https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq SSR: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys en-us 2023-09-11 14:33:34 UTC 2023-10-19 14:49:28 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/2135029232/c715922f9048b4e321edd269c8ed33d6/download.jpeg mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2697547291 In these two chapters, Doctor Thorne learns that his niece's other uncle, Roger Scatcherd, has made him the executor of his estate. Inside of his will he has stipulated that if something should happen to his son, his only heir, then the bulk of his estate, which includes $200K, will go to his sister's first born child, which just so happens to be Doctor Thorne's niece Mary. Doctor Thorne spends the bulk of the remaining chapters going back and forth debating on whether he should tell Roger about this development.]]> 2023-09-11 14:33:34 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2697547291 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2697547293 The way Trollope continues to add dimension to the story through multiple plot lines always impresses me, but this one in particular I was surprised by. I knew that Mary would need to inherit in some way so that she could be with her obvious future man, Frank Gresham the younger, but I truly did not know how it was going to happen. I am curious to know if Roger Scatcherd, her unknown uncle, will come to be known to her or if he will die before she or Doctor Thorne can make him aware of the situation.]]> 2023-09-11 14:33:34 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2697547293 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2697547295 Doctor Thorne's internal struggle in regard to the future well-being of his niece and the seemingly underhanded way it might occur contributes to his upstanding character.]]> 2023-09-11 14:33:34 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2697547295 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2706079079 The Soviets have begun to invade Lithuania. Lina is at home with her mother and brother when they hear a loud banging on the door. The NKVD police have come to take them, bringing them to a truck. They join others in the truck who are all part of a list. Lina recognizes some familiar faces but they all have zero idea where they are being taken. ]]> 2023-09-15 15:13:17 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2706079079 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2709176647 I know this is an extremely difficult time for Lina and her family. I couldn't imagine being forced to flee my home and having zero idea what will happen to me. I feel sorry for Lina, her home will now just be a memory and she will never get those items that sit in her home back. ]]> 2023-09-18 16:36:25 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2709176647 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2709176986 These few chapters are the start of a long journey for Lina and her family. It demonstrates the importance of family and marks the beginning of many hardships that they will face.]]> 2023-09-18 16:36:37 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2709176986 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2713131088 Those on the truck arrive at a small train depot where they are met with hundreds of others in the same boat as them. Officers were separating families and one even tried to take Jonas (Lina's brother) away from Lina and her mother. Their mother offered a pocket watch to the officer to save Jonas. Next, they get in a car that is made for cattle which is overcrowded with people and luggage. Lina recounts times before the invasion of the Soviets when her life was normal.]]> 2023-09-20 16:24:01 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2713131088 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2713146703 This section of the novel made me experience fear of what is going to happen to Lina and her family. They are living through unfamiliar and unexpected times. The future is unknown to them. I have a fear of them getting separated from one another. ]]> 2023-09-20 16:33:45 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2713146703 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2713160752 "Faces spoke to their future. I saw courage, anger, fear, and confusion. Others were hopeless. They had already given up. Which was I?" - Lina 

These few chapters allow the reader to feel all the different emotions of the people involved in the Soviet invasion. No one knows exactly what to feel because this was unexpected. They didn't see this coming, it was all a shock to them.]]> 2023-09-20 16:42:37 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2713160752 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2723556210 A packed and miserable car train is the new home for everyone. A rumor is heard that a new train has arrived full of men. Lina, Andrius (a boy on the train of a similar age to Lina), and Jonas go and look for their fathers in the hope of not being caught. Lina finds her father through a bathroom hole and he tells them they are being taken to Siberia. Andrius doesn't return back until a few days later when he appears to have been badly bruised and beaten. The people on the train have found out that the Germans are invading Lithuania.]]> 2023-09-27 17:58:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2723556210 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2723561562 Although the first chapters in this section continued to show the hardships and struggles, Chapter 18 says, "people hugged one another and cheered." The news of the Germans invading Lithuania finally gave them some hope. It allows me to feel happy for these people because they finally heard something good and are able to find joy in this news.]]