Between Shades of Gray

One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away. They are being deported to Siberia. An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun. Lina doesn’t know if she’ll ever see her father or her friends again. But she refuses to give up hope.

“The New York Times” bestseller “Between Shades of Gray” by Ruta Sepetys is a harrowing story of a Lithuanian family who suffer unimaginable hardship and deportation during World War II, pitched perfectly for children and adults alike. That morning, my brother’s life was worth a pocket watch…One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away. They are being deported to Siberia. An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun. Lina doesn’t know if she’ll ever see her father or her friends again. But she refuses to give up hope. Lina hopes for her family. For her country. For her future. For love – first love, with the boy she barely knows but knows she does not want to lose…Will hope keep Lina alive? Set in 1941, “Between Shades of Gray” is an extraordinary and haunting story based on first-hand family accounts and memories from survivors. “This superlative first novel by Ruta Sepetys demonstrates the strength of its unembellished language. A hefty emotional punch”. (“New York Times”). “Her prose is restrained and powerful, as unadorned as the landscape in which her characters struggle to survive…Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both”. (“The Washington Post”). Born and raised in Michigan, Ruta Sepetys is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. Ruta lives with her family in Tennessee. “Between Shades of Grey” is her first novel.