Between Shades of Gray
Ruta Sepetys
Summary
Between Shades of Gray follows the journey of fifteen year old Lina and her family when they are taken from their Lithuanian home and transported to Siberia. Where the women are forced to work digging potatoes in fields and the men are to work cutting trees. Little does Lina know that her father whom is not with the rest of the family. Will be sentenced to death.
Theme
What Is The Theme
My reasons for the theme of don't take life for granted is because of three reasons. One, in the book it tells you that the family got so little food. Many people now these days think that food isn't a big deal and they waste their food.
Reason 2
Two, the book states that they had to sleep on stacks of hay or just the hard wood floors. People in this century think "eh a bed is just a bed." Those people don't know that others didn't always have comfy beds to sleep on.
Reason 3
Lastly, the book tells you that they weren't very respected as people. They we're beat or yelled at if they did something wrong. Small children were forced to work even though they couldn't do some of the jobs. People do realize that was a problem but, now kids just be lazy and not help with anything. They are to busy playing electronics. They aren't being thankful. When kids during World War II would probably do anything to get the freedom the kids have now.
Ruta Sepetys
Ruta was inspired to write the book because of her father whom escaped from Lithuania as a young boy. Ruta had went on a trip to vist her father's cousin. She had asked if they had any pictures of her grandfather. They had said that they burned them all, because they had thought he was dead for nearly a decade. Ruta had took two trips to Lithuania for her research. She interviewd family members, survivors, historians, and government officials. She spent time in a train car that was actually used for transporting Lithuanians and Jewish citizens. She also was locked in a former Soviet Union prison just to figure out herself that she wouldn't have survived.