Between Shades of Gray

April 15, 2012
By

Realistic Fiction

By Ruta Sepetys

Reviewed by K. Oliver

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Like many other fifteen year old girls in Lithuania in 1941, Lina thinks her life is going quite well. She crushes on boys, gets into trouble with her favorite cousin, and finds joy in simple things, like drawing.  In the book, Between Shades of Gray,  everything she previously knows, changes on her. Her parents are scholars; upper class citizens who should, and may have foreseen the future of their family. All is well until Soviet law enforcers barge into her home and demand that they are ready to leave within minutes.  Lina and her brother, Jonah, along with her mother are forced from first, an army truck, to a disgusting cargo train, and brought to places they had not previously known existed. They have to work within the Arctic Circle, in one of Siberia’s many labor camps, while they endure the murderous cold.  Lina begins making symbolic drawings, and most daringly passes them on in hopes of them reaching her father. Her journey takes years, and she covers nearly seven thousand miles. With her family and friend, Andres, Lina’s hope is at a level that makes her want to keep living. Her bravery is what makes her and her family continue throughout the traveling, alive.

I recommend this book, Between Shades of Gray, to anyone, regardless of age. Ruta Sepetys is an author that can take the reality of the past, real human accounts of the holocaust, and historic evidence and knead them into a perfect, realistic fiction story. Her use of flashbacks in the main character’s life sets her book apart from many others; by the way you get to know her through her memories.  I rate this book with five stars because I read it in a single day, and could not put it until the last page was completed. People who enjoy realistic fiction or are interested in the holocaust should read this because, at times, you question whether or not you are reading fiction rather than a real life story. Ruta Sepetys put her talent onto paper, and is something people of all ages should spend time reading.

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