Ballad to the Benevolent

We joined this abode undraped & revealing,

Fickle and skittish in thoughts and feelings

Not sure if things had meaning

Maybe we WERE indeed dreaming

But even while we dreamt, out-of-bounds we felt

Our heads held tall like awed ingenues

Irked by the purgatory where we’re all denounced

We kicked, screamed, cried on the entrance

Boy! Was that notion to be altered and adjusted

Held afloat perchance in the ocean we all detest

 

That was the start, we’re about to be blown apart

With things that still didn’t hold any meaning, reason, or basis for being

Dawdling thither like a vagrant migrant, still seeking……

Seeking for that meaning that stayed onshore,

While we headed offshore skewing and straying

Spoiler Free Review Of “BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY” by RUTA SEPETYS

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

This is a spoiler-free review of BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by RUTA SEPETYS, here I am just talking about the plot and pace of the book.

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 experience 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.

It is a long and harrowing journey, and it is only their incredible strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day. But will love be enough to keep them alive?

Between Shades of Gray is a riveting novel that steals your breath, captures your heart, and reveals the miraculous nature of the human spirit.

Writing a book review can be a daunting experience sometimes, especially when you love a book as much as I loved Between Shades of Gray, I love historical fiction genre. for some reason, I find historical fiction poignant and exquisite which teaches you about the history and some unsung stories. You could feel the torment and agony of the protagonist in the pages, of course, there are some sanguine and lively novels within the genre.  I tend to incline towards novels that are set in World War or any Wartime period, I find such stories fascinating to read about, you learn not only about the state of mind of the soldiers around that time but also about the affected civilians’ obscure stories.  I have heard and read nothing but prodigious rave reviews and praises on Ruta Sepetys’s debut novel, It has all the traits of a historical fiction novel I was searching for at that time, so without thinking twice, I picked-it-up.

I absolutely loved Between Shades Of Gray, this book is one of my all-time favorites and I recommend this to everyone. Let’s talk about the book’s 4 scales, I usually measure a book on (Writing, Pacing, Characters, How much it affected me)

“We’d been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean.”