Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

1. Bibliography

Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. New York, NY: Scholastic, 2012.

2. Plot Summary 

After Soviet secret police barge into their home in the middle of the night, fifteen year old Lina and her Lithuanian family are deported to Siberia. Her mother, brother, and Lina face hard labor, inhumane conditions, and constant fear of death, as well as the uncertainty about their father’s fate. Will her family survive?

3. Critical Analysis

This book is set in part in Lithuania and then Siberia during the 1941 Soviet invasion. Being of Lithuanian descent herself, Ruta Sepetys tells the lesser known true story of the experience of the Lithuanians under Joseph Stalin’s rule when more than twenty million people were murdered. The main character, Lina, represents one of those Lithuanians exiled from their homes and shipped off to Siberia and the Arctic Circle. Readers will connect to Lina as they read the flashbacks from her life before the exile of her family. She is enjoying her youth, beginning to have crushes on boys, and is beginning to think about her future. In contrast, her life after exile is about only survival. In the heart wrenching story, readers see the importance of family, community, and learn a story in history that is often overlooked through first person narration. This book is both incredibly enjoyable to read with its beautiful, lyric language, as well important because of the historical story it tells. More mature middle school students and high school students are a good audience for this read. Adults can also read, enjoy, and learn about a tragedy in history that is not often spoken about.  

4. Award(s) and Review Excerpt(s)

• 2012-2013 Texas Lone Star Book
  
• From Kirkus Review: “Sepetys' flowing prose gently carries readers through the crushing tragedy of this tale that needs telling."
  
• From School Library Journal: “Unrelenting sadness permeates this novel, but there are uplifting moments when the resilience of the human spirit and the capacity for compassion take over. This is a gripping story that gives young people a window into a shameful, but likely unfamiliar history.”

5. Connections

Gather these other books by Ruta Sepetys:

• Salt to the Sea. ISBN 978-0399160301
  
• The Fountains of Silence. ISBN 978-1432870331
  
• Out of the Easy. ISBN 978-0147508430
  

Gather these other historical fiction books set during World War II:

• Lowry, Lewis. Number the Stars. ISBN 0547577095
  
• Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. The War That Saved My Life. ISBN 978-0147510488
  
• Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. ISBN 0375842209
  

Use as supplement in a study of World War II

Use in literature circles with other historical fiction books like the ones listed above

Have students create dramas of scenes to perform