Josef Landau
Josef Landau is the protagonist of the novel's first storyline. In 1939, just before his thirteenth birthday, Josef and his parents and little sister leave Nazi Germany, Josef's father's life having been spared on the condition he leave the country. Contemplative and rational, Josef sees through the absurdity of Hitler's anti-Semitism and knows that he and other Jews would be seen as no different than other Germans if it weren't for propaganda. While Josef is pleased to celebrate his bar mitzvah on the MS St. Louis among other Jews, he takes on increasing responsibility within his family because of his father's paranoia from having been held in a concentration camp for six months. When his father stays in a Cuban hospital and the ship returns to Europe, it is confirmed that Josef is now the man of his family. Josef's coming-of-age story concludes with him volunteering to go to a concentration camp so that his little sister, Ruthie, may be spared. Josef's self-sacrifice has a ripple effect over time, as it means Ruthie is alive to take in the Bisharas when they are displaced from Syria.
Ruthie Landau / Ruthie Rosenberg
Ruthie is Josef's little sister. While Josef crosses on the boundary between childhood and adulthood during the family's time on the MS St. Louis, Ruthie is young enough to remain ignorant of the Nazi threat. Ruthie spends most of her time on the ship playing in the pool and having fun with other children. When a Nazi soldier makes Rachel choose which of her children will go free, Josef volunteers to go to a concentration camp in Ruthie's place. In 2015, Ruthie is an elderly woman living in Berlin again. She takes in the Bisharas as a German host to Syrian refugees, explaining that she survived the Holocaust because of her brother and because a French woman raised her as her own.
Aaron Landau
Aaron is Ruthie's and Josef's father. When the Nazis learn he is continuing to work as a lawyer in contravention of an anti-Semitic law, Aaron is punished with six months in the Dachau concentration camp. He is released on the condition that he leave the country, so he takes his family on the MS St. Louis to Cuba. On the ship, Aaron's PTSD from Dachau leads him to stay in his room and worry the Nazis are constantly setting traps for the Jewish refugees. Because Aaron is unable to be the head of the family, Josef takes on more responsibility. When a Nazi officer on the ship raids their cabin, Aaron jumps from the ship, attempting suicide. He is rescued by Mariano Padron and taken to a Cuban hospital. He stays in Cuba until his death, never reconnecting with his family.
Captain Schroeder
Based on the real-life Gustav Schröder, Captain Schroeder is the captain of the MS St. Louis. Although he is German, Schroeder treats the Jewish refugees on the ship with respect and commands his stewards and officers to do the same. The captain tries his best to appeal to the Cuban authorities when they deny the refugees entry, but his efforts fail. When ten Jewish mutineers storm the bridge of the boat, Schroeder takes command of the situation by talking them down and reassuring them he won't return them to Germany. Schroeder ends up being able to distribute his passengers among several European countries.
Isabel Fernandez
Isabel is the protagonist of the novel's second storyline. Living in Cuba in 1994, Isabel's father is nearly arrested for taking part in a riot against Fidel Castro's government, who many see as responsible for the mass starvation in the country. To protect her father, Isabel trades her trumpet for the gasoline her neighbors, the Castillos, need to drive their cobbled-together boat to Florida. Isabel and her family make the dangerous crossing with their neighbors. Throughout the journey, Isabel shows initiative and tries to make peace when the adults argue. When her neighbor and friend Iván dies of a shark bite, Isabel wears his baseball cap as a token of her affection for him. After settling in Miami, Isabel plays a new trumpet and finally discovers how to count the clave rhythmic pattern that organizes much Cuban music.
Lito (Mariano Padron)
Short for abuelito, Lito is Isabel's grandfather. He also features in the Josef storyline as Mariano Padron, the police officer who rescues Aaron Landau after he jumps ship. Unlike Isabel, Lito is reluctant to leave Cuba, believing they will lose their culture if they leave their homeland. However, the harrowing crossing jogs his memory of when he had to deny desperate Jewish refugees access to Cuba in 1939. Lito realizes he made a mistake then. To correct it, he dives into the water to divert the US Coast Guard, even though his capture will result in him being sent to Guantanamo Bay. This act of self-sacrifice allows his family to paddle to shore and claim US citizenship.
Mahmoud Bishara
Mahmoud is the twelve-year-old protagonist of the third storyline. After four years of living through the Syrian Civil War in Aleppo, Mahmoud values his ability to pull his hoodie low and become invisible to people. When a bomb destroys their home, Mahmoud and his family flee for Germany. Mahmoud continues to try to go unnoticed as his family makes the journey through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia. At a refugee camp in Hungary, he realizes the European public will not act unless they see the refugees' struggle. Mahmoud leads a twelve-hour walk into Austria, bringing his family and countless other refugees to safety in a hospitable country. Mahmoud's storyline ends with him and his parents going to live with Ruthie Landau in Berlin.
Fatima Bishara
Fatima is Mahmoud's mother. When the family attempts the crossing from Turkey to Greece in a boat that capsizes, Fatima grabs hold of another passing refugee boat. At Mahmoud's prompting, she agrees to hand her infant daughter, Hana, to a woman on the boat, which speeds off. At every subsequent stop on their migrant journey, Fatima goes from tent to tent searching for Hana. By the end of the novel, she has not found Hana, but Ruthie insists they will.
Youssef Bishara
Youssef is Mahmoud's father. An engineer with a mobile phone company, Youssef relies on his iPhone to move his family from Syria to Germany. Youssef is prone to making puns to lighten the mood during serious moments. He also thinks strategically, spending the family's savings carefully and using whatever advantage the family can, such as taking the shoes of drowned refugees that have washed up on the shore of Lesbos. Youssef's optimism leaves him when prejudiced guards at a Hungarian detention center beat him mercilessly.
Hana Bishara
Hana is the infant daughter of Fatima and Youssef, and Mahmoud's sister. When Mahmoud and Fatima are treading water and struggling to keep Hana safe, they hand her to a refugee woman on a passing boat. For the rest of the novel, Hana's family searches for her at every refugee camp. By the time they arrive in Germany, the family has yet to locate Hana.
