I'm dumb and accidentally deleted this from my shelves, so i'm reposting my review now! 
 NO SPOILERS! 
 I have always been intimidated by historical fiction. Yet, I've always wanted to get my hands on a Ruta Sepetys book. Being partly German and currently attempting to learn the language, reading about WWII sparks my interest. But, a common element in Ruta Sepetys' books is that it's hidden history. Salt to the Sea is about four individual characters: a young Polish girl, a German sailor, a Lithuanian nurse and a Prussian art thief. Seeing the different perspectives all going through similar situations blew me away. They all aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff. The story shows how they got themselves there and how they deal with it. If you're not informed about this ship before reading it, the journey through out it all will amaze you even more. We were also introduced to some precious side characters such as: the shoe poet and the blind girl. All these beautiful stories and people intertwine in such a heart breaking way, yet, I left the story with a sense of positive closure. Throughout each chapter, the story kept me gripping onto where I didn't want to let it go near the end. I'm definitely going to be reading her other novels as i'm sure they're just as wonderful. But, i'm so glad that this was my introduction to historical fiction. If you like historical fiction and haven't read a Ruta Sepetys book, what are you doing with your life? I even mentioned this book to my current history teacher and he enjoyed it just as much. I read this book entirely in a day, on a school day. I barely ever reading after school because i'm so exhausted but I forced myself to stay awake and binge read this book. The heartache and day long binge were entirely worth it.