Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys - Book Review

This book was a completely pleasant surprise. I’m not a huge historical fiction fan, however Salt to the Sea may have changed my mind on the genre. The novel had 4 main characters named Joana, Florian, Emilia, and Alfred. Each four characters narrates their own chapter, but each point of view has a slightly different twist.

Alfred is a young Nazi soldier who greatly overestimates his importance in the war. Most of his point of view is written in letters to his beloved Hannelore who isn’t  all she seems to be which you find as you continue to read.

Emilia is a young polish girl who is running from the Germans and the Russians. She is far from home and longing for her late mother and stillborn little brother. However, you find that Emilia, though young, is one of the bravest of them all.

Florian is an artist. He wasn’t conscripted for the Nazi party because of his position as a restoration artist. But at the time the novel takes place Florian is on the move with forged papers and on a mission, until he meets Joana.

I have to say Joana was my favorite of all four main characters (but the others were no less remarkable). Joana is Lithuanian but because of her German heritage, reaccepted into the country and now serves as a nurse with a group of runaways trying to escape the advancing Soviets. She is a determined former academic who feels she missed out on life, because of her studies. Until she meets Florian who shows her beautiful things she didn’t know before.

The characters made the story element of this book, but the sheer realness and history made the novel. I can say that Salt to the Sea is in my top three for this year. If you’re looking for a realistic novel with spunky characters and odd sense of family, this is the book for you. 

“Guilt is a hunter.
Fate is a hunter.
Shame is a hunter.
Fear is a hunter.” 
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea