Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
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."
I love that this book looks at the other people who suffered during WWII. We know what happened to the Jews, but there were many others who suffered from cruel leaders. I loved that amid all the horrible things that were going on, Lina's mother was so kind and kept herself human, looking out for others. I love that not only did we get to see what Lina was experiencing now, but also were able to have glimpses into what her family's lives were like before the horrible. The only thing that I didn't like was that I felt the ending is a little abrupt. That being said but I would still recommend this book to anyone.
Have you read it? What did you think?
1 comment:
Sounds really interesting but also a sad one to read. Still, I think I'll try it. I do love writings from that era because they are so inspirational to me.
=)
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