Between Shades of Gray

Sepetys, R. (2011). Between shades of gray. New York: Philomel. The good life becomes quite bleak for fifteen-year-old Lina, her brother Jonas, and their mother after Soviet secret police give them twenty minutes to pack in preparation for leaving their Lithuanian home in 1941. While Adolph Hitler was rounding up Jews across Europe, the minions of Josef Stalin effectively erased Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia from the maps by deporting many of its citizens to labor camps in Siberia. He wanted their land for his own citizens. The author details the family's journey eloquently, providing enough description that readers can feel the nervousness, fear, and anxiety that fill their days as they travel through unfamiliar territory. She also descibes the hunger pangs that assail the stomachs of the prisoners, who travel across Europe in railcars labeled "thieves and prostitutes." As the men, women, and children are transported to their final destination, they watch as others around them sicken and die. If the journey itself was difficult, what faces them in the labor camps is even worse.

As often happens during times of crisis, some rise to the occasion and behave heroically while others become selfish and untrustworthy. The author does not judge those who make choices that others disdain, reminding readers that it is impossible to know how one would behave when faced with difficult choices or the survival of oneself or one's loved ones. She also surprises readers by revealing that even those who might seem the most grasping have hearts filled with at least a drop or two of compassion. Lina's family members are portrayed vividly, and even her missing father lives on in her memories of happier times. Even secondary characters come to life on the book's pages with subtle passages describing the way the camp commander rolls a toothpick across his tongue or the constant scratching and searching for lice, even on the prisoners' eyelashes. Details such as the fact that the Soviet secret police came for Lina's family while she was wearing a nightgown and that her brother's life was bargained in exchange for a pocket watch add poignancy and immediacy to the story. Her use of italicized flashbacks to the times in Lina's life when she dreamed of her first kiss and going to art school are interspersed with Lina's reduced circumstances and motivate her to survive.

Lina is lucky in some respects. A gifted artist inspired by the work of Edward Munch, she draws illustrations on a handkerchief, tree bark, on the ground, and writes to keep a record of the treatment of the prisoners. She vows that their stories, their experiences, and their lives will not be forgotten. She also finds love in an unlikely place, and relies on a talisman for inspiration.

This story of determination and bravery and the will to endure under the harshest of conditions is unforgettable. Although some of the author's family escaped from Lithuania before the deportation, others did not. The story feels very personal and sheds light on another aspect of World War II about which little is known. Although I knew a little bit about the gulags of more modern times, I knew nothing about this particular chapter in history. By juxtaposing unspeakable cruelty against inspiring acts of hope, the author provides clear evidence of the resilience of humans and a memorable heroine in Lina.

Favorite Line: "Mother's absence left a gaping hole, a mouth missing its front tooth. The eternal grayness in camp became a shade darker. Amidst the polar night, our only sun had slipped under a cloud" (p. 330).