Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (Graphic Novel)

 

This new graphic novel brings a heartbreaking, gutwrenching novel to a new audience. Lina, a Lithuanian teenager, is abruptly taken by Soviet soldiers from her home along with her mother and brother. The year is 1941 and Stalin's troops are systematically moving people to villages in Siberia where they are forced to do hard labor and given minimal shelter and food. This chronicle of Lina's family's struggles is fictional, but based on real stories from survivors of these atrocities. Lina is an artist and finds ways to use her art to send messages to her father who she believes is imprisoned by the Russians. The captives react in a range of ways--some are generous, some are cruel, some give up, some collude with the enemy. I was deeply affected by the original novel, and this new graphic novel reminded me of how important this story is. Both are highly recommended for grades 7-up. This is definitely a young adult book that adults can and should read.