Between Shades of Gray

I wish I could give this more stars. What a powerful and terrifying book. Terrifying because it was real. Terrifying because stuff like this is still happening around the world to some point. It shows how evil and bad mankind was in the course of history and still is today. But it also never stops to show the different side. Love and care within people, even in the darkest of all hours. An important story.

*Audiobook Review

Appears I'm in the minority here. Let me start off with this: World war II was brutal, and this book covers a very important topic. It is a solemn reminder that non-jews were also affected and persecuted. In this case, it focuses on the Lithuanian people.

So why two stars?
- Audiobook narration. Oh god... where do I start? It was like Barbie narrating the holocaust. There was too much bubbly personality shining through. It was great for the flashback scenes, but completely took me out of their suffering. Made it sound like they were at a summer camp.
- Cliche love interest, hold heroine, artistic, misunderstood enemy, etc. Honestly, felt like the publisher made her include these to qualify as a YA novel. I enjoyed the non YA cliche moments.
- Ridiculous main character. She was outspoken, made brash decisions, stole, fought back. Maybe some real prisoners where like that, but I expect she'd have been shot the first time she spoke out.
- unrealistic. A man with a broken leg survives, while women are murdered for sobbing. Yes, it's eventually explained, but it was far fetched.

Was there any good?
Yes!
- suffering. There were some incredibly heartbreaking scenes. They reminded me of classics like Schindler's List, and The Pianist. I thought they were very strong images that young readers should be more aware of.
- theme/plot/story. The story was strong. I didn't know about the Lithuanian tragedy before this book. I applaud it for brining attention to their suffering.


Overall, The topic was incredibly important, but the YA stereotypes cheapened the story. The audiobook narration was way too bubbly and ruined the book. I know I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it in regular book format.

I don't think I will ever find a book Ruta Sepetys has written that I don't adore. Her books have set my expectations for all historical fiction astronomically high that I'm at the point where I'm okay if she's the only historical fiction author I ever read again.

Lina and her family are forcibly removed from their home in Lithuania by the Soviets in the midst of World War II. They are deported to Siberia along with several other families. Lina holds out hope that her father will come to rescue them and even attempts to get coded messages to him. With her drawing talents, she also creates secret documentation of the cruelties she and her fellow deportees are forced to endure.

I think I say this every time I read one of Ruta Sepetys' books, but I absolutely love that the story follows a part of World War II history that is not as well known as others. I consider myself fairly well-studied in this time period and I knew nothing of the atrocities discussed in the book. On top of that, the characters are so marvelously fleshed out, flaws and strengths and all. They felt as authentic as their situations, which can be difficult to find, especially in this genre.

It's safe to say I am head over heels in love with these plots and the writing. I'm curious to see the movie (retitled Ashes in the Snow) but I know it will shatter my heart. I can bear a lot more of this kind of content in books than I can on screen. Honestly though, it might be worth it if it remains true to the book.