7. What would you ask this author over a cup of coffee? What did you find confusing/interesting/surprising? Elaborate.
After reading the young adult novel, BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY, I felt compelled to explore the author further and looked online for more information. I found myself wanting to know more about the author’s connection to the subject matter. I was aware that she was Lithuanian, but didn’t know much more beyond that. I spent some time on the official website at: http://www.betweenshadesofgray.com.
There is a video on the website and in it the author discusses why she chose to write BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY. One thing that I found interesting was how Ms. Sepetys shared that during her visit to Lithuania she asked her family members for pictures of her grandfather but found none existed. Her family members had to burn them so that the surviving ancestors would not be linked to him and therefore hunted by the Soviet police. It was difficult for me to think of having to keep your roots so secretive. It reminded me of a documentary called HITLER’S CHILDREN which interviews descendants of the most infamous Nazis. In that movie, many of the people struggled with hiding the family's history and carried a great burden of shame and guilt even though they did not personally commit the atrocities themselves. I think a large part of our identity comes from our family so it would be very difficult for me to have to pretend not to be related to my family. My own grandfather liberated a concentration camp during WWII and I couldn’t be more proud of how he braved the inconceivable challenges he faced as a young man in his twenties during wartime.
There were many questions that I would like to ask the author. I visited http://lawrencewray.wordpress.com/author-interview-questions/ and reviewed the extensive listing of questions to ask an author during an interview. I combined some of Wray’s suggestions with my own questions and grouped them by topic below:
Questions specific to BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY: - Can you share your experience in researching the book, specifically the process of interviewing people in Lithuania and other Baltic states, and any historical documents you might have reviewed? - Which actress would you like to see playing Lina in a movie adaptation and why? - From reading background information on the novel, I am aware that the character of Dr. Samodurov was in fact based on the real Dr. Samodurov. Did you model the character of Nikolai Kretzsky on any real NKVD guards who may have helped prisoners? What was it like to add the face of humanity to a character that many would argue otherwise has no redeeming qualities? - I was moved by how selfless Elena Vilkas was. She reminded me of my own grandmother. Was she based on anyone you know? - What has it been like to receive so many awards and critical praise for this novel? - Did its reception differ from what you expected? - Book covers can draw someone to pick up your book and want to read it. Can you share the back story of how the cover of the novel was created or chosen?
Questions about the craft of writing: - Which writers inspire you? - Where do the your ideas come from? - What is the hardest thing about writing? - Do you have any tips on how to get through writer’s block? - Do you let the book “stew” – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit?
Questions to inspire future authors: - If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why? - What advice would you give to aspiring writers? - How can readers discover more about you and you work?
Literature Circle: Between Shades of Grey February 1, 2014 Questioner Name: Biancha DiPaola Reading Assignment: Chapter 47-end
Today’s Questions: 1. In Chapter 47 Mrs. Rimas gets a letter from who she believes is her husband, or one of his relatives. Psalm 102 was something not blacked out by the NKVD who censored all letters. Do you think that the NKVD knew what this bible passage referenced, and if they did know, were they cruel enough to have wanted the reader (Mrs. Rimas) to lose whatever hope she had for her loved one?
2. In Chapter 49, along with other chapters, Lina has many flashbacks of happier times. Chapter 49’s memory talks about an art book of Munch that she had at home. This she cherished, but did not take it with her when she was forced to leave her family home. If given twenty minutes to pack up your most valuable possessions, what would you take and why?
3. Through this entire tragic story, Lina never gave uphope of survival. There are many subliminal signs towards the end of the text that represent preserverance. Through the entire nightmare, Andrius demonstrated how he cared for Lina. When he gave her "Domley and Son" for her sixteenth birthday, it is not until Lina is sent to the Artic Circle that she begins flipping through the books pages at random. She finds little messages from Andrius. One of the words that he used in person and wrote in Lina's book was "krasivaya". How does Lina portray this word?
4. Nikolai Kretsky, one of the NKVD, is a significant character in this story. Towards the end of the book Lina confronts Kretzky. "Get away from her, stay away! I hate you. Do you hear me? I HATE YOU!" Kretzky stared at Mother. "Me too," he said. What is the significance of this scene?
Dear Circle Friends, I just wanted to post links to a couple of the research articles I discussed last meeting that I will reference in our presentation. I have never posted a link before, so hope this works... http://hubpages.com/hub/Lithuanian-Diaspora-A-History-of-WW-2-Lithuanian-Displaced-Persons
And I also wanted to mention.... Every quarter my students have to read a novel outside classroom. This quarter, the novels selected are all holocaust literature as a "preview" to the upcoming unit on Night. I gave each class a choice of 9 novels and encouraged them to create literature circle groups based upon their reading interests. As of today, 18 of my students selected Between Shades of Gray to read. So, the assessment for their novels will be 2 literature circles and a final paper. They are very enthused about literature circles but I was taken by surprise when a show of hands indicated that barely any of them had ever participated in one before! ( I teach mostly 10th grade). This made me very sad, I have been doing literature circles for 8 years and regard it as a very successful and engaging learning opportunity. Another question to add to my list when we meet with the Middle School in March......
