Between Shades of Gray: Reviews by 2014 Reading Challengers

[Karen]

This was an absolutely beautiful, yet horrifying read. The characters try to stay so strong throughout their journey putting others in front of themselves just to try and have survivors. The ending of this book was wonderful with the bald man finally coming to his senses and helping others and Kretsky, who I had grown to hate, doing something to help those in need! Even though there are some story lines that aren't completely resolved, there is some happiness after Lina's letters are discovered.
I'm really happy this book was chosen for the December read, I would not have picked it up on my own, but am extremely glad to have had the opportunity to read it!

[Mahsa]

I absolutely LOVED this book!I finished it in a couple of days and couldn't keep my eyes from it!It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book this much!Like Karen said this wasn't kind of a book I would choose on my own,but well done Group reads!Thanks for such a beautiful story!

[Cristal]

WOW, what an amazing story, I too finished in a few days, it was a harrowing story, but they all went through it with such dignity. I really didn't like the bald man, he was so bitter.
The story certainly made me grateful for the life that I live.

Thank you for picking it as the December group read.

[Megan]

Just finished. While I appreciated the history involved in this book and enjoyed some of the characters, there were a few things of which I was not a fan. I did not particularly care for the narrator; I found her emotional connection a bit stunted. I also really did not appreciate the flashbacks - they detracted from the story. Overall, a decent read. 3.5 stars

[patricia]

I read this book in 2012 or 13. It was an amazing piece of work. The story of what happened to the people who were caught up in this is horrific. So much suffering. The things that were done is humanity at it's worst. It has stuck with me all this time.

[Kara]

Three stars from me, and here is my review:

Between Shades of Gray is the story of Lina, a fifteen year old suddenly ripped from her life in Lithuania, the only life she's ever known, and taken on a terrifying journey to a work camp with her mother and brother. She doesn't know why they're being taken or where her father is.

The story here is amazing and one that needs to be told. I know embarrassingly little about the penal labor camps in Siberia operated by imperial Russia. I don't remember learning about them at ALL in school, but history was never my best subject, so that could've been more my own fault than anything else.

I learned a TON from this book, and this book has inspired me to learn more and find new resources to learn about what happened here.

As far a novel, though, this fell flat for me. I had a tough time empathizing with our narrator Lina because she doesn't show much emotion--maybe she's in shock. The flashbacks were really annoying and probably not the best device to set the stage for the novel.

It reads VERY much like a young adult book.

[Mabelle]

At first I did not think I would like this book. But I found I didn't want to stop reading it. I wanted to find out what happened to these people. I do agree the characters were a little flat. However, the book did make me want to learn more about Stalin and Lithuania.

[Tytti]

Kara wrote: "I know embarrassingly little about the penal labor camps in Siberia operated by imperial Russia. I don't remember learning about them at ALL in school..."

The penal system in the Imperial Russia is a completely different matter. I don't really see why it should be studied in schools, at least in most countries. It wasn't really "lethal" like Stalin's Gulag, more like a normal part of the justice system at the time.

[patricia]

Imperial Russia was gone by the time frame of this book. Stalin was brutal and Russia's leader during WWII. Siberia was a good place to get rid of people and might still be, you escape a Siberian prison in winter and you'd probably die of cold and hunger.