A Book A Day ... December 8 and Between Shades of Gray
NOT the other book you're thinking about ... I spared myself from jabbing my eyes out by refraining from reading that book. I know. That doesn't sound very gracious, does it? But I read two pages and felt my writer's soul weep.
Enough enough enough about that. Today is December 8th, and I am shouting out for Ruta Sepetys gorgeous historical novel Between Shades of Gray.
This exquisite and harrowing novel is about the genocide that took place in Lithuania (and the other Baltic States) under Stalin's reign after the Russian invasion in 1939. Fifteen year old Lina, a gifted artist who came from a privileged home, is forced into a Siberian work camp with her mother and brother after the invasion. Between Shades of Gray chronicles their struggles to stay alive, the friendships they form, their fear and, most importantly, hope. Lina tells her story through her charcoal drawings, hoping that one day her father will be able to follow the trail of these drawings and reunite with his family.
I, for one, had no idea that this had happened. Millions were forced from their homes, sent to work camps, murdered, and raped. It's a piece of history that, for some reason, has been under-reported, under-told. I'm grateful for Sepetys, as she's found a way to tell the story of millions of people, found a way to give voice to a period of time that has been kept silent for so long. (Appropriate for ages 12 and up).
Enough enough enough about that. Today is December 8th, and I am shouting out for Ruta Sepetys gorgeous historical novel Between Shades of Gray.
This exquisite and harrowing novel is about the genocide that took place in Lithuania (and the other Baltic States) under Stalin's reign after the Russian invasion in 1939. Fifteen year old Lina, a gifted artist who came from a privileged home, is forced into a Siberian work camp with her mother and brother after the invasion. Between Shades of Gray chronicles their struggles to stay alive, the friendships they form, their fear and, most importantly, hope. Lina tells her story through her charcoal drawings, hoping that one day her father will be able to follow the trail of these drawings and reunite with his family.
I, for one, had no idea that this had happened. Millions were forced from their homes, sent to work camps, murdered, and raped. It's a piece of history that, for some reason, has been under-reported, under-told. I'm grateful for Sepetys, as she's found a way to tell the story of millions of people, found a way to give voice to a period of time that has been kept silent for so long. (Appropriate for ages 12 and up).
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