7. What would you ask this author over a cup of coffee? What did you find confusing/interesting/surprising? Elaborate.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the young adult novel, BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY, I felt compelled to explore the author further and looked online for more information. I found myself wanting to know more about the author’s connection to the subject matter. I was aware that she was Lithuanian, but didn’t know much more beyond that. I spent some time on the official website at: http://www.betweenshadesofgray.com.
There is a video on the website and in it the author discusses why she chose to write BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY. One thing that I found interesting was how Ms. Sepetys shared that during her visit to Lithuania she asked her family members for pictures of her grandfather but found none existed. Her family members had to burn them so that the surviving ancestors would not be linked to him and therefore hunted by the Soviet police. It was difficult for me to think of having to keep your roots so secretive. It reminded me of a documentary called HITLER’S CHILDREN which interviews descendants of the most infamous Nazis. In that movie, many of the people struggled with hiding the family's history and carried a great burden of shame and guilt even though they did not personally commit the atrocities themselves. I think a large part of our identity comes from our family so it would be very difficult for me to have to pretend not to be related to my family. My own grandfather liberated a concentration camp during WWII and I couldn’t be more proud of how he braved the inconceivable challenges he faced as a young man in his twenties during wartime.
There were many questions that I would like to ask the author. I visited http://lawrencewray.wordpress.com/author-interview-questions/ and reviewed the extensive listing of questions to ask an author during an interview. I combined some of Wray’s suggestions with my own questions and grouped them by topic below:
Questions specific to BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY:
- Can you share your experience in researching the book, specifically the process of interviewing people in Lithuania and other Baltic states, and any historical documents you might have reviewed?
- Which actress would you like to see playing Lina in a movie adaptation and why?
- From reading background information on the novel, I am aware that the character of Dr. Samodurov was in fact based on the real Dr. Samodurov. Did you model the character of Nikolai Kretzsky on any real NKVD guards who may have helped prisoners? What was it like to add the face of humanity to a character that many would argue otherwise has no redeeming qualities?
- I was moved by how selfless Elena Vilkas was. She reminded me of my own grandmother. Was she based on anyone you know?
- What has it been like to receive so many awards and critical praise for this novel?
- Did its reception differ from what you expected?
- Book covers can draw someone to pick up your book and want to read it. Can you share the back story of how the cover of the novel was created or chosen?
Questions about the craft of writing:
- Which writers inspire you?
- Where do the your ideas come from?
- What is the hardest thing about writing?
- Do you have any tips on how to get through writer’s block?
- Do you let the book “stew” – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit?
Questions to inspire future authors:
- If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?
- What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
- How can readers discover more about you and you work?
Literature Circle: Between Shades of Grey February 1, 2014
ReplyDeleteQuestioner
Name: Biancha DiPaola Reading Assignment: Chapter 47-end
Today’s Questions:
1. In Chapter 47 Mrs. Rimas gets a letter from who she believes is her husband, or one of his relatives. Psalm 102 was something not blacked out by the NKVD who censored all letters. Do you think that the NKVD knew what this bible passage referenced, and if they did know, were they cruel enough to have wanted the reader (Mrs. Rimas) to lose whatever hope she had for her loved one?
2. In Chapter 49, along with other chapters, Lina has many flashbacks of happier times. Chapter 49’s memory talks about an art book of Munch that she had at home. This she cherished, but did not take it with her when she was forced to leave her family home. If given twenty minutes to pack up your most valuable possessions, what would you take and why?
3. Through this entire tragic story, Lina never gave uphope of survival. There are many subliminal signs towards the end of the text that represent preserverance. Through the entire nightmare, Andrius demonstrated how he cared for Lina. When he gave her "Domley and Son" for her sixteenth birthday, it is not until Lina is sent to the Artic Circle that she begins flipping through the books pages at random. She finds little messages from Andrius. One of the words that he used in person and wrote in Lina's book was "krasivaya". How does Lina portray this word?
4. Nikolai Kretsky, one of the NKVD, is a significant character in this story. Towards the end of the book Lina confronts Kretzky. "Get away from her, stay away! I hate you. Do you hear me? I HATE YOU!"
Kretzky stared at Mother. "Me too," he said. What is the significance of this scene?
Dear Circle Friends,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to post links to a couple of the research articles I discussed last meeting that I will reference in our presentation. I have never posted a link before, so hope this works...
http://hubpages.com/hub/Lithuanian-Diaspora-A-History-of-WW-2-Lithuanian-Displaced-Persons
http://www.catholicvoiceoakland.org/2008/08-11-17/letters.htm
And I also wanted to mention....
ReplyDeleteEvery quarter my students have to read a novel outside classroom. This quarter, the novels selected are all holocaust literature as a "preview" to the upcoming unit on Night. I gave each class a choice of 9 novels and encouraged them to create literature circle groups based upon their reading interests. As of today, 18 of my students selected Between Shades of Gray to read. So, the assessment for their novels will be 2 literature circles and a final paper. They are very enthused about literature circles but I was taken by surprise when a show of hands indicated that barely any of them had ever participated in one before! ( I teach mostly 10th grade). This made me very sad, I have been doing literature circles for 8 years and regard it as a very successful and engaging learning opportunity. Another question to add to my list when we meet with the Middle School in March......