Between Shades of Gray

1. Bibliography

Sepetys, Ruta. 2011. Between Shades of Gray. New York, NY: Philomel Books. ISBN 9780399254123

2. Plot Summary

Lina, a fifteen-year-old teenager living in Lithuania, is arrested one night in 1941 with her mother and younger brother, Jonas. Her father did not come home, and has been separated from the rest of the family. Lina and her family are arrested by the Soviet Army and taken on a long and arduous journey through Russia and to the North Pole. Along the way, the family is forced to work at a gulag and be slaves for the NKVD. Lina experiences death and hardship and sorrows, but on the journey, she creates art to send to her father in hopes that she can let him know that his family is still alive. Lina and her family travel with other Lithuanians as they all struggle to survive the brutal work and the severe cold of the Arctic Circle and the North Pole. 

3. Critical Analysis

This is a story that provides a different perspective from Europe during World War II. Lina is a normal teenager, an artist who is excited about her life and her art, when her life is forever changed. The Soviet Army has displaced her and her family and forced them to the Arctic Circle, where Lina and Jonas lose their mother to frostbite. Lina's small drawings serve as a small beacon of hope that she holds on to, hoping that her father will see them in his prison camp. 

Sticking close to her family is what keeps Lina alive and helps her to survive. She and other prisoners are fighting to survive day by day in the midst of a war and the Soviet Army. The loud Russian words of davai and sveenya can be heard and felt through the lens of Lina's fear and determination to live. Sepetys does a masterful job of blending fact and fiction and detailing the harrowing and frightful journey of a fifteen-year-old and her incomplete family. 

4. Review Excerpt(s)

From Kirkus Reviews: "Sepetys' flowing prose gently carries readers through the crushing tragedy of this tale that needs telling." 
From Booklist: "Beautifully written and deeply felt... an important book that deserves the widest possible readership." 

5. Connections

This book can be used to discuss the affects of the war from within Western Europe. 
Enjoy other books about World War II that take place in Europe: 

• Hesse, Monica. Girl in the Blue Coat. ISBN 9780316260633
• Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. ISBN 9780547577098