Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - Ashes in the Snow

Wow, what an incredibly powerful and important book! I am so grateful Ruta wrote this, it is so important we do not forget what happened to these amazing people.

The book begins immediately with Lina and her brother and her mother getting taken to start working in a camp.

The story is told rather methodically, “I said this, she did this, this happened then that happened” which I did not think I would like. However, I enjoyed the simplicity and that there weren’t a lot of purple prose or anything, nothing to distract you from the direct words you were reading.

This is Ruta’s first published book and it definitley sounds/reads different than her others that I’ve read. But I still enjoyed it, as much as one can enjoy such a heart breaking book.

I am not a crier but I did cry at the end, it moved and touched me so very deeply.

As Ruta is Lithuanian, this felt like an homage to those who endured in silence for so long. I’m so glad light is being shed on the truth of what so many that suffered in silence went through for so many years...

Quotes:
“Have you ever wondered how much a person’s life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.”

“We’d been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean. I realized that if we boosted one another, maybe we’d get a little closer.”

Content Warnings

calamitywindpetal's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

ashylibrarian's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

"Sure, we are safe. Safe in the arms of hell." (179)

Between Shades of Gray tells the horrific and grueling story of hidden Lithuanian history during World War II (2). Set in 1941 Lithuania, readers follow the Vilkas family who is startled by an aggressive knocking on their door one evening, followed by an invasion of Soviet guards telling them that they have just twenty (20) minutes to pack their belongings and abandon their home. Told from the perspective of fifteen (15)-year-old Lina, readers follow her, her mother Elena, and her brother Jonas as they are shipped like cattle across countries to serve in labor camps across Siberia.

Ruta Sepetys crafts an emotional, rawfully honest, and historically accurate story that gives readers just a glimpse into the hidden history of the Lithuanian genocide that happened in World War II (2) at the hands of Joseph Stalin. This is the third time I have read this story (once from the graphic novel edition which I highly recommend), however, before reading Between Shades of Gray, I was ignorantly unaware of the atrocities that happened across Easter Europe in the Baltic States.

There are a few lines from the beginning of the book that are so full of emotion and honesty about what was happening in these countries - the injustice and confusion, the inconceivability and anger:

"A newborn. The child had been alive only minutes but was already considered a criminal by the Soviets." (21)

"Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch." (27)

Being told from the perspective of a fifteen (15)-year-old really helps this story become relatable to the intended young audience (though just as equally impactful to an older audience, as well). Often times history is told from the perspective of adults, giving only one type of narrative and making it a bit more difficult for young readers to fully comprehend what people have lived through. By using a teenager as the main character, Sepetys is able to share this story and event through the eyes of those who make up about 1.2 billion people in our world population.

I enjoy reading the author's notes and acknowledgments at the end of the book because, to me, it really shows the purpose and power of this book. I commend Sepetys for the research and dedication she puts in each of her hidden history stories and the fact that she takes the time to recognize that the stories are not hers but she is here to share them for those who have not been able to do so themselves. Sepetys takes time to talk with those who have the stories to tell and learns as much as she can about the event while writing. That is what historical fiction is all about.

Content Warnings

maple_dove's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book nearly broke me, but filled in the cracks at the end.

I . . . really don't know what else to say.

I did find one thing wrong with this, and that was the one brief appearance of arophobia.

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