English 325 - Anna Luck

Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys Post 1 01/25/18 7:50pm The YA novel, Between Shades of Gray  by Ruta Sepetys was a work of historical fiction, yet I found myself constantly having to remind myself of that fact. The characters were created by the author. The experiences the characters had in the story were obviously based on historical research. It was truly an amazing read. I found myself hooked. I read the entire book in two days. It was fast-paced, and I found myself caring about the characters, which is truly important for a YA novel. It explored many themes. The most prevalent theme was hope. We see hope shown in Lina's mother, Elena. Throughout the story, until her death, she is full of hope that she and her family will get out. She believes they will be able to go home. She assures Jonas and Lida of this every occasion she gets.When Elena dies, Lina seems to take on the task of being hopeful. Everyone around her is dying, and she worries about surviving ...