BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Ruta Sepetys

Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. 2011. New York:  Philomel Books. ISBN 9780399254123

Audio Book: 

Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. Read by Emily Klein. New York: Penguin Audio. ISBN 9780142428979

Ruta Sepetys breaks into young adult literature with a heavy weight contribution of historical significance in Between Shades of Gray.  Set during the Stalin purge of the Baltics 1941, we follow the horrific plight of 15 year old Lina and her family as they are taken from their home in Kaunas, Lithuania and moved to northern Siberia, across the Arctic Circle and ultimately left to survive at Trofimovsk, North Pole.  Thousands of others from Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia were submitted to this cruelty.

For Sepetys, this is a very personal story as she is of Lithuanian decent and has created her novel out of events told to her from her family’s history and subsequent research.  Some of the characters in the story are named after real people that were in her family and by people she met getting her facts.  Her extensive research even led her to arrange to be locked in a Soviet prison.  Consequently, the characters are practically three dimensional with life and breath.  Reading about “living” in freezing conditions in Siberia made me want to wrap up in a warm blanket.  The story feels so real, it reads like nonfiction.

Sepetys used a flashback style to fill in the blanks on what life was like before the loss of freedom.  We see a normal family unsuspecting of the magnitude of cruelty that was about to reign down on them.  Themes of love, survival, friendship, sacrifice, and forgiveness are all represented.  Included as reference are two maps representing the journey into exile by miles and by days and locations.  Both are visuals that add depth to the horror.  Her “Author’s Note” and “Acknowledgements” speak of the process and people who assisted her in her quest.

The audio book is recorded unabridged on seven discs for eight hours of listening.  The story is told in Lina’s voice, and I must confess I was disappointed that the professional voice talent for the audio version had no Russian or Lithuanian accent.  I think an authentic accent would have been a plus as it is in other audio books such as The Book Thief or Life of Pi.  Emily Klein’s voice talent is very clear and articulate, but seems forced at times, like a performance in a high school oratory competition.  Additionally, there are no pauses or sounds to alert when the story shifts to a flashback, so I found it very confusing to listen to without looking at the book. 

One thing I did appreciate about the audio version, however, was the author’s comments at the end about her experience writing her first novel, and her intimate connection to the material.  The story has been buried for decades, and she felt a strong calling to be the voice of the thousands who suffered.   At the very end she is overcome with emotion as she thanks the publishers who took a chance on her to let the story “come out of the dark.”  It is very touching.  You can find a video and extended version of her comments at her website at www.rutasepetys.com.  Horn Book quotes her in its review:  “A haunting chronicle, demonstrating that even in the heart of darkness, ‘love is the most powerful army.’”

I hope this story and the history behind it makes its way into more and more classrooms.  Hitler’s holocaust is widely studied, and this holocaust should be equally known as well.  If we can glean lessons of forgiveness, compassion, abhorrence of greed and cruelty, and the power of love over hate, then perhaps the lives lost will not have been in vain.

Between Shades of Gray deserves its many acknowledged, nominated and selected credentials,
among them being a Best Book of 2011 by School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, iTunes, and the Amazon Top Ten of 2011.  I heartily agree with Booklist:  “An important book that deserves the widest possible readership.”

THE GREEN GLASS SEA by Ellen Klages

Klages, Ellen. The Green Glass Sea. 2006. New York:  Viking. ISBN 0670061344

Ellen Klages captures the Scott O’Dell Award with this poignant story of Dewey Kerrigan, daughter of a scientist working on the secret Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1943-1945.   By age 11 she is displaced physically and emotionally more times than many adults are in a lifetime.   On top of the loss of home and family is the hardship of having a physical infirmity that makes her look different, as well as unusual interests that push her to the outside of her social circle.  When her father has to take a job away from her yet again, she is forced into a family with a girl who loathes her and mistreats her.  She keeps a “stiff upper lip” through it all until a final tragedy leaves her truly alone, but also in a position to feel the acceptance she eventually finds.

This human drama is set against the back drop of the secrecy of the building of the first atomic bomb.  The scientists assembled to work on the project are consumed with making the “gadget” that will end the war.  The juxtaposition of the lack of power that Dewey has to alter her circumstances and the lack of power that the victims of the bomb have, may or may not be intended by the author.

