Between Shades of Gray
By: Ruta Sepetys
Summary
My book is about Lina, a 7th Grader from Lithuania, Germany. Her story starts with NKVD's invading her house and taking her captive. They put her and her family in the back of a truck. This is where she meets Miss. Grybas, Mr. Stalas, Ona, Andrius, Andrius's mother, and some more people. When they arrive at their destination they are divided into groups and Jonas, Lina's little brother was almost taken but Lina's mother wouldn't let the NKVD take him so she traded him for a pocket watch. Then they are boarded onto a train, they are on the train for at least one month. One specific day they see a sign on their car that says, "Thieves and Prostitutes". When they arrive at the camp they are taken to a little hut to put their stuff away, this is where they meet Ulyushka the owner of the hut, so they can start to work. Lina and her mother are forced to dig holes in the ground and they are forced to got into the hole and lay down. Then one of the NKVD started to burry them alive.
Theme
I think the theme is never give up. I think the them is that because when Lina was taken she didn't just say oh I'm gonna die anyways so whatever she kept going to live. Another example is when she almost got separated from her brother, she didn't let them take him she tried to get him back. One more example is when her and her mother were buried alive she didn't just stop breathing to get it by faster she kept breathing.
Explanation to History
The way that WWII is connected is that Lina was captured by Joseph Stalin. She was taken to a concentration camp called Camp Makarov. You were forced to work or you would either starve or be killed. If you said no to a NKVD you were killed.
Works Cited
"Between Shades of Gray Paperback – April 3, 2012." Amazon.com: Between Shades of Gray (9780142420591): Ruta Sepetys: Books. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <http://www.amazon.com/Between-Shades-Gray-Ruta-Sepetys/dp/014242059X>.
Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. New York: Philomel, 2011. Print.