Between Shades of Gray

 

A. Bibliographic Data

  Sepetys, Ruta. 2011. Between Shades of Gray. Philomel Books.

    ISBN: 0399254129

B. Summary

Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life -- until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she embeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive?

C. Critical Analysis 

I cried like a baby on and off during this book. As someone who has lost 4 babies to see the young mother holding her baby and it dies on the train and how they must get rid of her is just heartbreaking. The death of so many children that Jonas keeps track of. This moment is just a tiny piece of the background story. It's not even Lina’s story. Yet, this is the beginning of what all young and old, men and women had to witness and experience from the very beginning.

That is just the beginning of this beautifully written story. I love historical fiction because it provokes so many emotions, but I feel that we need that in this world. We also learn a lot and are reminded of what We have at times forgotten in the past. We must never forget because the past will always come back around.

Lina goes through so many experiences in the novel, and I can truly imagine how she has felt as a person in general but even more as a teen. From having to remove all their clothes, to seeing people executed, to abuse and so much more. 

The other characters are written so amazing from the mother to the boy- Andrius-they meet on the train to the soldier who is looking out for them the best he can.  There are so many stories within this book.

D.  Book Reviews

"Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both." --The Washington Post

From New York Times and international bestseller and Carnegie Medal winner Ruta Sepetys, author of Salt to the Sea, comes a story of loss and of fear -- and ultimately, of survival.

A New York Times notable book
An international bestseller
A Carnegie Medal nominee
A William C. Morris Award finalist
A Golden Kite Award winner

"Superlative. A hefty emotional punch." --The New York Times Book Review

"Heart-wrenching . . . an eye-opening reimagination of a very real tragedy written with grace and heart." --The Los Angeles Times

"At once a suspenseful, drama-packed survival story, a romance, and an intricately researched work of historical fiction." --The Wall Street Journal

* "Beautifully written and deeply felt . . . An important book that deserves the widest possible readership." --Booklist, starred review

E. Connections

·         Penguin Provides an Educators Guide here.

·         Students could also read the Graphic Novel version.

·         Great book to accompany other books such as:

o   The Book Thief

·         Discussion:

o   What would you do if you were Lina?

o   What did you learn about survival and hope after reading this book? Were you surprised at what the characters had to endure? Would you have hope?

o   Do you have something or someone you can turn to when things are tough?

o   Could you relate to Lina? In what way? Lina used art – what would you use to give yourself hope?

·         Create timelines of real historical events in comparison to the book. Discuss- did the author do a great job with the facts of the era?

·         Discuss labor camps, holocaust, etc.

·         You could watch the movie for this book and compare the book to the movie.