Between Shades of Gray is an emotional debut about Lithuanians being displaced to Siberian work camps during World War II under Stalin's regime. I learnt about this briefly when I took history in high school but never studied it extensively. It is sad to hear that even after survivors made it home to Lithuania, they were never able to speak of their experiences as they would have been persecuted for it once again. 
 In Between Shades of Gray, Lina is a 15-year-old living in Lithuania in 1941 when the Soviet secret police barge into her home and drag her and her family off to work camps. While the novel is undeniably emotional, and at times, depressing; I didn't feel connected to her as a reader. She doesn't really have an arc to her story, and while her character does develop through the course of the war such as falling in love, she's essentially an empty vessel. She's more of a recorder of events, through her paintings. Her mother, however, was a woman of great strength, perseverance and courage. I admired her greatly. 
 As the title says it, this story is about the ambiguity of human nature. People aren't who they may seem to be. The good guys end up as men who did horrible acts, while the bad guys may surprise you after all. 
 The ending is sort of left open-ended but I suppose it works best that way. It was a little too abrupt for my liking; it felt like something was missing. 
 Ruta Sepetys is an excellent writer and she chose a deeply personal topic as her debut. Indeed, it is a novel of extreme suffering but it has hope and courage. I definitely recommend this book with tissues in hand.