> 2023-09-27 18:01:59 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2723561562 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2725343974 Lina being able to find and speak with her father is truly all she needed. Knowing he is still alive and is able to leave traces of her presence behind for him is the thing keeping her going. The reader can understand that the two of them have a special bond and her drawings will be there for him to find her when all of this is over.]]> 2023-09-28 22:25:47 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2725343974 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2725367834 Lina recalls a time when she was drawing her father and he had asked what a scribble in the right corner was. It was her signature and only he would be able to recognize it. After six weeks in the train car, they arrive in a valley among thousands of others. The deportees from each train car were ordered to sit in groups and Lina's mother revealed that they were being sold. Lina's group was one of the last groups to leave and they were taken by two trucks. They were brought to an inhabited area with a bathhouse. Lina and the other women were ordered to take off their clothes in front of the guards. As they were leaving, the guards took someone off the truck and shot her in front of everyone.]]> 2023-09-28 23:10:39 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2725367834 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2725372165 I feel all sorts of ways from these chapters. It is relieving for them to be able to finally shower but absolutely disgusting for the guards to be violating these women's bodies the way they did. I felt complete shock as they shot the woman in the end, she had no reason to die. It is absolutely horrible the things happening to these poor people.]]> 2023-09-28 23:19:20 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2725372165 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2725377932 These chapters focus on the cruelty of the guards. They find it amusing to touch a young girls body, which is extremely wrong and disgusting. They are able to just shoot someone out of nowhere, showing no remorse. They don't care about keeping these people in train cars locked up with no light, food, water, etc. ]]> 2023-09-28 23:31:00 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2725377932 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2750943580 They arrive at a collective farming site and each family/person is assigned to a hut. Lina and her family live in a dingy hut with an old woman who is unhappy with these circumstances. They have to pay her for food and rent. The deportees are divided up for work detail. Jonas is to work somewhere else than Lina and Elena. The girls are ordered to dig a pit using broken shovels. Elena (Lina's mother) believes this is her punishment for agreeing not to work for the NKVD. In a flashback, Lina recounts a time with her cousin Joana where Joana has a boyfriend and Lina is skeptical of the situation. In the middle of the night, some of the deportees are ordered out of their huts and to kolkhoz office.  The officers tell them they must sign a contract saying they agree to pay a war tax and to be sentenced to 25 years of hard labor for their crimes. The deportees sit for hours and some are beaten because they collectively agree not to sign.]]> 2023-10-17 14:46:08 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2750943580 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2750960985 In the last chapter of this section, the NKVD wants the deportees to sign a contract agreeing to 25 years of hard labor. I am filled with shock, horror, and many questions wanting to be answered. Is this war really going to last for that long? Would the deportees even be able to survive this life for that long? In just around six weeks, their appearances have suffered due to abuse, malnourishment, manual labor, etc.]]> 2023-10-17 14:55:17 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2750960985 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2751013439 This section really allows the reader to understand the suffering of the deportees. It never gets better for them, they just continue to face horrible circumstances. Digging the pit is very painful for Lina. For the hard labor, the bread ration they are given is only 300 grams and it is the only food they are given.]]> 2023-10-17 15:23:37 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2751013439 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2754707550 The deportees contiune to work. As the women are digging, the commander orders them into the hole. He shoots into the hole with a pistol and kicks dirt onto their faces. Lina finds out that Andrius and his mother are working for the Soviets but not voluntarily. His mother is being forced to sleep with the Soviets otherwise they will be killed. Some of the deportees start to give in and sign the contract, which allows them perks. Elena is able to send out letters by bribing one of those who signed. Lina volunteers to draw for the Soviets, they ask her to copy a map and a photograph. She is given two cigarettes in exchange and even steals a pen.]]> 2023-10-19 14:33:06 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2754707550 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2754722324 Finding out that Andrius's mother has to sleep with the Soviets for her and her son to stay alive makes me really sad. No one ever ever ever should be forced to do this. The Soviets are disgusting and have no sense of morals. ]]> 2023-10-19 14:41:54 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2754722324 mlb319 https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2754733141 These chapters continue to focus on the lives of the deportees. The commanders are able to bribe people with perks if they sign the contract. Those who don't are faced with punishments. Their lives are so miserable, that those who sign are willing to do anything in order to improve their lives even the smallest bit.]]> 2023-10-19 14:48:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mlb319/p2y1kboycyszxfdq/wish/2754733141