The authenticity of the times are secured in various references to real people of the era such as Dr. Robert Oppenheimer “the head of the whole hill,” and Presidents Roosevelt and Truman.  Other markers of daily life include “Chattanooga Choo Choo” on the radio, the Chemex coffeemaker, the fountain pen, the Studebaker, the “Brylcreem he used to slick back his hair,” as well as rampant smoking of cigarettes, pipes, and cigars.  LIFE Magazine and popular comic books of the times such as Captain America and Billy Batson, also color the day to day landscape.  The style of language is also reminiscent of a former time with the use of expressions such as “swell,” “skedaddle,” and “nifty-keen.” On two occasions, however, the use of the word “lame” sounded too contemporary.  For example, Dewey thinks “the grown-up line…seemed really lame.”

Klages characters are believable and thoroughly developed.  The isolation that Dewey feels is universal to kids of her age even when they don’t have all the precipitating circumstances Dewey had to face.  A particularly telling feeling is expressed when Dewey explains about her foot that is shod in an odd corrective shoe:  “I get tired of having to explain all the time, or pretending that I don’t notice when people are staring.” 

The electronic version of this book had some added features that the library hardback copy did not have.  An interview with Ellen Klages about the novel as well as her acceptance speech for receiving the Scott O’Dell Award was included.  Additionally, a piece by Monika Schroder included several connections that could be used in the classroom including discussion questions, activity suggestions, and a selected bibliography.

With the veterans of WWII becoming fewer every year, it is important to garner as many firsthand memories as possible.  Veterans Day is a good time to invite grandfathers and great-grandfathers still available to share their experiences in WWII.  The themes of secrecy, survival, and changes that the atomic age brought, are just a few of the gems to mine from this book.  Book List notes, “the compelling, unusual setting makes a great tie-in for history classes.”

UNDER THE BLOOD RED SUN by Graham Salisbury

Salisbury, Graham. Under the Blood Red Sun. 1994. New York:  Delacorte Press. ISBN 038532099x

Salisbury’s Hawaiian roots and interest in WWII come together in this Scott O’Dell Award winner about a Japanese-American family during the days surrounding the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  The central character is Tomi Nakaji, an eighth grader who lives with his fisherman father, housekeeper mother, honor-obsessed grandpa, and young sister, Kimi.  Tomi has a best friend named Billy who is haole (white) and loyal throughout the story.  Tomi has to mature quickly when his father and grandfather are arrested after the bombing, his mother is fired from her job, and he faces a bully whom he cannot fight without shaming his family. 

Salisbury is thorough in detailing life on the islands as well as capturing the tension between the races following the bombing.  The hardships, suspicion, prejudice and fear experienced by the Japanese-Americans is believably portrayed.  There was authentic broken English among the immigrant characters who still struggle with a foreign tongue, and several Japanese words used throughout the book also add to the flavor of authenticity.  I found, however, that this hindered the flow of the story for me as I had no background to know how the words should sound, and it was not always clear in the context what the words meant.  I found myself wishing there was a glossary of the foreign words to help with pronunciation and meaning.

Themes of love of country, loyalty, friendship, national and family honor, permeate the story.  Grandpa repeatedly emphasizes “You cannot be a troublemaker and bring shame on this family.” Yet the shame he feels when his own country attacks Pearl Harbor, practically breaks him.  Baseball also plays a prominent role in the story as it brings a measure of normality to the chaos during the healing after the bombing.

Under the Blood Red Sun would be a good launching point for middle schoolers to explore the WWII conflict in the Pacific.  It could be paired with Marissa Moss’s Barbed Wire Baseball, the biography of Kenichi Zenimura who was sent to an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during the war.  He brings baseball to the prison camp as a means of coping with the tragedy of the unjust imprisonment of Japanese-Americans.  It could also be paired with The Green Glass Sea to explore the US solution to ending the war.

Student enthusiasts of the book have posted reviews on Barnes and Noble with glowing accolades such as, “I felt like I was Tomi,” “This is the best book that I ever read!”, and “this book helped me understand the concept of the bombings at Pearl Harbor. Especially since it came from the perspective of a boy my age.”   Kirkus is spot on as it observes, “Salisbury evokes historical time and place effortlessly so that the true message of the story—the value of friendship—shines through.”