scene as quickly as possible, leave it as late as possible and make it as visual as possible.  Most of his books are aimed at 9-11 year olds but he writes his story for the main character not the audience, he wants to do a good job of telling their story.  Anna finds writing is quite a spiritual experience and she feels that some of her ideas come from outside of herself.  She plans a little before writing the first draft but not as much as Morris, the first draft is then printed and she will read through and edit it.  I think Ruta was as interested in hearing advice from the others as we were.  Between Shades of Gray is her debut novel and she described writing it as a form of projectile vomiting - the words just flew out of her and she worried about revising them later.

Here are some of the pictures I took while we were talking:

After our chat with the authors we were shown up to the 10th floor for the panel event staring all three authors and hosted by Claire Armitstead (a literary editor from the Guardian).  There was quite a crowd and we had time for a drink and a bit of mingling before the panel were introduced.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

When asked about where they got the ideas for their latest books Ruta explained that her family originally come from Lithuania and it was listening to family stories that inspired Between Shades of Gray.  Her grandfather and father were on Stalin's death list and her father spent 9 years living in refugee camps trying to escape the Soviets.  When she visited family in Lithuania Ruta asked if they had any pictures of her grandparents and parents and was shocked when they told her that they'd had to destroy them - it was too dangerous to let anyone know that they were related.  Even then 16 of her family members were sent to Siberia and her cousin actually had his leg cut off as a form of punishment.  Ruta felt that she needed to let people know about what happened during Stalin's regime as it's a topic that doesn't really seem to be talked about much. 

For research Ruta said she read every book she could find about Stalin and went to Lithuania twice to talk to family members and survivors.  Some of them were in their 80s and were still shaking and physically ill when talking about their experiences.  They had a very real fear of the repercussions of talking about what had happened to them and most were too scared to let her use their names.  Ruta also went on a prison immersion experience held in one of the old prisons and as the guards weren't allowed to starve or sleep deprive them they were beaten instead.  In fact Ruta suffered with a ruptured disk when one of the guards stepped on her back while she was trying to do push ups!  She was shocked to be beaten and couldn't believe how hard it was to care about what anyone else was going through around her while she was suffering.  It made her see the acts of kindness amongst the prisoners that the survivors had mentioned in a different light. 

Between Shades of Gray is a book that I would recommend to everyone, the fact that it is based on true stories is heartbreaking and I find it horrific that I knew practically nothing about this subject before reading Ruta's book.  You can read my review here if you'd like to know more and I would highly recommend watching the book trailer below too (but make sure you have tissues to hand because it's bound to bring tears to your eyes!)


Ruta Sepetys discusses her upcoming novel, Between Shades of Gray from Penguin Young Readers Group on Vimeo.

Grace by Morris Gleitzman

Morris' book Grace is about a young girl growing up in an extreme religious community.  Morris said he was thinking about how children always question everything and wondered what would happen if they weren't allowed to do this.  He saw an Australian press release about a separatist church group and how they split up families and wouldn't let parents see their own children if the parents left the group.  After talking to one of the fathers who had been shunned he got the idea for Grace's story. 

While researching the story he read quite a lot of journalistic literature from both Australia (where the story is set) and from the US.  He found that nobody who is in an extreme religious group would talk to him about their beliefs.  He was able to speak to ex members but they are naturally biased against the groups.  He has strong views about the church sect so he had to try very hard not to show that in the story.  The adults in these groups believe that they are doing the right thing for their children even if we don't agree with how they go about it.  He told the story in first person through Grace's eyes so he could talk about the beliefs of the church elders.

I have read Grace and my review can be found here, the story is aimed at a younger audience than most books I usually read but I found the story fascinating and would recommend giving it a try.

The Glass Collector by Anna Perera

Anna said she has always been interested in topical subjects.  Her first book Guantanamo Boy challenged the myth that torture can ever be justified.  With her latest book The Glass Collector she wanted to challenge the belief that people who live in a different way to us are nothing like us.   People often seem to think that the more we own the better our life is but she doesn't believe that is true.  She read an article about people living on dump sites and that sparked the idea.

To research the story Anna went to Cairo to talk to people who actually live on dump sites with the help of a very good translator.  She wanted to concentrate on the dignity of the people who she met and the beauty that could be found where you would least expect to see it.  She did mention that the story came more from her imagination than from the research she did though.

