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Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys Book Review
Title: Between Shades of Grey
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Publisher: Philomel Books
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Pages: 344
Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they’ve known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin’s orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.
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My Thoughts
Lina lives in Lithuania with her family, content with her family. Soviet soldiers soon disrupt this peace, forcefully taking away everything she had. Soon, Lina’s family is separated and she must find a way to survive in the labor camps.
Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.
Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.
In the worst conditions known to mankind, Lina survives. She develops relationships with those around her at these camps and learns what it means to trust them and find loyalty and solidarity, finally seeking out the beauty in all the darkness.
Sometimes kindness can be delivered in a clumsy way.
Sometimes kindness can be delivered in a clumsy way.
Star Rating: ★★★★★ (5)
There’s just something so strong and captivating about the author’s writing that feels as if I can’t stop looking away. Lina and her brother’s relationship throughout the novel touched me as I recognized the theme of family through their interactions. Not only do they represent family, but they also show resilience in all that they went through together.
Overall, Between Shades of Grey was an important read on the lost stories of World War II. Sepetys’ way of expressing this story flows from the page and touches readers in all ways as they follow along with the characters through their journeys.
About the Author
Ruta Sepetys (www.rutasepetys.com) is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Sepetys is considered a “crossover” novelist, as her books are read by both teens and adults worldwide. Her novels Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, and Salt to the Sea have won or been shortlisted for more than forty book prizes, and are included on more than sixty state award lists. Between Shades of Gray was adapted into the film Ashes in the Snow, and her other novels are currently in development for TV and film. Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is passionate about the power of history and literature to foster global awareness and connectivity. She has presented to NATO, to the European Parliament, in the United States Capitol, and at embassies worldwide. Ruta was born and raised in Michigan and now lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @RutaSepetys.
