It is January, 1945 and the Red Army is quickly advancing into German territories. Millions of refugees are fleeing across Prussia, hoping to get on a ship that will sail them to safety. Among them are a Lithuanian nurse, a Prussian soldier with an important mission, and a Polish pregnant girl. Soon their paths cross and they find themselves relying on one another to survive.

Two years ago I picked up my first Ruta Sepetys novel, I Must Betray You, and it was one of my favorite books of the year. So to start off my 2026 reading year I decided to pick up another one of hers that focused on the millions of people who attempt to escape Prussia as World War Two drew to a close. Adding a layer of interest was the fact that the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy would be tied into the story as well. For those not familiar with the Wilhelm Gustloff its infamy comes from the fact that it is the worst maritime disaster in history with roughly nine thousand people losing their lives (for comparison, the Titanic disaster resulted in the deaths of 1,500). Based on this, I was extremely interested in what Ms. Sepetys would do with this story.

Overall, I really like the setup to this story and mostly enjoyed the back and forth perspectives of Joana, Florian, and Emilia. The one perspective that I didn’t like was that of a German sailor aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff. I found his story really added nothing to the overall story and I mostly skimmed through his sections so I could get back to the main three characters. The pacing of the book is fairly good except for the last 15% which I felt moved much quicker than the rest of the story, which was slightly frustrating since that is what the story has been building up to. Despite this, I plan on continuing with Ms. Sepetys’ books in the future and would recommend this book to any historical fiction fans.

4 out of 5 stars