Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
The first installment of the 2012 Reading Project for March, Between Shades of Gray takes on a forgotten piece of history. It gives a face and a name to Stalin’s Gulags. Historical fiction gives a toehold into what happened to the Baltic States during World War II. It is Sepetys first novel and it is destined to become a classroom staple. With that being said, I enjoyed the book, but did not find it to be amazingly innovative. The characters didn't seem to grow, their voices stayed the same though out the whole novel. And Sepetys seemed to rely on stale YA genera archetypes. Meaning, if one is condemned to spend 25 years in a gulag having a love interest that is an asshole is a bit over the top. What's the point? The worst has already happened.
I want to be fair to this book. It 95% of the time it is very good. The mistakes made are something that will change once Sepetys grows as author. This novel is a stunning debut. I highly recommend picking it up and reading it.
My next novel for the 2012 Reading Project is The Diary of Anne Frank. I've actually never read it. What? It was never required reading in high school!
The first installment of the 2012 Reading Project for March, Between Shades of Gray takes on a forgotten piece of history. It gives a face and a name to Stalin’s Gulags. Historical fiction gives a toehold into what happened to the Baltic States during World War II. It is Sepetys first novel and it is destined to become a classroom staple. With that being said, I enjoyed the book, but did not find it to be amazingly innovative. The characters didn't seem to grow, their voices stayed the same though out the whole novel. And Sepetys seemed to rely on stale YA genera archetypes. Meaning, if one is condemned to spend 25 years in a gulag having a love interest that is an asshole is a bit over the top. What's the point? The worst has already happened.
I want to be fair to this book. It 95% of the time it is very good. The mistakes made are something that will change once Sepetys grows as author. This novel is a stunning debut. I highly recommend picking it up and reading it.
My next novel for the 2012 Reading Project is The Diary of Anne Frank. I've actually never read it. What? It was never required reading in high school!
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