Title: Between Shades of Gray
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Major Themes: Soviet Union, Siberia, Family, Survival
Synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Lina and her family are deported to Siberia from their peaceful Lithuanian home, they must fight to survive the brutal conditions in which they find themselves.
Between Shades of Gray entered my life as a second-hand find somewhere one day. I remembered reading an online discussion about Ruta Sepetys’ books, and something about the cover or the author’s name stood out to me, so I picked it up. It took me quite a while to finally read the book, but I pulled it off the shelf recently, and I’m glad I made time for it. It’s a difficult story, but the kind of story that needs to be told and known.
Publisher’s description:
Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.
In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school, first dates, and all that summer has to offer. But one night, the Soviet secret police barge violently into her home, deporting her along with her mother and younger brother. They are being sent to Siberia. Lina’s father has been separated from the family and sentenced to death in a prison camp. All is lost.
Lina fights for her life, fearless, vowing that if she survives she will honor her family, and the thousands like hers, by documenting their experience in her art and writing. She risks everything to use her art as messages, hoping they 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, and it is only their incredible strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day. But will love be enough to keep them alive?
Between Shades of Gray is a riveting novel that steals your breath, captures your heart, and reveals the miraculous nature of the human spirit.
My thoughts:
As soon as I picked this book up, it reminded me of other stories I’ve read about families who were deported to Siberia. Unfortunately, this was the fate of perhaps hundreds of thousands of people as the Soviet Union expanded its borders during World War II, and each story I’ve read was heartbreaking in its own way. The Endless Steppe was one of my first introductions to the subject, but I read the graphic novel Siberian Haiku (Jurga Vile) recently, and themes in this book mirror some of the things I read in that one. I appreciate it when different authors add perspectives and nuances to difficult topics like this one, while honoring those who suffered, and, often, lost their lives.
Between Shades of Gray was quite a read. I’m glad I got to pick it up one day when I was sick, because that meant I had time to just keep reading and didn’t have to stop—the chapters in here may be short, but the story was quite gripping. Once again, as with some other stories on the subject that I’ve read, I found myself marveling at the courage these people portrayed as they were treated worse than animals, and forced to work under incredibly difficult circumstances with barely any food. I also found it fascinating to see how they worked to preserve their human dignity amongst themselves, despite the way the guards treated them.
I wouldn’t recommend this book if you’re looking for something lighter to read, but if you appreciate books that give you a glimpse into what other people have experienced through history, Between Shades of Gray would be a good choice. It’s very realistic—people die, and conditions are deplorable a lot of the time. But the beauty of community and resilience comes through these pages, and I especially appreciated the way Lina used art to keep her hope alive. This is not a Christian book, although characters occasionally pray or quote a little Scripture, but as a memento to those who lost their lives under Stalin’s rule, this book has a lot of historical value.
WARNING: Multiple times, people are shoved or hurt by soldiers. Lying happens semi-frequently, and people are often forced to steal to survive. Smoking and drinking are mentioned occasionally. Chapter 4: Man gets hurt trying to escape. Chapter 6: Woman bleeds after just giving birth, girl thinks to her dead relative, “Grandma, help us.” Chapter 10: Oh my word. Chapter 14: Boy beaten up, I swore. Chapter 17: People dying from poor conditions. Chapter 18: For God’s sake, baby dies. Chapter 19: Damn (twice). Chapter 20: For God’s sake. Chapter 24: For God’s sake. Chapter 26: Man gropes girl’s breast. Chapter 27: Woman shot. Chapter 33: For goodness’ sake. Chapter 34: Bastard. Chapter 35: Damn, man asks if a girl has been raped with a brief description. Chapter 37: Seeing a man badly mistreated and killed with a stake (pretty gruesome), women almost buried alive. Chapter 39: Boy says that his mother was threatened with him being killed if she didn’t sleep with the officers (this also comes up a few other times). Chapter 41: Man’s front teeth brutally ripped out for stealing a piece of food. Chapter 51: How the hell. Chapter 58: A kiss. Chapter 61: A kiss. Chapter 63: Girl tells of her doll being thrown in the air and shot, bastards. Chapter 64: Girl dies, woman shot. Chapter 65: Girl thinks about how she hasn’t had a period in months. Chapter 66: “I’m not lying with him.” Chapter 69: Woman tries to choke her daughter, then herself. Chapter 73: People die in a snowed-in hut, damn, [this] arctic hell. Chapter 75: Family learns a man was shot, oh dear God. Chapter 77: Children die, man hangs himself. Chapter 78: Seeing more dead people (some description). Chapter 79: For God’s sake. Chapter 80: Woman dies. Chapter 82: Man suggests suicide (this comes up one or two other times), man drunk. Chapter 83: Finding dead people.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Leave a Reply