Between Shades of Gray

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sepetys, Ruta. 2011. BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY. New York: The Penguin Group.  ISBN 978-0-399-25412-3

PLOT SUMMARY

Lina is a fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl whose family is rounded up by Soviet officers and forced into labor camps, ultimately ending up in Siberia.  Lina relies on her drawing abilities to leave drawing that she hopes will find their way to her father and allow him a trail to find them.  Together with her little brother and her mother, Lina struggles to survive in the cold of Siberia’s winter, under the orders of Josef Stalin. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is one of those reads that stays in one’s mind long after the book is finished.  Beautifully written, it is a hauntingly sad story, which shows that in the most desperate times, hope remains.  Set in 1939, the author does an excellent job of providing details about life at that time in Europe during Stalin’s rule. Even though the book was set over seventy years ago, it is easy for the reader to connect with Lina. She is a sympathetic character whose struggles are timeless. 

The plot of this book is brutal and honest, in a way that this type of book has to be.  To sugar coat the events would be to minimize the events that truly occurred to millions of people under Stalin’s rule.  One element of this book that helped to maximize understanding with young adults it that foreign agencies, like the NKVD are described, so that those without background knowledge can still understand the book’s events.  The setting is described in such a way that the reader can feel themself begin to shudder with the cold of the Siberian winter.  Ruta Sepetys writes a story that blends plot, setting, and theme together in a smooth story about losing everything but the will to survive.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year winner

Publishers Weekly: “The narrative skillfully conveys the deprivation and brutality of conditions, especially the cramped train ride, unrelenting hunger, fears about family members' safety, impossible choices, punishing weather, and constant threats facing Lina, her mother, and her younger brother."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Moving, edifying, and quietly beautiful, Sepetys's well-researched novel is an exquisite look at a devastating atrocity.”
BOOKLIST: “Sepetys, the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, estimates that the Baltic States lost more than one-third of their populations during the Russian genocide. Though many continue to deny this happened, Sepetys' beautifully written and deeply felt novel proves the reality is otherwise. Hers is an important book that deserves the widest possible readership.”

CONNECTIONS

This book will draw up a lot of discussion regarding the events surrounding Stalin’s rule in Europe.  Parallels can be drawn between Hitler’s rule and the atrocities faced during his rule.

Marrin, Albert. STALIN: RUSSIA’S MAN OF STEEL. ISBN 978-1893103092

Sharenow, Robert. THE BERLIN BOXING CLUB. ISBN   978-0061579684

Yelchin, Eugene. BREAKING STALIN’S NOSE. ISBN 978-0805092165