Between Shades of Gray: Ruta Sepetys

Lina is a young girl living in Russia.  She hopes to become an artist someday, and is talented beyond compare.  SUddenly, her father goes missing, and she and her family are forced out of their home with less than an hour to pack.  They are taken by the KGB to a train that few people return on.  

To speak out against Stalin paints a target on your back.  As for your family, very few survivors make it out of the camps.  Lina and her mother and brother work to keep alive and to find their father.  They must survive harsh winters with little food, disease, and the abuse of the soldiers.  I recommend this novel to all of my girls in the 6th & 7th grade.  This is an excellent depiction of the Russian side of WWII.  I would only recommend this novel to my girls, because of some mention of issues that only girls would be comfortable with reading.  

Grade Level: 3.6