Between Shades of Gray: The Graphic Novel

This absolutely broke my heart. I had to stop in the middle of this graphic novel three times just because it was such a tough read. I've never read the full novel, and I still plan to, but now I know I'll need to really be ready for a tearjerker if this version, condensed down into a short graphic novel, could be so devastating! Between Shades of Gray follows a fictional story in a very real setting: a teen Lithuanian girl and her family are taken by the Soviet secret police in 1941, where they are then hauled off to Siberia and will spend years in terrible conditions. No punches are pulled, and there's a miserable reality to the entire story (which is why it didn't surprise me to learn that the events are strongly inspired by the author's interviews with her own family members, some of whom actually lived through events like those described in the story).As far as the graphic novel itself goes, the artwork was fine - a bit muddled at times, but it could be because it was an advanced e-copy - but that's not really the selling point here. This story is powerful enough that, frankly, it doesn't need incredible, eye-catching artwork. Instead, the art is muted and dark in a way that fits the story well. All in all, I don't know if “enjoyed” is the right word for how I felt while reading this, but it was an easy 5-star rating and I highly recommend this or the original novel to anyone unfamiliar with these events.✨ Content warnings for: violence, murder, abuse, starvation, illness, infant death, death of a parent, war, human traffickingThank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!———twitter booktok bookstagram blog