The amazing Library of Congress

I'm so thrilled to announce the winners to Ruta Sepetys' brilliant and heartbreaking Young Adult novel, Between Shades of Gray. This story provides insight into a piece of history that sadly, seems to be one that is rarely ever discussed. You can read my review of the book by clicking here, and read my interview with the author by clicking here.

Congratulations go out to the following winners:

• Amanda with The Zen Leaf
• Sandy with You've Gotta Read This!

I'm looking forward to your thoughts!

Happy Reading,
Coffee and a Book Chick

Did you see my gushing praise on my vlog yesterday? Did you know that next month the release of one of the best Young Adult novels I've ever read comes out?

Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys reviews a little known fact of history - the subsequent aftermath of the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact resulted in millions of people, those considered "anti-Soviet" in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), were deported to Russian prison work camps and sentenced to ten or more years. Many were as young as children, even babies, who were sentenced. With the countries being erased off of the map, who would remember them? Read my full review by clicking here.

I'm so fortunate to have this opportunity to host a giveaway and include an Author Interview with Ruta Sepetys. The research conducted with survivor stories is unquestionably heartbreaking, yet beautifully written. If you don't win this book through this giveaway, please make sure to read it soon - there is so much history to share!

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INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY

I have TWO copies to give away and the author is also including these beautiful bookmarks & key chains!

Entries accepted through this Sunday, February 27, 2011

To be entered, all you have to do is...

1. Please leave a comment with your email address.
2. You don't have to be a follower of the blog or Twitter...you don't even have to tweet about it or anything...BUT...I love feeling the love. 
3. So, leave an extra comment each time you do tweet or blog about it to up your chances, and leave another comment if you become a fan of my Coffee and a Book Chick Facebook site...

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Author Interview

1.  As a debut author, what prompted you to begin writing and to go through the tough process to find an agent, a publisher, etc.?

RS - Growing up, I was a bit lost in the middle. I never felt part of the inside track but I wasn't an outsider either. So I became more of an observer. I wrote things down with the intention of one day creating stories around the characters and situations I observed. I also love to discover bits of history that may have been hidden for some reason or another. The piece of history I wrote about has a very personal connection for me but it wasn't the first book I queried with. I sent a middle-grade novel to an agent and at the last minute decided to enclose a couple pages of Between Shades of Gray, just to show the range of my writing. The agent called and told me that the voice and story of Between Shades of Gray felt more authentic than my other book. He told me that's what I should pursue. So I shelved the first book and wrote Between Shades of Gray. I am so grateful for that advice!

2.  Your debut book which is released next month, deals with some very tough topics that are not often, if at all, discussed in history. As Lithuanians in the 1940s, Lina and her family find themselves in the middle of a great political divide when it was deemed that the Baltic States should no longer exist on a map. The deportation of hundreds of thousands of people to Russian gulags and to work on farms occurred. Given prison sentences of more than ten years at times (even for children) were issued. They essentially starved or froze in the harsh winters as a result of these prison sentences. How did you begin your research? What was it like to visit the areas that you mention in the book?

RS - I took two trips to Lithuania to research the book. I met with survivors, family members, historians, psychologists and members of government. I conducted lengthy interviews. It was heart-wrenching, really emotional. Some of the people I interviewed had never spoken about what happened and it was quite traumatic for them to talk about it. But it was wonderful to finally meet many family members and see where my father grew up. 

3.  Between Shades of Gray touches on several tough and heart-wrenching moments that many people may not normally read about - what helped you decide to write it for the YA audience?

RS - Many of the survivors I interviewed were teens when they were deported to Siberia. Their stories were incredibly compelling. The teen years are intense because you're experiencing so many things for the first time. Imagine going through that in captivity in Siberia. So I thought that making the main character a teenager might add an interesting dimension to the story. Also, I desperately hoped that by writing for a YA audience, teachers and librarians might discover this piece of history.  

4.  While Lina was the main character and I absolutely loved her, I found that I was equally drawn to her mother - her strength and resilience brought me to tears on more than one occasion. Was there someone in your research that caught your eye to make this character, or was it a combination of research and personal influences?

RS - The character of Elena definitely came from personal influences, most of all my own mother and sister. My mother has always been so devoted and loving to her children. My older sister is also an incredible woman and mother. So I combined my mother and sister to create Elena.   

5.  The title of the book is beautiful, and the cover is magnificent! How did you come up with the title and how involved do authors get to be when it comes to selecting the cover of their book?

RS - Thank you! I love the cover too. The designer at Penguin did a wonderful job. In my case, I wasn't consulted about the cover. But when my publisher sent it to me I loved it immediately. In terms of the title, I think sometimes we tend to categorize things in the extreme (good/evil, love/hate, etc.) But usually, things are not simply black or white. More often, the truth lies somewhere in the middle and we find love there, between shades of gray. In meeting with survivors I learned that their situation was complicated and choices were difficult. Not all the Soviets were cruel. Some showed compassion. So they couldn't hate all of the Soviets. Hope and truth lived between endless layers of gray. That was the inspiration for the title.

6.  The video explaining the reasons for why you wanted to write this story - how your family was affected by this historic tragedy - was both beautiful and incredibly sad. How has your family, both in the States and overseas, received your book?

