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.