Reviews

4.5 stars.

This book gave me a new perspective on the suffering of some of the lesser-known European countries. The genocides of Lithuanians, Latvians, Finnish, and more during World War II is so unknown. I’ve never heard of it before, and it’s horrifying. This book was so upsetting. These kinds of injustices are just unimaginable and it’s horrible that tens of millions of people have never gotten justice, and have never even had anyone tell their stories. I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time.

eesh25's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 Stars

Between Shades of Gray is the book that might make more open to reading historical fiction. I've always found history to be horrifically boring but this book taught me that it doesn't always have to be.

It tells the story of a fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl, Lina. During the second world war, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (and other countries) were invaded by Russia. A large population of these countries' people were deported and sent to labour camps, forced to live in abhorrent conditions. Lina and her family were also deported, and this book tells their story.

It's quite a horrifying tale. Ruta Sepetys used a simple writing style that had a wonderful, easy flow to it and that focused more on the events and less on the gruesome details. But that doesn't stop you from being appalled, and very confused (though that may just be me), by the inhumanity of humans. This is not a novel that's difficult to read, you don't find yourself getting choked up, but it does leave you thinking, wondering, how and why people can be so monsterous to each other.

I really liked this book. It was a short and easy, yet thought-provoking, read. I loved the way the author chose to tell the tale. I also loved the author's note at the end. If you read this book, please read that note. It gives insight into the significance of the events and characters featured. It gives the book a lot more weight.

Overall, this was great read and told a story that's not very well-known. I would have liked to be a little more invested in the characters, emotionally; I mean, I cared about the events, and people, as a whole, but not individually. And thought that didn't take much away from my reading experience, I still thought it was something worth mentioning.

I highly recommend reading this book or at least looking up the history of Lithuania during the second world war. More people need to know about what many survived.

qkitten's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

rifmelody's review against another edition

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3.5

Dit boek is iets te YA voor me denk ik. De eenvoudigheid waarmee het is geschreven zorgt ervoor dat ik nooit helemaal in het verhaal wordt geslepen. Plus, de kennis die ze al lijken te hebben over de oorlog om dingen te kunnen duiden in het boek ervaar ik als vervelend. Iemand weet opeens over het Molotov-Ribbentrop pact; dat pact werd pas aan het einde van de koude oorlog bekend. Ik snap waarom het nodig is en toch voelt het te simpel.

Hiervoor heb ik schaduwen over de Toendra gelezen en het is duidelijk dat dit boek daar veel inspiratie vandaan haalt. Geen enkel probleem, het is een van de spaarzame ooggetuigenverslagen die er zijn. Wel enorm schrijnend.

Hoe dan ook, het is een belangrijk boek want dit deel van de geschiedenis is te makkelijk vergeten. De sovjet-unie van destijds heeft heel goed z'n best gedaan alles in de doofpot te stoppen en is daar aardig in geslaagd. Gelukkig laten de strijdbare nazaten van gedeporteerden het niet zomaar wegstoppen en daar komen dit soort boeken uit voort.

De continue angst en onzekerheid zijn goed te voelen via Lina's tekeningen. Verder is het heel fijn dat er morally grey karakters in zitten, Kretzsky als grootste voorbeeld, maar ook meneer Stalas. Daardoor weerhoudt dit boek zich ervan om de zaken te zwart-wit voor te stellen en dat is heel goed.

Al met al een goed geschreven boek met belangrijke waarde, waarbij het duidelijk is dat ik niet meer de beoogde doelgroep ben.

darcihanson's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

icecreammonster21's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

karrama's review against another edition

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5.0

Hard and necessary, this historical novel has you in the harsh reality of the Russian take over of Latvia. I did not imagine I would want to read this book, but when I started, I could not stop. Lina is taken from her home and carried to aSiberian work camp with all the inhuman horror that invading armies can bring. This book is a clear view into a murky point in history.

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