Between Shades of Gray exposes us to the brutality of Stalin’s Soviet Union and his forced labor camps. Fifteen-year-old Lina, with her mother and younger brother, are sent to a brutal camp in the frozen far north, well above the Arctic Circle. Lina endures suffering, loss, and fear as she struggles to survive.  

In Gringolandia, a Chilean boy now living in the United States comes to terms with the reappearance of his  father, brutalized by years in a Chilean prison. Now Daniel must discover his own identity, his responsibilities, and his place in the world. Daniel’s story ponders the question: When history calls your name, how will you answer?

Both books are beautifully written and both disturbing enough to linger long after the last page.