Until one night when soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life theyve known. This discussion guide has been provided by penguin young readers group for classroom, library, and book club use. Between shades of gray by ruta sepetys book trailer. Families can talk about parallels between this story and accounts by holocaust survivors. Fifteenyearold lina, her mother, and her younger brother are dragged from their home and packed into a train car in the opening pages of this harrowing novel that begins in lithuania on june 14, 1941. Buy your books with free shipping worldwide from book depository via. Between shades of gray is a riveting novel that steals your breath, captures your heart, and reveals the miraculous nature of the human spirit. Author the author of between shades of gray is ruta sepetys beginning middle they arrive. Reading between shades of gray reminded me, once again, the importance of reading books. While this book was hard to read, lina is an incredibly strong, likeable heroine and her mother, elena, was the voice of optimism, hope, and kindness. Need help on symbols in ruta sepetyss between shades of gray. In the 1930s and 40s, josef stalins regime killed tens of millions of people, a number so large that the mind tends to shunt it off into the abstract space reserved for statistics. Lina vilkas is fifteen years old in 1941 when a group of russian officers beats on the door of the family home.
Between shades of gray is set during world war ii, and concerns the genocide of the baltic people. Her birthday is on march 22 and she met and fell in love with andrius, whom she marries after the war, while moving from place to place. Between shades of gray by ruta sepetys is a deeply moving, compelling, heartwrenching, and a powerful read which is beautifully written that captured my heart from the very first chapter. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that lina ultimately survives. Between shades of gray chapters 12 through 24 summary. This was definitely another pageturner and extremely hard to put down. The late late show with james corden recommended for you. This book gets a strong 3 for a variety of reasons. The suffering experienced by lina and her companions is shocking and often difficult to read.
For example, what would be different if it were set in world war i or ii. Mixing gray and grey in the same article is a bit much, even if thats what grey does. For christmas lina gave andrius a drawing she made of him, and andrius gave her a book, dickens dombey and son andrius came running into the vilkas hut saying that the n. Between shades of gray is a story about family, suffering, survival, hope, evil, and friendship. Listen to between shades of gray audiobook by ruta sepetys. Litcharts makes it easy to find quotes by chapter, character, and theme. Discussion questions for between shades of gray download pdf themes for book club discussions download pdf. Up next author ruta sepetys talks about the true history behind between shades of gray duration. The main theme of between shades of gray, and the biggest lesson lina must learn, is that even in the face of great suffering, brutality, and hate, love is the better choice. This study guide consists of approximately 32 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of between shades of gray. Between shades of gray discussion questions between. In 1941, fifteenyearold lina is preparing for art school, first dates, and all that summer has to offer. Official book website for between shades of gray by ruta. The train eventually arrives at the vilnius, lithuania station, which reminds lina of when her teacher invited her to apply for a prestigious art program, a summer study program with some of the most talented artists in northern europe 79.
Book talk between shades of gray the nameless book blog. Opinion videos cartoons sport soccer nfl tennis mlb mls nba. D were coming for her, they wanted her to paint a portrait of the commander. Richard peck, newbery awardwinning author of a year down yonder between shades of gray is a story of astonishing force. Lina is just like any other fifteenyearold lithuanian girl in 1941. Before reading this book, i was unaware of the mass deportations carried out in lithuania by.
Click here to visit our frequently asked questions about html5. In june of 1941, fifteenyearold lina vilkas is arrested by the soviet secret police, the nkvd, from her home in kaunas, lithuania. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes. The first reason is, the kids found there dad on a train that was going to siberia. Everything you need to know about between shades of gray. Children, at a certain age, ought to begin learning about the ghastly events that. She was taken, by the nkvd, from her house with her mother and brother and placed into exile. Between shades of gray restarting september 28th 2018. In my opinion, this wouldnt be the book for younger children, because it has a some abusing in it. Fifteenyearold lina, her mother, and her younger brother are dragged from their.
Between shades of gray 2011 read online free books. Ruta sepetys goodreads author topics about this book topics that mention this book. Ruta sepetys discusses her novel, between shades of gray. Between shades of gray, a new york times best seller, is the debut novel of american novelist ruta sepetys. The story takes place in chromatacia, an alternate version of the united kingdom wherein social class is determined by ones ability to perceive colour. A moving and haunting novel perfect for readers of the book thief. She is arrested alongside her mother, elena, and tenyearold brother jonas. Between shades of gray study guide from litcharts the.
