Between Shades of Gray

Ruta Sepetys' latest book is one of the better historical fiction novels I have read in a long time. The book's main character, Lina, a fifteen-year-old girl, and her family are rounded up, arrested, and deported from Lithuania by the invading Soviet Union army during World War II. Most people know about the atrocities and concentration camps in Germany during World War II, but many do not know that Stalin had similar programs in the countries he invaded. Lina's father is a university professor and seen as a threat to the new Soviet regime. He is immediately separated from the rest of the family. Lina, her mother, and her little brother are shipped off to Siberia and expected to do hard labor in order to survive. It is a moving book about the lengths people will go to survive and protect those they love. Try this book!