Wow. . .I just finished reading "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys. What an incredible book.
As a high school teacher, I like to read some young adult fiction to stay up-to-date on what my students are reading and to have another conversation tool. I saw a couple of students reading this book last month and decided I should try it out. I am so glad I did! Not only was this book a great piece of fiction, it also taught me a lot about what happened in Lithuania during World War II. The Soviet Union rounded up millions of people and either murdered them, sold them as slaves, or sent them to work camps. This happened for over 15 years! Once the Lithuanians were released (in the mid-1950s), they were not allowed to speak of what happened to them for fear that the KGB would imprison them. It was not until 1991 that Lithuanian was once again their own country and out of the control of the Soviet Union.
I would highly recommend this novel for both teenage readers and adults. It was very well written and brought to light an issue that many are not aware of.
