A popular social media quote goes, “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” In Ruta Sepetys’ young adult historical fiction novel Between Shades of Gray, Lithuanian deportees labeled “thieves and prostitutes” during World War II must decide if the anger and fear they have towards the NKVD--the Soviet secret police--will kill them or strengthen their resolve to fight another minute.
Fifteen year old Lina Vilkas is a superb artist; her drawings were supposed to take her to study with famous artists in Europe. But in June of 1941, her family and others were deported from their Kaunas, Lithuania homes and taken by cattle car through Belarus, Russia, Siberia, stopping at labor camps in Altai before crossing the Arctic Circle to Trofimovsk, the North Pole.
During this harrowing journey, the deportees are subjected to cruelty that Sepetys describes without adornment. They also experience kindnesses from one another, usually at the risk of their own lives: giving each other their own rations, stealing from the NKVD. They even celebrate Christmas together. All have a common goal: to go home and be reunited with loved ones.
Between Shades of Gray explores empathy toward our fellow man and the risk to our own lives if we choose love. Ruta Sepetys’ novel is well-written and it made me think about how our society still utilizes fear, anger, and silence.
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