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BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY
Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Sepetys
Author's First Name: 
Ruta
Publisher: 
Philomel
Publication Date: 
2011
2013 Nomination (not yet selected): 

From its powerful opening line, "They took me in my nightgown" this is a straightforward look at the horrific experiences of people from countries that the Soviets "gobbled up" and then spit out in Siberia. It is about loss and survival in a time period and place that has not been presented to young readers before. It is an unforgettable read, raw but also powerful in its celebration of the human spirit. Edie Ching

With "they took me in my nightgown," fifteen-year old Lina’s compelling voice announces the beginning of the horrific ten-year journey she and her family are forced to take from their home in Lithuania to the desolate outreaches of Siberia during Stalin’s reign of terror.  Raw, gripping historical fiction.

Comments

jwatson's picture

Agree with all the positive

by jwatson - 05/16/2011 - 11:47pm
Agree with all the positive comments. One nit-picky negative, the bald man states that the Russians are trying to commit genocide, but genocide was not actually coined as a word until 1944. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007043

I learned from this story as

by bchristolon - 04/21/2011 - 1:38pm
I learned from this story as much as I did 40 years ago when I read about the Polish people who were deported from their homeland in the Endless Steppe by Hautzig. This is an important part of history that is not often written about. These three old/new countries are just beginning to prosper again since the Russians didn't pull out of their borders until around 1990 when they declared their independence and joined the EU. Blair

Meeting Notes for April

by ladamson - 04/21/2011 - 12:56pm

Meeting Notes for April 15

Positive Comments:
  • The plot’s intensity continues throughout the entire book.
  • This well-written, compelling story about Lithuania before World War II works especially because the time period has had little written about it.
  • Lena’s ability to follow her mother’s advice to look at her negative surroundings and create art in order to retain her individuality is impressive.
  • All of the characters, both Lithuanian and Russian, are complex, vivid, and believable.
  • The plot incorporates Lena’s memories of people not in the book, like her father, so that it offers a fuller sense of Lena’s current life.
 
Observations:
  • Only one boy is Lena’s age so he immediately becomes the romantic aspect of the story.
 
Concerns:
  • The flashback passages appearing in italics disrupt the story’s present time.

Meeting Notes March 18

by ladamson - 03/22/2011 - 12:39pm
Meeting Notes March 18
  • Needs more readers.