You might think you heard a lot about this sexy, kinky book but chances are you haven’t. This is not the erotic novel by British author E. L. James but rather a young adult novel about mass suffering under communist regimes written by American novelist Ruta Sepetys.

Between Shades Of Gray is the story of a 15-year-old Lina and her struggle to survive. Lina – a Lithuanian girl who lived the newly communist Lithuania during WWII is forcibly taken to forced labor camps in Siberia. One night Lina, her mother and brother are separated from her father, forced onto cattle cars and shipped of to Siberia. She, a talented artist, documents her experiences with vivid drawings.

This book is absolutely brilliant, Especially considering that this is the first novel written by Ruta Sepetys. As a young adult novel, this book also has a little love story. Lina falls for a young man named Andrius, she meets him on of the cattle cars. But this is not at the heart of the story. Lina is the narrator of the book and her emotions are conveyed in a frighteningly realistic way. Not to cry after reading this book is unimaginable. Her flashbacks to her time with her cousin only make the tale more heartbreaking. This book will make you cry ( you would have to be heartless not to) and feel the pain these people suffered, whilst seeing Lina’s life change dramatically.

However, there is one small issue within the book. In the first few pages the narrative can be a little confusing, but this problem quickly disappears.

Final rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars