I’ve been fortunate enough to read two beautiful books in the last few weeks and wanted to share both with you.
Mockingbird — Kathryn Erskine
From Amazon: Caitlin has Asperger’s. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin’s dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn’t know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure- and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all.
Between Shades of Gray – Ruta Sepetys
From Amazon: 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.
Has anyone else read these books? I’d love to know your thoughts.
Hi there!! Both are on my list–I’ve heard great things about them!
I am a big fan of both books… and their authors!
Have you read BREADCRUMBS yet? What about INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN? You might wanna…
Christina, you must!
Irene, I must!
I did read SHADES OF GRAY and really enjoyed it. I haven’t read MOCKINGBIRD, but my brother has Asperger’s, so I’m definitely interested in it.
Thank you for the recommendations!
Caroline- Inside Out and Back Again is the book I mentioned a while back. Told in verse, Vietnam era. Just won National Book Award. I loved it. But then again verse novels ARE my thing.
😉
Amy, I think you’ll really appreciate it.
Augusta, I know. I must get to it!
I read both of these books earlier this year and loved them both. I think SHADES OF GRAY should win the Printz. It’s a little known WWII story that was shocking. THEN two weeks ago I read an adult novel called SARAH’S KEY, which is also about a stunning, very little known story that happened in Paris during WWII. Highly recommend it as well.
Kimberley, I think it should get the Printz, too.
SARAH’S KEY just didn’t do it for me. I think it’s fair for me to say, though, that I usually avoid WWII books at all costs. I vacillate between not wanting to deal with the pain vs. feeling that as a member of the human race it is my duty to know these stories. Can anyone else relate?
That’s interesting, Caroline, because I’ve loved WWII stories since I was a kid and read a lot of them. I guess you weren’t too jazzed about Lois Lowry’s “Number the Stars” then?
As far as Sarah’s Key, I was really shocked to learn about what the French did to thousands of their own citizens under the Nazi regime, a story not widely known, and I think is important to know. The other adult WWII novel I loved recently was The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society. I had no idea German soldiers actually occupied the island of Guernsey right off the coast of England! German was *that* close to taking out the world. Stunning to think about.
Another absolutely riveting children’s book is Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s book HITLER’S YOUTH. To me, it’s a really important book because there are so many political and social and economic aspects that were going on in Germany at the time, played out through the German youth, and which resulted in the Holocaust and the war – and could happen again, under the right circumstances, if we’re not aware of them.
But I can understand that it’s not your thing to read. 🙂
Kimberley, I remember my first WWII book was WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT. It made a huge impact on me. For years I’d thought I’d read NUMBER THE STARS for a school assignment; it was only a few years ago I realized it was another book (I wish I knew the title now. I loved it). Must get to Lowry’s book someday.
The French compliance in SARAH’S KEY did parallel BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY in that it’s a little-told aspect of the war — and something important we should be aware of. I’ll talk to you personally sometime about some of my hang ups about the book. 😉
I will say while I often avoid WWII books, every time I read one I am changed. GUERNSEY is definitely on my list!
Between Shades of Gray was one of my favorite reads this year! I just found your blog. I’m a fellow thinker/writer and look forward to reading May B
Malissa, welcome!