During my Student Teaching, the inevitable happened, I ran out of time to write in my blog. I took time to write to my students in their blogs, but for me, myself, I stopped writing. Well, now that I have way to much time on my hands, I guess I need to refocus my efforts on my reading and writing. So with that said, I returned to reading. This time, I am not reading off the Truman Nominee list, which I will return to in the near future, but to a book I found at the school book fair.
My latest read - Between Shades of Grey. For my adult readers, yes I did say Shades of Grey, but it is not what you are thinking. For my students, especially those who love history, I think I have found a book for you.
Between Shades of Grey is a fictionalized book about a young girl from Lithuania circa the year 1941. What makes this girl and her family different from any other is that during that time Russians were taking citizens from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and imprisoning them in Russian work camps in Siberia for "crimes" against the Russian government. Our heroine, Lina, is a 15-year old inspiring artist, whose family is arrested and transported with many other families by train to a work camp deep in the reaches of Siberia. When her mother refuses to help the Russia troops holding them prisoner, their family is denied any assistance other than the most meager of rations of bread.
Lina teaches us what it takes to survive in the worst of situations and what it means to believe in hope. For many of my students, I could see how this story could teach us to see beyond our own current situation. For me, it taught me about another cold reality of World War II. I had learned of the millions who had died in German concentration camps, but I had never heard about the camps that Stalin had built to house those who were considered "anti-Soviet."
To learn more about this book and the author, please visit the official website at: http://www.betweenshadesofgray.com/
"Between Shades of Gray." Official Book Website for by Ruta Sepetys. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. <http://www.betweenshadesofgray.com/>.
Septetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Grey. New York: Penguin Group, 2011. Print.
