1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sepetys, Ruta. 2011.
BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY. New York , NY
2. PLOT SUMMARY
15 year old Lina and
her family are arrested by the Soviet secret police. Her dad has been separated from the rest of
the family. Lina, her mother and brother
are sent to Siberia . Lina
and her family fight to survive the horrible conditions. During their imprisonment, Lina documents
their experience through pictures and journaling. Lina and her brother survive 12 years of
their imprisonment. The book ends with
some construction workers finding an old glass jar with Lina’s writings and
drawings about their time in imprisonment.
3.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
“They took me in my
nightgown.” This was Lina’s beginning of her long ordeal as a prisoner of the
Soviets. This stark story is very
realistic and young readers will relate to the story being told through 15
year-old Lina. Ruta Sepetys did research
in order to depict the events accurately.
While the characters are fictional, some of the trials of the characters
are based on the experiences of actual people from Lithuania
The book includes a
time line and map of the different camps Lina and her family were sent to. The book has an unusual ending because the
book stops the story abruptly while Lina and her brother are still
prisoners. An epilogue explains that some construction workers find Lina’s writings and drawings years later. The reader has to fill in the gaps of the story.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Children's Notable Books, 2012
Texas Lone Star Reading List, 2012
TAYSHAS High School Reading List, 2012
Horn Book Magazine: "So begins a human drama caling forth the best and worst of human behaviors--courage, anger, fear, confusion, little kindnesses, and egregious selfishness."
5. CONNECTIONS
*Books about Stalin:
Otfinoski, Steven.
JOSEPH STALIN: RUSSIA
Zuehlke, Jeffrey.
JOSEPH STALIN. ISBN 9780822534211
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