Between Shades of Gray

Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. Philomel Books, 2011.

Lina and her family are torn from their home in Lithuania one night and sent to an internment camp in Siberia where they are being punished for unnamed crimes against the Soviet government. Lina and her fellow prisoners must work together to survive in this harsh environment.

This was a very sad and slow read. It's a sad story along the lines of Holocaust stories, and there isn't the same level of action that many teens have come to expect in other novels. But it's a good story, and it's one that needs to be told. Historical fiction doesn't circulate much in my library, but I am making sure to book talk this particular book so that the students will have a better chance of picking it up.

Recommended for: teens, fans of Holocaust literature

Red Flags: lots of violence

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars