Between Shades of Gray

**Spoiler Alert

Between Shades of Gray is an inspiring and heartbreaking story from the perspective of a 15 year old girl named Lina based when Stalin was in rule and evacuated Lithuania. You follow Lina throughout the gut-wrenching story of torture, endurance, and even a little bit of romance. I highly recommend this book to anybody looking for an interesting, roller-coaster of a read.
The story stars out when Lina and her family were sitting in their house, waiting for Father to get home and they hear a pounding on the door. The NKVD were at the door to take them out of their house and evacuate Lithuania. They put them in the back of a truck as they picked up more people along the way to the train station. There were hundreds of carts connected together, forming a gigantic train holding millions of people, squished against each other in each cart. Lina looked at her mother and brother and knew that from then on nothing would ever be the same. They were stuck in their cart for weeks, months even. They grew close to everyone who was in the cart around them, even the bald man who complained about everything and was convinced they were all going to die. Lina, the main character in this story, loves to draw and she is amazing at it. She learns that if she draws everything she sees on a handkerchief and passes it along, it could possibly get to her father and only he would know her signature. Just after they get off the carts, she begins to pass the handkerchief along. Every cart was emptied and the people grouped within them were sold, except for Lina's train car. They were hurried to a truck and brought to a bath house and then to a village. They worked endlessly during the day and got a small piece of bread each day for their work. They worked there for months and months and then they are brought to a new village. This story has components of love, heartbreak, hardship, determination, family, and humor embedded into it. This is definitely a must read.
Picture Citation: https://sarahspring2016.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/between-shades-of-gray/