It is 1941 and 15-year-old Lina is preparing for art school and looking forward to summer. Then suddenly, her life is changed forever. One night, the Soviet secret police invade* her home and forcibly* remove Lina, her mother and brother, transporting them by cattle* trucks from familiar Lithuania* to remote Siberia*. Lina’s father has been separated from the family and sentenced to death in a prison camp. All is lost.

    “Between Shades of Grey” is Ruta Sepetys’ first book. Set in World War II, it follows a Lithuanian family who are taken by the Soviets along with a number of other people who are likely to challenge* the Soviet rule. They are forced to rely on each other to make it through.

    Lina fights for her life fearlessly, vowing that if she survives* she will honor her family, and the thousands like her family, by documenting* their experience in her art and writing.

    She risks everything to use her art as messages, hoping they will make their way to her father’s prison camp to let him know they are still alive.

    It is a long and harrowing* journey, and it is only their strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day. But will love be enough to keep them alive?

    (SD-Agencies)