Between Shades of Gray

Book 34 of my 2016 Reading Challenge
read from April 01 - 10

Between Shades of Gray by Rita Sepetys

Summary (via the book jacket)
Lithuania, June 1941: Fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school and looking forward to summer. In the dark of night there is a knock at the door and life is forever changed. Soviet secret police arrest Lina, her mother, and her younger brother, tearing their family apart. The three are hauled from their home and thrown into cattle cars, where they soon discover their destination: Siberia. Separated from her father, Lina embeds clues in her drawings and secretly passes them along, hoping they will reach her father's prison camp. In this dramatic and moving story, Lina desperately fights for her life and the lives of those around her. But will love be enough to keep her alive?

My Opinion
I always have the same feelings as I start a book about WWII.  I want to honor those lost by reading their stories and the human spirit and compassion that remained even through the most unimaginable times fascinates me but at the same time, I'm never quite sure I'll be able to handle it.

This book was about something I didn't know about.  It really didn't feature Germany at all but was about the travel Lithuanians were forced to make to Siberia.  It just shows that no matter how much I read about this time period, there is always a new perspective to consider.

I love the author's lyrical writing style and look forward to reading more of her books.

A Few Quotes from the Book
"Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch."

"I shut the bathroom door and caught sight of my face in the mirror. I had no idea how quickly it was to change, to fade. If I had, I would have stared at my reflection, memorizing it. It was the last time I would look into a real mirror for more than a decade."

"Hope, like oxygen, kept her moving."