Analysis Of Between Shades Of Gray By Ruta Sepetys

In the novel Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys, A girl named Lina, her brother Jonas, and her mother Elena are snatched from their home in Lithuania in the middle of the night. They are sold and transferred to an Altai Labor camp in Siberia and later to Trofimovsk, North Pole without Lina’s father. Along the way Lina Tries to find her father via disguised drawings. During the story Lina discovers that love is the most critical component in persevering through a crisis. In the story, Lina meets a boy named Andrius, whose friendship keeps her sane. Later on, Lina falls for him, and when times got real tough the thought of Andrius pushed Lina to stay alive. Not only did Andrius have an Impact on Lina, so did her parents. They pushed her to survive the cruel Soviet Secret Service. Without the help of Andrius and Lina’s parents Lina would not have survived.

Early on in the story, Lina and Andrius started off on a rocky note. But over

The mutual love connecting them helps Lina remain optimistic to overcome challenges that are presented. One night in the Altai labor camp when Lina, Jonas, and Elena were huddled together, Lina had a flashback. Ruta writes “Papa beamed. ‘You my dear, are blessed with a gift,’ He said taking my hands. ‘There are great things in store for you for you Lina.’” (119). Lina definitely misses her father. This shows the love he has for her. These flashbacks helped Lina believe she would see her father again. Additionally, Lina also really admired her mother. Just after Elena dies Lina thought, “It described mother perfectly. Her cup overflowed with love for everyone and everything around her, even her enemy” (316). Lina was obviously devastated that her mother passed away. This short little quote shows how much Lina loved her mother. She learned from the kindest. Without the shared love between Lina and her parents she wouldn’t be as responsible and dedicated to trying to