Between Shades of Gray

Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. 2011. 344p. ISBN 0-399-25412-9. Available at FIC SEP on the library shelves.

It is 1941, and Lithuania has just fallen into the Soviet sphere. When Eastern Europe was divided between Hitler and Stalin, the Russian dictator acquired all of the Baltic Republics and quickly invaded them. Now Communist rule has been imposed, and enemies of the State are disappearing.

Lina is an average teenager. At fifteen, she loves to draw and paint, and she has enough talent that a long career as an artist awaits her. Except that her father works at the University, and he is both educated and middle-class, two things that the Soviets hate. In the middle of one night, Soviet NKVD officers barge into their house and order Lina, her brother and her mother to pack up their things and be ready in 20 minutes. Her father has already disappeared a few days ago, and Lina is worried about what happened to him.

Put into cattle trains, they leave Lithuania under cramped and dangerous conditions and make their way east, to Siberia. With Hitler violating the pact he made with Stalin and the Germans attacking the Soviet Union, the country finds itself at war and yet is able to spare resources to insure that its enemies remain imprisoned. Lina and her family spend a winter at a makeshift camp. Through it all, Lina hangs to her art and draws information on handkerchiefs, hoping that they will eventually get to her father.

Refusing to sign a confession, they are soon transferred to another camp, this time north of the Arctic Circle. Facing horrible conditions, Lina is forced to decide how far she is willing to go to survive.