Quotes From "Between Shades Of Gray" By Ruta Sepetys

How did I get here How did I end up in the arms of a boy I barely knew but knew I didn't want to lose I wondered what I would have thought of Andrius in Lithuania. Would I have liked him Would he have liked me Ruta Sepetys

Sometimes there is such beauty in awkwardness. Ruta Sepetys

In 1991, after fifty years of brutal occupation, the three Baltic countries regained their independence, peacefully and with dignity. They chose hope over hate and showed the world that even through the darkest night, there is light. These three tiny nations have taught us that love is the most powerful army. Whether love of a friend, love of country, love of God, or even love of enemy- love reveals to us the truly miraculous nature of the human spirit. . Ruta Sepetys

But how can they just decide that we're animals? They don't even know us, " I said." We know us, " said Mother. "They're wrong. And don't ever allow them to convince you otherwise. Do you understand? Ruta Sepetys

My husband, Andrius, says that evil will rule until good men or women choose to act. I believe him. This testimony was written to create an absolute record, to speak in a world where our voices have been extinguished. These writing may shock or horrify you, but that is not my intention. It is my greatest hope that the pages in this jar stir your deepest well of human compassion. I hope they prompt you to do something, to tell somone. Only then can we ensure that this kind of evil is never allowed to repeat itself. . Ruta Sepetys

You stand for what is right, Lina, without the expectation of gratitude or reward. Ruta Sepetys

A guilty conscience is not worth extra food. Ruta Sepetys

Well, I don't know, Lina. But let's just say I've met a lot of dead people. Ruta Sepetys

Tadas was sent to the principal today, " announced Jonas at dinner. He wedged a huge piece of sausage into his small mouth." Why?" I asked." Because he talked about hell, " sputtered Jonas, juice from the plump sausage dribbling down his chin." Jonas, don't speak with your mouth full. Take smaller pieces, " scolded Mother."Sorry, " said Jonas with his moth stuffed. "It's good." He finished chewing. I took a bite of sausage. It was warm and the skin was deliciously salty." Tadas told one of the girls that hell is the worst place ever and there's no escape for all eternity."" Now why would Tadas be talking of hell?" asked Papa, reaching for the vegetables." Because his father told him that if Stalin comes to Lithuania, we'll all end up there. Ruta Sepetys

He threw his burning cigarette onto our clean living room floor and ground it into the wood with his boot. We were about to become cigarettes. Ruta Sepetys

But all of the survivors had one thing in common, and that was love. They survived through love. Whether love of friend, love of country, love of God, or even love of enemy–love reveals to us the truly miraculous nature of the human spirit. Ruta Sepetys

We'd be trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean. I realize that if we boosted one another, maybe we'd get a little closer. Ruta Sepetys

I remembered Papa talking about Stalin confiscating peasants' land, tools, and animals. He told them what crops they would produce and how much they would be paid. I thought it was ridiculous. How could Stalin simply take something that didn't belong to him, something that a farmer and his family had worked their whole lives for? "That's communism, Lina, " Papa had said. Ruta Sepetys

You stand for what is right, without the expectation of gratitude or reward. Ruta Sepetys