RS - My family has been incredibly supportive from day one. My parents read every draft and we have celebrated each foreign sale together. My father also appears in the video and it was incredibly special to have him in it. 

7.  What authors/books do you love to read?

RS - Wow, there are so many. I love anything by Meg Rosoff. I also love Laurie Halse Anderson, Deborah Heiligman, Edith Wharton, Sharon Cameron, Roald Dahl, and Philip Ardagh. I also enjoy non-fiction and biographies. 

8.  What's next for you?

RS - I'm currently writing another book for Philomel. It's historical fiction set in the US in the 1950's. In terms of what's next, I just want to keep writing. I have so many stories and characters in my head and I really want to get them down on paper!

Thank you so much, Ruta!! I'm really looking forward to seeing the success of your book and I can't wait to read more from you!

RS - Thank you so much for having me here, Natalie! 

Author Bio

Born and raised in Michigan, Ruta Sepetys is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. The nations of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia disappeared from maps in 1941 and did not reappear until 1990. As this is a story seldom told, Ruta wanted to give a voice to the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their lives during Stalin's cleansing of the Baltic region.

Ruta lives with her family in Tennessee. Between Shades of Gray is her first novel. You can visit Ruta Sepetys at www.rutasepetys.com

Visit Ruta Sepetys' Facebook Page

Happy Reading,
Coffee and a Book Chick

*chuckling nervously*

I hope you enjoy my first vlog... I wanted to spotlight three debut authors for 2011. Maybe I'll do more...what do you think?

Happy Viewing,
Coffee and a Book Chick

A young girl, her mother, and little brother are all taken by the Soviets, shoved into train cars for a six-week journey. It's 1941, and this is Lithuania.  It's a part of history that many don't speak of.

The History I Should Know About

Following WWI, the Baltic States (made up of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) were established as independent nations.  In 1939 however, Stalin and Hitler signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Agression Pact in which they agreed to not attack each other.  A part of this agreement also included which areas they would control in Europe, and Josef Stalin was given the Baltic States, and part of Poland. Citizens who were on "the list," anyone from writers, professors, military, doctors, etc., who were considered anti-Soviet, were carted off with their families -- men were sent to prisons and the women, youth, and elderly were sent to Siberia.  All were considered prisoners no matter what age they were, and they were sentenced for ten years or longer for having committed no crime.  Many don't know about the 20 million people that died during Stalin's reign.

Below is the video from the website for the book -- take a look.

Ruta Sepetys discusses her upcoming novel, Between Shades of Gray from Penguin Young Readers Group on Vimeo.

From the book's website:

Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth?  That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch.  

In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school, first dates, and all that summer has to offer. But one night, the Soviet secret police barge violently into her home, deporting her along with her mother and younger brother. They are being sent to Siberia. Lina's father has been separated from the family and sentenced to death in a prison camp. All is lost. 

Lina fights for her life, fearless, vowing that if she survives, she will honor her family, and the thousands like hers, by documenting their experiences in her art and writing.  She risks everything to use her art as messages, hoping they will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive.

Book Review

I spent the entire evening reading Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys.  Part of Philomel Books, a division of Penguin, Sepetys' debut is a Young Adult book scheduled for release in March 2011.  Incorporating true accounts and experiences from survivors, this fiction novel follows one girl, fifteen-year-old Lina, and her mother and younger brother through the aftermath of the Non-Agression Pact and Stalin's plans.

It's a frightening story.  With the NKVD guard watching, the transported Lithuanians were sentenced to work on a kolkhoz, a working farm, and sentenced for ten years and longer.  Farming for beets, digging holes, and only rationed 300 grams of bread per day, Lina and her family struggled to survive.  There is no medicine and no warmth during the cold Russian winters at their gulag.  Prisoners are starved, humiliated, and die.

Lina's artwork was always startlingly realistic for her age.  As several prisoners did based on true accounts that Sepetys gathered during her research, they documented tragedies through writing, drawing, and wood carvings.  Throughout Lina's "sentence" in the camps, she tries to draw as much as she can, atrocities forever etched on the scraps of paper she can find.

Fearful for what may happen, though, should they be caught, this evidence was destroyed or buried in the ground and never spoken about.  Even after they were released years later, survivors were still afraid of being charged with another crime and returning back to the prisons, so they kept their stories buried.

This is probably one of the best Young Adult books I've ever read.  It's an intense and tough subject matter of unspoken history, and the writing is both vividly descriptive and heart-wrenching, but also maintains the authenticity that this is told from a teenager's point of view.  Sections that struck me the hardest at times were those that recognized that even in the depths of sadness, there were moments of hope and love.

Mark your calendars for March 2011 -- this is a book you cannot pass up.  Ruta Sepetys' debut Young Adult novel has weaved in so many layers of history, family, and adolescence into one story of truth and hope that will never be forgotten.

About the Author

Born and raised in Michigan, Ruta Sepetys is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee.  The nations of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia disappeared from maps in 1941 and did not reappear until 1990.  As this is a story seldom told, Ruta wanted to give a voice to the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their lives during Stalin's cleansing of the Baltic region.  Ruta lives with her family in Tennessee.  Between Shades of Gray is her first novel.

Visit the author's site by clicking here.

FTC Disclosure:  I picked up this book during the SIBA Trade Show in Daytona Beach.

Happy Reading,

Coffee and a Book Chick