A review by eesti23
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

emotional 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? No

5.0

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

"We were thousands of kilometers away from our home, and they were forcing us to march in a direction that was taking us farther and farther from everything we knew."

I received Between Shades of Gray as part of a gift box. Having lived in Estonia just after they re-gained independence from the Soviet Union, the topic immediately interested me. I had heard about the deportations to Siberia, but hadn't realised how similar they were to those happening in other parts of Europe at that time nor exactly how harsh the conditions were. I appreciated the balance of themes in the book, contrasting the horrible with moments of hope and love. I also really liked the ending, however, I wish there had been a bit more explanation from the last main chapter to it.

This book stayed with me quite some time. I thought about it regularly and ended up doing a bit of history research after it because of it.
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