I haven't read The Glass Collector yet but it sounds really good and came highly recommended by others.  I have a copy and will be reading it soon so I'll get my review posted as soon as I can.

Here are some of the pictures I took during the discussions and while we were getting our books signed afterwards:

After the panel discussion was finished there was time to get our books signed and a delicious looking buffet had been laid on (I had a hard time avoiding it and sticking to my diet lol).  We had more time to mingle and I got to have a quick chat to YA author Candy Gourlay.  If I'd known she would be there I would have brought my copy of her book Tall Story with me to get it signed!

We were up on the 10th floor and I couldn't resist going out on the balcony to have a look at the amazing view of the Thames, the London Eye and Big Ben.  I took quite a few pictures but they really don't do it justice.  The panorama below was created by stitching 5 photos together and hopefully if you click on it you should be able to see a larger version of the picture.  The slide show underneath it shows some of the individual pictures I took.

What a fantastic view!

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Jayde and all at Puffin for hosting such a fantastic event and also to Ruta, Morris and Anna for being so friendly and taking the time to chat with us all.  It was a fantastic evening and I'm really grateful that I got to attend.

Who was there:

Jayde & Tania - Penguin / Puffin

Anna Perera - Website

Ruta Sepetys - Website

Morris Gleitzman - Website

Ann - Bookwitch - Event Report
Candy Gourlay - Website - Event Report
Carly - Writing From The Tub
Dwayne - Girls Without A Bookshelf
Jenny - Wondrous Reads
Rhys - Thirst For Fiction - Event Report

Review: Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys

Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth?  That morning, my brother's life was worth a pocket watch . . .

One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away.  They are being deported to Siberia.

An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun.  Lina doesn't know if she'll ever see her father or her friends again.  But she refuses to give up hope.

Lina hopes for her family.
For her country.
For the future.
For love - first love, with the boy she barely knows but knows she does not want to lose . . .
Will hope keep Lina alive?

Set in 1941, Between Shades of Gray is an extraordinary and haunting story based on first-hand family accounts and memories from survivors.

Visit Ruta Sepety's website or the Between Shades of Gray website for more information.  I had to include the book trailer below because I think after watching it you'll find it impossible not to want to read the story.  I will warn you to have tissues to hand though, this is the first book trailer that has ever made me cry!


Ruta Sepetys discusses her upcoming novel, Between Shades of Gray from Penguin Young Readers Group on Vimeo.

Review:
Lina is just 15 years old when her whole family are captured in the middle of the night by Soviet guards.  Along with her mother and younger brother she is about to face the most difficult journey you can imagine.  Forced into packed cattle cars with other innocent civilians they soon find themselves on their way to a Siberian work camp.  They will face conditions that most would find impossible to survive but throughout their ordeal they manage to keep hope alive. 

It's been nearly a month since I read Between Shades of Gray but I still can't get Lina's story out of my head. Just thinking about the book brings a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes and I don't know if I can find the words to tell you just how amazing this story is.  When I think of WW2 I automatically think of Hitler and the Jewish concentration camps.  I know horrific crimes were committed and millions of people were killed.  What I didn't know so much about was the atrocities that took place under Stalin's rule.  I've heard next to nothing about the millions of people who were deported from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia & Finland and taken to concentration camps in the Arctic Circle.  For me reading this book was like discovering a hidden side to history and I can't tell you how important I think it is for this story to be told.

Author Ruta Sepetys has done intensive research into the concentration camps, she has spoken to survivors (including her own family members) and has used their stories to show the brutal treatment the prisoners received.  I'm not going to tell you this book is easy to read because it isn't.  In fact at times it is completely heartbreaking and I'd strongly recommend keeping tissues to hand while you're reading.  Please don't let that put you off reading it though because despite showing the absolute worst that humanity has to offer the story also shows you the best.  The love and friendship between Lina's family and the other prisoners is extremely moving, even when food is scarce and times are hard they stick together and watch out for each other in a way that gives you hope for the future.  We need to learn from the mistakes made in our history and make sure nothing like this can ever happen again.

I know my review hasn't done this book justice so if you're undecided about whether you should read it please, please watch the book trailer above or on the Between Shades of Gray website.  If that can't convince you this is a must read book then nothing can.

Source: Received from Penguin in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
Mrs. V's Reviews
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.