Between Shades of Gray

By Ruta Sepetys

This book is about Lina, a normal Lithuanian girl who loves art. One night in 1941 Soviet guards haul Lina and her family from their home. Her mother, brother and herself are separated from her Father and taken away. They are forced to work and live in cruel conditions, but Lina doesn’t give up hope. She continues drawing clues to pass on, in the hope that her Father will see them and find her.

I really enjoyed this book from the start. I think it really showed the feelings a normal teenage girl would feel about this happening to her and her family, and it was a great example of the suffering going on during this time. It was interesting to read, as I have never read a book about Stalin in world war 2.

 I loved the characters, especially how Sepetys described them, pointing out different things as the story progressed. My favourite character was Lina’s brother, Jonas, as I thought his character was brave, doing things to help his family that put himself at risk; I definitely wouldn’t have had the courage to do that! I also liked the fact that Lina always believed, she never gave up hope that her Father was still alive and that her life would go back to like it was before.

Overall I thought this book was very good, some interesting turns that I never expected! I would definitely recommend this to anyone- girls and boys! Everyone would enjoy it!

By Emily B, Year 8