I am bummed I did not love this novel like I loved Sepetys's others. It was fine, but it fell flatter than her other works for me in many ways. Salt to the Sea follows the narration of four characters as their paths drive them to the Wilhelm Gustoff at the end of WWII. 
 The narrative was split between 4 characters, but Joanna and Florian were who I cared about most. Emilia had potential, though I don't know that we really needed to be seeking things from her perspective. She still would have made a strong character from Joanna and Florian's point of view. Usually I am completely enthralled by Sepetys characters, but a character I liked died earlier than expected in this novel, and I didn't even care. It didn't seem the characters did either. There was an emotional distance in many ways. 
 Alfred in particular annoyed me. He was almost cartoonish in his disconnect with reality, and we weren't given enough to successfully complicate him as a character. Rather, he was a weak boy with delusions of grandeur. He had a sweetheart back home to whom he composes mental letters, but it is evident from the beginning that there is more than meets the eye there. We are meant to get creepy stalker vibes from him from the beginning. I understand wanting a Nazi viewpoint to show another side of this tragedy. I don't understand why that viewpoint is from this sociopath in the making. 
 Part of the lack of connection may be that the action of the novel is all about traveling the Wilhelm Gusto. We do get some flashbacks from these characters, but not nearly enough development. I would love more flashback scenes rather than internal monologue from Florian, an art restorer, to help establish the immediacy of what he is fleeing from. And the same could be said of the others as well. The plot itself is all about the inevitable sinking of this ship, but the why we care is often diluted. And, for a book that is supposedly about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustoff, and expanding the stories of those on board, we skim right through the actual sinking of the ship. And then the ending is rushed. 
 This isn't a bad novel. It just pales in comparison to Between Shades of Gray or Out of the Easy. 
 Review on Tea and Tomes