Between Shades of Gray (Spetys)

Lina Vilkas is fifteen when the Soviet NKVD comes for her family. After being shoved into cattle cars with many other Lithuanian deportees, they make the long journey from Lithuania to Siberia. The rest of the book focuses on the horrifying conditions, slavery, and terror Lina, her family and the other Lithuanian deportees suffer at the hands of the Soviets.

I generally had a positive reaction to Between Shades of Gray. Ruta Sepetys censors very little of the horrors faced and describes everything that happens to Lina and the others in stark detail. Given how little the public knows about what happened on the Eastern Front during WWII, I think that this choice is entirely appropriate. Sepetys, additionally, is also not unnecessarily graphic, so this book could be accessible to very mature eight graders and above (the book is technically classified as young adult). There are also some really tender moments as well in the interactions between the deportees, who struggled to save each other in the face of others who wished to make them suffer. The contrast between the simplistic language and the details is well-done, and pulls the reader into the content. I also liked Lina as a character who is fiery and brave, who documents this story to make others aware of it. I did have some minor problems with the writing--I found it a bit rough at times and found the all-capitalized exclamations unnecessary, but this is understandable as it was her first novel. Despite these faults, my overall of the book was positive.

I also believe that this book should be read because it illuminates an obscure part of the history. What happened in Eastern Europe is only recently being uncovered from the proverbial carpet it was swept under during the war and for many years following (the Soviet archives were only recently opened to the public). I took a history class on the Eastern Front and was blown away by the brutality there. This story has filled in my understanding of what went on during this time period. So, I appreciate that Sepetys has put forth this story.

If you find yourself interested in Sepetys' perspective and history lesson, go here. The video is well-done and offers additional perspective, so I would recommend you do so.

You Win or You Die: The Game of Thrones (Martin)

I'm sure there are a gazillion other reviews for this book already online, but I will still throw in my sword onto the side of praising George R.R. Martin. For those who haven't heard what this book's about, let me give you a very basic run-down. When the solemn and upright Lord Eddard Stark is named the Hand of the King to his best friend Robert Baratheon, he is plunged into court intrigues where it is nearly impossible to tell who is friend and foe.

Yes, I know that summary is extremely vague. Go read the book--there is a ton more to it, as the eight hundred seven pages can attest.

Despite the book's extreme length, I remained consistently interested in the plot. George R.R.Martin chose to tell the story from multiple perspectives--including Stark's children and wife, and a couple of his political opponents--and these switches were what really kept my interest. Martin's characters are extremely life-like. They have one clear aspect that they display with regularity, but then there are other scenes that fleshed them out and made me question them and kept me turning pages. I also liked how Martin did not just let the "good guys" have the right--it added further depth to the already intriguing plot and, again, kept me reading. I was also quite impressed with the world he has created. It is clearly a fantasy setting, but, in this book, magic was not a huge factor. I liked that difference and am curious to see if he will keep the magic to a minimum in the later books.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Knowledge After an Apocalypse: A Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller, Jr.)

Okay, I'll admit this is an older book--it was originally published in 1959--but I just can't help myself. Additionally, this blog is not simply for newer books--although you'll see new ones on here as well. Anyways, onto the review!

A Canticle for Lebowitz follows the story of the cycle of human knowledge development. In this world, the apocalypse has just occurred--true to fears born out of WWII, several nations nuke each other, creating a stark, desert world. In the beginning of a new era, the human survivors turned against their so-called advanced culture and knowledge. They execute learned men are executed and burn the books of this now destroyed civilization. In the chaos, a man by the name of Leibowitz, with other like-minded individuals, gathers books that survived and stores them to await the day when people turn to them. As a result, an order of monks, known as the Order of Leibowitz, forms, to collect and protect these old texts until the world wants them back. The book follows this new civilization and its relationship to the order and their cache of books.

My general reaction can be summed up in one word: whoa. Walter M. Miller, Jr. does a fantastic job building the world--and making it believable. Granted most apocalyptic stories these days involve zombies, but still I could definetely see the events playing out once the apocalypse (although it's highly unlikely that I'll actually live through the actual blast to see if my predictions are right). I was immensely impressed with Miller, Jr.'s ability to pull the reader in. Even though he did not stick with just one particular cast of characters, I became engaged with each group that took the reader through a particular point in time. I loved how he took the reader through the development of this new civilization and, really, humanity. The book hit me especially hard at the end; I still haven't decided whether I agree with his worldview. If anyone's read it, please share your thoughts on the ending. All in all, it is a most worthy book, and I demand that you go read it. Right now.