Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray is a story of true loss and heartbreak.

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.


This book focuses on a not very well known aspect of World war II- the Lithuanian genocide. It was very sorrowful, yet so realistic.  Here are my thoughts:

Setting:
The author obviously did a very thorough job of researching Lithuania and Russia. The setting is very significant to the story. Every time Lina makes a stop, she documents where she is.

Characters:
Surprisingly, my favorite character was Lina's mother. She never once gave up hope throughout the book. She truly believed that her family would make it out and be reunited after they left the camps. 

This book was filled with many complex, strong characters.

Plot:
Every page of this book was heartbreaking. The author did an excellent job of making the book realistic.  It was filled with real, raw emotion.

For Fans of:
Historical Fiction

Rating: 
4 out of 5 stars

The only part of this book that I didn't like was the ending. I felt like it ended abruptly an I did not feel satisfied. 

The main reason that I liked this book is because of my heritage. My great-grandfather came to America from Kaunas, Lithuania,  in the early 1900's. He possibly still had family there while these horrible events were taking place.  Unfortunately, I do not know very much about Lithuania, but I got to learn more about it through this book.