But one night, the soviet secret police barge violently into her home, deporting her along with her mother and younger brother. Her mother answers and the officers rush in, placing the family under arrest but without any information why they are being targeted. When elena smashes her crystals before leaving jonas is in shock. Her novels between shades of gray, out of the easy, and salt to the sea have won or been shortlisted for more than forty book prizes, and are included on more than sixty state award lists.
The road to high saffron 2012, simply titled shades of grey originally is a dystopian novel, the first in the shades of grey series by novelist jasper fforde. Autoplay when autoplay is enabled, a suggested video will automatically play next. Interview with ruta sepetys between shades of grey. Book talk on between shades of gray by ruta sepetys youtube. This book follows the life of lenas family and other families when they were hauled away by the soviet secret police. Between shades of gray book report timeline created by sarahjohnson1. Ruta seems like a cool person and very easy to talk to. We assign a color and icon like this one to each theme, making it easy to track which themes apply to each quote below. There is no real resolution or end to the story it just stops without allowing the reader to gain any sense of where the main character or anyone else is at the end. The argument that using grey instead of gray is not a change in english variant is weak at best. Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important.
But between shades of gray is also a profoundly moving and inspiring book, as lina discovers first her own capacity for courage, then her ability to use art to overcome challenges, and finally her desire for both love and survival. Whats the story set during wwii, 16yearold lina, her mother, and her younger brother are deported to a forcedlabor camp in siberia, where conditions are all too painfully similar to those of nazi concentration camps. Theres a great deal of misery in between shades of gray and other stories of government oppression, such as the holocaust. Author ruta sepetys talks about the true history behind. My thoughts and opinions on between shades of gray 45 stars. Between shades of gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart. Author ruta sepetys talks about the true history behind between. Listen to between shades of gray by ruta sepetys at. One thing i didnt like about the book was, that lots of people died. Born and raised in michigan, ruta sepetys is the daughter of a lithuanian refugee. Ruta sepetyss between shades of gray is now the film ashes in the snow. Their educational value cannot be underestimated whether its fiction or nonfiction. Between shades of gray, ruta sepetys 9780399254123 youtube.
Buy a cheap copy of between shades of gray book by ruta sepetys. Sepetys is very deliberate in her framing of love as a choice one makes. In 1940, the ussr the soviet union annexed the baltic countries of estonia, latvia, and lithuania, and systematically deported citizens deemed enemies of the state. It is not just that she wants us to understand that love can conquer hate in many small ways. How do you feel after reading these stories anxious. Critically acclaimed, international and new york times bestseller. A moving and haunting novel for readers of the book thieffifteenyearold lina is a lithuanian girl living an ordinary lifeuntil soviet officers invade her home. It follows the stalinist repressions of the mid20th century and follows the life of lina as she is deported from her native lithuania with her mother and younger brother, and the journey they take to a labor camp in lithuania. Main characters the main characters are lina, a 15 year old lithuanian, linas younger brother, jonas, elena vilkas, there mom, nikolia kretsey, a russian gaurd, and andrius, linas friend. The washington post from new york times and international bestseller and carnegie medal winner ruta sepetys, author of salt to the sea, comes a. Check out between shades of gray at the book depository. Shes the author of between shades of grey schaduwliefde, a book about lina, a lithuanian girl who. Arvydas brings a bottle of vodka and chocolate they sing carols and talk about their family memories. Theres no shortage of books for young readers about nazism and the holocaustand thats as it should be.
Why is the story of the baltics so much less familiar to people in the west. A lot of people probably bypassed this book due to the fact it coincidentally sounds very similar to 50 shades of grey, a notorious adultsonly book. A tiny sliver of gold appeared between shades of gray on the horizon. Between shades of gray was adapted into the film ashes in the snow, and her other novels are currently in development for tv and film. I feel grateful for a writer like ruta sepetys who bravely tells the hard story of what happens to the innocent when world leaders and their minions choose hate and. The nations of lithuania, latvia, and estonia disappeared from maps in 1941 and did not reappear until 1990. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. On may 12, 2015, ruta sepetys visited nashville public library to discuss her book, between shades of gray, to close out nashville reads 2015. Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats available.
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