SALT TO THE SEA by Ruta Sepetys

Note: I am not a paid reviewer, and I have purchased this title to read for my personal enjoyment.

Three young adults meet serendipitously in East Prussia and join up to flee the terrors of the advancing Russian army late in WW2. They make their way to the Baltic Sea and onto the ill-fated Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship packed with refugees that is torpedoed by a Russian submarine, resulting in the death of more than 9,000 people. The three refugees cross paths with a delusional German sailor, who unwittingly aids in their effort to save themselves. As a westerner, I’m less familiar with WW happenings in Eastern Europe, and was moved to learn of the plight of refugees from the Baltic countries and East Prussia, and the sinking of several relief ships that carried thousands of civilians. Like Code Name Verity, this book is classified as “crossover” within the young adult and adult fiction categories, yet stands up proudly with nearly all of its adult war fiction contemporaries. The first person point of view shifts between the four young adult protagonists in quick, staccato-like chunks, giving the story an urgent pace, befitting of a life or death evacuation. I found my self drawn to mysterious young Prussian soldier Florian, who brought to mind the elusive Inman character in Cold Mountain, a terrific historical read set around the American Civil War.