Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray is an enlightening story about 15-year-old Lina Vilkas. The starts in 1941 and opens in Lithuania (where Lina is from). Lina is just like other girls her age. She spends time with her friends, goes on dates, and is preparing for art school as she has a special talent for drawing and painting. However, one day that all changes when the NKVD (the Soviet secret police) force their way into her home, changing her and her family's lives forever. Lina and her family are declared criminals by the NKVD and are being sent to Siberia. Lina's father is separated from the rest of her family and is being sentenced to death at prison camp. Lina meets many new people on her train car, including a boy her age named Andrius. These people live in filthy and torturous conditions on this train car and Lina depicts what they are experiencing through her drawings, which are filled with emotion and truth. Eventually, Lina and her family arrive in Siberia, where the NKVD attempts to sell them as slaves. Nobody in Lina's train car is sold and so instead they are sent to a labor camp, where they are forced to work for extremely small bread rations to survive off of. Lina continues to draw what she sees and feels with hope that if she passes her artwork on, it might eventually make it to her father. After several months at this camp, Lina and her family are being relocated again- this time to Trofimovsk, which is in the Arctic Circle, very close to the North Pole. The conditions here are even worse than at their last camp and the NKVD basically leave the deportees to fend for themselves in this brutal climate. It is their tremendous love for each other and remarkable hope that keep Lina and her family going each day. But will love and hope be enough to help them survive?

This novel was truly eye-opening as it taught World War II from a new perspective. Many of the Baltic countries are often overlooked when it comes to World War II so it was interesting to hear what happened from the perspective of a Lithuanian, and one who was deported to Siberia at that. This book made me realize that many people had no idea what Hitler and Stalin were doing until after the war. For example, many Lithuanians thought it was good when Hitler invaded Lithuanian because to them it meant that Stalin was out of their country. Many didn't know what Hitler was doing to people. Something else that made this book different from others is that many important scenes in this book weren't filled with action, they were instead packed full of emotion. Between Shades of Gray dives deep into the feelings of people like Lina, which I loved. This book mad several scenes, both good and bad, that brought tears to my eyes. This allowed me as a reader to grasp a better understanding of the pain and torture that these people suffered. I sincerely believe that this is a book everybody should read. I think it's very important to learn about World War II from multiple perspectives, and this novel offers one you don't hear about very often. In addition, this books carries so many beautiful themes with it. It truly shows just how powerful hope can be.

Reviewed by Sara H., Grade 10