Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Reviewed by Keri

Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Language: a hand full of common swear words, uses of the name of Deity, the male “B” word used towards cruel soldiers. Soldiers are constantly belittling the prisoners, often calling them pigs.

Violence: Due to the setting, there are many instances of man’s inhumanity to man. Soldiers disrespect for people shown by hitting them. A man jumps from a moving truck, trying to kill himself. He breaks his leg and is thrown back on the truck. A woman is shot in the head because she was vocally grieving. Soldiers pin a man onto the side of a shed after shooting him; birds pick at the wound and eye sockets. A man asks a young boy to pinch his nose shut and hold a hand over his mouth. A man’s front teeth are pulled out for stealing and eating a beet. A starving mother tries to strangle her daughter and then herself. A fellow prisoner hangs himself.

Sexual Content: Women and men are told to undress and stand in line to take a bath. A soldier is eyeing the more voluptuous women. A soldier grabs Lina’s breast as she waits in line. Soldiers tell a mother that she must sleep with them or they will kill her son. A man asks Lina if the soldiers have been between her and her mother’s legs yet. Lina is attracted to a fellow prisoner, they hold hands, kiss and enjoy standing next to each other. He runs his nose down her cheek.

Adult Content: People thought to be against Stalen are taken from their homes and transported to prisons and work camps. These people are sorely mistreated. A woman, who has just given birth, is thrown into the truck along with her baby. They are shipped in cattle cars with no windows or bathrooms and very little food and water. Disease is rampant in the poor living conditions. Soldiers try to get prisoners to translate and gather secrets from one another in exchange for more privileges.

Synopsis

Lina and her family live in Lithuania during Stalen’s attempt to incorporate the area into Russia. Her father is a professor at the university and does not agree with Stalen’s ideals. One night when her father is gone, soldiers invade their home and take Lina, her mother and brother and load them onto a truck. They are transported by cattle car in very poor conditions to a work camp far from home. Lina and her family must overcome the despair that surrounds them and figure out how to survive with little food while doing heavy labor. Lina’s mother is able to find the good in others and keeps the group together by building unity and friendships, even with the enemy. Unexpectedly, Lina and her family are forced to leave the camp and move to upper Siberia. Winter is almost upon them and they have no food or shelter. Their guards laugh at them and leave them to fend for themselves while they enjoy food and shelter a short distance away. After her mother dies, Lina must dig deep within herself to find the strength and courage to maintain her honor and survive.

I must have fallen asleep in history class because I do not remember this part of history. We always hear of the horrific acts of Hitler during WWII, but Stalen was right next door doing the same inhuman, horrific things. At the end of the book the author leaves a note “In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. –Albert Camus”. I think this summarizes this powerful book beautifully. Even in our darkest hours, we find the greatest qualities within us. I was deeply touched by this book. Although the suffering and torture were not given in overly gruesome detail, I would not recommend it to sensitive or young readers.