Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys,that takes your breath away. A fifteen- year-old girl named Lina is an artist and can't wait for summer to come so she can go to art school. One night, the Soviet secret police come to there house and barge in, taking Lina, her mother, and her younger brother, They were being sent to Siberia. Her father is separated from his family and sentenced to death in a prison camp. Lina doesn't give up. She fights for her life and her family's to keep them alive. She meets this guy named Aiden who was in her class. When they get to there destination, they are given certain jobs to do. Girls were supposed to dig holes all day in the sun and in the cold winter. The boys would cut wood. The Russians occasionally would call Lina in their office to draw a map or a portrait of the chief. And as a reward, they would give her a piece of bread. Everyday they would get potatoes depending on how much they dug. If it was a little, they would't get any. One day, Lina saw Aiden eating bread with salami, and sitting at a table with his mother and the soldiers. She got really angry and blamed him for being on the Soviets side. Aiden told her something that froze her. Aidens mother was sleeping with all of the soldiers and the chief just to get a meal and a nice bed. It wasn't something she wanted to do. She was forced to. Also to protect her son. While Lina, her family, and the rest had to sleep in an old barn house with no mattress or blankets. After all of the abuse and torture she doesn't lose hope, that the Americans would find and save them.
This novel was very breathtaking and heart capturing. When I read this book, I started crying at the ending because it was so sad. The author did a great job describing and making us understand things. I disliked that is had some russian words, because I don't understand it, but my parents do so I asked them. Between Shades of Gray, is a novel that makes your heart beat faster and makes you catch your breath. It makes you feel things that you don't normally feel when reading books. I absolutely love this book and encourage everyone to read it. I don't read sad books or books that have nothing to do with romance. But this book is worth taking the risk. This novel gives us a little bit of history that we didn't know about or knew what it was but never went in deep.
Reviewed by K.A., Grade 9
Montrose Library
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