What is the setting of Between Shades of Gray?

In the book Between the Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys gives a very compelling account of the Soviet invasion of the country of Lithuania in 1941.

What time period is Between Shades of Gray set in?

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known.

Where was the first camp in Between Shades of Gray?

Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia.

Is between shades of GREY a true story?

Based on the true stories of Baltic citizens, Between Shades of Gray is a detailed, riveting, and thought-provoking story of the terrors that the Baltic people faced during WWII under Stalin. In 1939, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and annexed them as part of the USSR.

What does NKVD stand for in Between Shades of Gray?

Ruta Sepetys's stunning debut novel begins on June 14, 1941, as the NKVD (the Soviet secret police) pound on the door of the Vilkas family's home.

Between Shades of Gray - Booktalk

Do Lina and Andrius get married?

Though Andrius and Lina are separated after Lina and her family are moved from the first camp, Lina's letter in the epilogue shows that the two survived, reconnected, and eventually married.

Is there a part 2 to Between Shades of Gray?

Although I don't currently have plans for a sequel to "Between Shades of Gray" you never know what will happen in the future. :-) My forthcoming novel, Salt to the Sea, will be published in February and it features one of the characters from "Between Shades of Gray." So it could be considered a companion novel.

How long was Lina imprisoned?

In the epilogue: A man find letters written by Lina in a glass jar that was in a chest. Lina and Jonas survived, they were imprisoned for 12 years. Lina married Andrius.

What happens at the end of the book between shades of gray?

Lina's story ends when she sees sunlight on the horizon, and she knows they have successfully survived the winter despite the best efforts of the NKVD to have them perish. In an epilogue, construction workers in Kaunas in 1995 find letters and drawings Lina has buried in 1954.

What is Luna's last name in between shades of gray?

Lina Vilkas Character Timeline in Between Shades of Gray.

How old is Jonas in between shades of gray?

Jonas, Lina's brother, is ten years old when he is deported. Sweet and caring in his nature, Jonas' purity is exemplified from the start of the novel, when he dresses neatly for school as the NKVD arrive at the home and demand that the family get ready to leave.

Where was Lina sent in Between Shades of Gray?

1941 – Fifteen-year-old Lina Vilkas is arrested by the Soviet secret police and deported to Siberia with her mother and younger brother.

What appeared on Lina's window sill before she left what could it mean?

A fresh loaf of bread. What appeared on her window sill? That if anyone tries to help her she will ignore them. What did Lina's mother make her promise? Clothes, shoes, extra socks, and coats.

Who is Elena vilkas?

Elena Vilkas is Lina's mother, and is still a woman in the prime of her life when she is deported from her home in Lithuania. Though she is a homemaker and relies on Kostas' income from the university to support the family, Elena was sent to Moscow for her schooling and is considered highly educated.

Where is Kostas in Between Shades of Gray?

Kostas is Lina and Jonas' father, and a professor at the local university. Though he is only seen in one episode throughout the novel, Lina often reminisces of good times she had with her father, who was loving and supportive of her artistic talents.

What does Mrs Rimas do when Elena dies?

Jonas and Lina cry over their mother's dead body, while Mrs. Rimas recites a prayer. The other deportees comfort the family, saying everything they loved about Elena. They all promise to bury her body.

Why is the title Between Shades of Gray?

Morality, Integrity, and Sacrifice. Between Shades of Gray takes its title from the complex nuances of morality that Lina, the teenage protagonist and narrator, experiences and must grapple with during her years of imprisonment in the harsh Soviet labor camps of Siberia during World War II.

Who is Andrius in Between Shades of Gray?

Andrius Arvydas: A handsome 17-year-old boy, whom Lina and her family meet on the train to the labour camps. He falls in love with Lina in exile, often sneaks food and supplies to the Vilkas family, and saves them a number of times with his knowledge of the happenings of the NKVD.

Is ashes in the snow true story?

Ashes in the Snow is based on the 2011 novel Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, a Lithuanian-American writer who based it on the true story of Irena Spakauskiene, a 13-year-old Lithuanian girl who was deported from Lithuania to Siberia in 1941.

Why do you think Elena smashed all her favorite china?

Elena smashes all of her fine possessions because she does not want the Soviets to take them and enjoy them, or sell them. She decides to destroy them herself because at least then their loss is her choice, not theirs.

What happens to Lina and Andrius?

(view spoiler) Lina and Andrius both survived. They found one another again when they returned to Lithuania and they got married.

What did Lina draw on that she hoped would be passed along to Papa?

“Do you have a handkerchief I could borrow?” he asked. I nodded and quickly handed him the hankie, neatly folded to conceal my writing… The man patted his brow with the handkerchief before putting it in his pocket. Pass it along, I thought, imagining the hankie traveling hand to hand until it reached Papa.

Who is Ulyushka?

- Ulyushka is described as a small, old Altaian woman. - Speaks russian to Elena. - She initially appears to be greedy and apathetic, and her attitude towards the Vilkas' is somewhat hostile, as she seems to argue against them so that they do not settle in her hut.

What book does Andrius give Lina for her birthday?

On their way home, Andrius meets them, and Elena and Jonas go ahead without her. Andrius wishes her a happy birthday and gives her a book—Dickens' Dombey and Sons, in Russian, to replace The Pickwick Papers he had torn pages from to use as cigarettes. Lina kisses him as a thank you and he is stunned.