Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.

This is considered a teen book because the story is told from the point of view of a teenager. However many adults would find this a tough read because it deals with some horrific circumstances. Although the story is fiction it is clearly based on the experiences of thousands of Lithuanians who suffered under Stalin's iron-fisted rule of the Soviet Union. It is a harrowing read but Lina's courage shines through and it is a gripping story. A 5/5 star read and a book recommended by the Wrappers. 

Reviewed by Carolyn