Set on a ship sailing from England to Australia in the 1800's, Sarah is traveling in the unmarried women's section (in steerage) of the ship. With a tough matron to watch over them and nothing better to do, each girl tells a story of what they are running from and hoping to find. At the heart is Sarah, who believes she has a fish in her stomach and is made of salt water. She tells her story in broken bits, as part of the journey causes her to remember.

I am really not sure what to think of this book. Sometimes, I think it is good, others, it seemed very poorly done. Christine Balint is more known for her short story work, and in my opinion probably should have stuck to it. "Salt Letters" is a good story, with vivid descriptions that pull you in and make you feel what is going on. But, the Balint has goes from each characters story, and back to Sarah's, the main character. The ending, well, it just ends, leaving you wondering what happened.

Balint's language and tone were pitch-perfect. A fascinating story, wonderful book.

This book was one of the best I've ever read. I throughly enjoyed it and was very upset when it was over. Throughout the book, I wondered what it would be like to be in the girls shoes. To have to run away from a man whom her parents wish her to marry, and run off to Astralia of all places with her lover. It really made me sad to think that her love wasn't on the ship but happy to find out the secrets of the end. I especially loved how the author had her start letters to her family but never finish them, and then the resolve on how she came to fix that. I recomend this book highly to anyone intrested in historical fiction! I loved it!! I hope you do too!