MEAT outline

M: The brutal yet important part of history that students should be aware of that Between Shades of Gray uncovers makes it an important novel for freshman to read.
E: For example, at the beginning of the book Lina writes, " 'Twenty minutes' the officer barked. 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" (Sepetys 5).
A: This displays the brutality that the NKVD officers showed to the Lithuanians while re-locating them to Siberia. Although this brutality may be a harsh and disturbing to read, it is important for students to understand this part of history because it has been covered up for too long.
E: In addition, Lina is deported from her home in Lithuania because her father helped her cousin to escape before the NKVD got them, and she realizes that, "Joana's freedom had cost me mine) (Sepetys 291).
A: This quote illustrates why freshman should read the book because it explains how unfair it was to some families who helped others to escape Lithuania in 1941, which is important for students to understand when thinking about our world's history.
T: Freshman should understand the hardships that people went through during World War II because nobody has said anything about it, and it is important to think about why history has happened the way it did.


M: Between Shades of Gray is a boom that should be read by freshman in high school because it teaches the reader to be grateful for what they have.
E: For instance, at the beginning of the book when Lina is being arrested she writes, "I shut the bathroom door and caught sight of my face in the mirror... It was the last time I would look into a real  mirror for more than a decade" (Sepetys 12).
A: The reader can learn to be grateful for what they have from this part of the book because it shows how one can lose something so simple in the blink of an eye, and that it is important to cherish the simple things in life. This is important for students to learn because many freshman take the things they have for granted, and it can help them to realize how lucky they are to have the things that they do.
E: Furthermore, Lina writes that when she was rushing to get all of her things together to leave with the NKVD, "I snapped the latches closed and rushed out of the room, the curtains blowing, flapping over the loaf of fresh bread still sitting on my desk" (Sepetys 8).
A: This exemplifies why freshman should read this book because of how insignificant a loaf of bread was to Lina before she was taken. After she made it to Siberia she would have given anything to have the loaf of bread, which also shows the reader how important it is for one to value they're possessions.
T: The reader can learn to be grateful for what they own from Between Shades of Gray.


M: The intriguing love story within Between Shades of Gray makes it a book that freshman in high school should certainly read .
E: For example, at the end of the book Lina writes that the boy she fell in love with while being re-located by a train, Andrius, will eventually end up with her. She writes. "I closed my eyes. I felt Andrius moving close. 'I'll see you,' he said" (Sepetys 336).
A: This quote expresses how deep the love story within the book is, and it shows how interesting the book is. It illustrates why freshman should read the book because they could relate to the young love story within the main plot because they may have been in a similar relationship with another person before, and they can apply the situation in the book to their own lives.
E: In addition, when Lina sees her father for the last time in the train car, he says, " 'Say your prayers children, and I will hear them' " (Sepetys 44).
A: When her father says this it exemplifies the love he has for his children, and high school freshman should read this book because it is important to understand the love that parents have for their children no matter what the situations they are in is. This will help the freshman to be more grateful for their parents, and have a stronger love for the people who have raised them.
T: The theme of enduring love in Between Shades of Gray is both touching and tragic.