Ruta Sepetys is a bestselling American author of historical fiction. She is best known for her novels Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, Salt to the Sea, and The Fountains of Silence. Sepetys's work has been translated into over forty languages and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Carnegie Medal, the Bodley Head/Financial Times Best Book of the Year, and the American Library Association's Best Book for Young Adults.