Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Book Two of my 2016 Abe Lincoln Nominee to-read list is finished! 5 Stars! If you are looking for a historical fiction story that takes place at the same time as WWII, definitely read this one!
Summary from Goodreads:
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.
Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.
Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.
My Thoughts:
I LOVED Between Shades of Gray. Ruta Sepetys writes this beautiful yet heartbreaking story in a way that helps the reader understand the consequences of the Soviet Union taking over Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Many innocent people - men, women, and children - were murdered, sent to prison or slave camps where they were expected to work in harsh conditions with little to no food. As I was reading I couldn't help but compare their experiences to those of the Jews in Nazi interment camps. What amazed me throughout the book was Lina's determination to keep herself, her brother, and her mother alive all while trying to find her father. If you are a fan of The Book Thief, Number the Stars, etc, you will enjoy this story.
After reading this Between Shades, I now am going back to read Sepetys's book, Out of Easy. I have heard wonderful reviews and I can only imagine it is just as good.
After reading this Between Shades, I now am going back to read Sepetys's book, Out of Easy. I have heard wonderful reviews and I can only imagine it is just as good.
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