Waiting on Wednesday: Between Shades of Gray

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme held by Jill at Breaking the Spine to feature upcoming books that we can't wait to get our hands on. 

Title: Between Shades of Gray 
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Publisher: Philomel Books
Date of Release: March 22, 2011

Goodreads Description: 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. 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. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions. Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously - and at great risk - documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

Why am I waiting? History was always one of my favourite subjects growing up. But although I've read quite a few books about the plight of Jews under Nazi Germany, I actually don't know much about what happened to the people whose countries were invaded by the Soviets under Stalin's regime. So, I'm looking forward to becoming more knowledgeable about these victims and reading about their perseverance.