Salt to the Sea is an incredible story about three young adults trying to reach safety in the winter of 1945. Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history (yes, bigger than the Titanic), Ruta Sepetys tells the story of Joana, Emilia and Florian travelling through East Prussia to reach the coast in order to get evacuated.

Each character is so interesting with their own background and secrets.

Spoiler

I did not care for Alfred. I'm kinda glad he died.

Even the side characters such as the Shoe Poet (we love him), Ingrid and the wandering boy touched my heart. The chapters are short. I don't think I encountered one longer than 5 pages. Because of this, I flew through much faster than I'd expected. Usually, historical fiction takes me a bit longer to read. The characters grew on me with each page. It was beautiful to see how they bonded and how their friendship grew.

Spoiler

I especially loved how Florian and Joana got more attached.

I truly recommend Salt to the Sea to anyone who loves history and wants to know more about this unknown piece of history.