Shonazee's Top 5 reads of 2015

2015 was the year I read all the mainstream novels. All the popular ones that I kept putting off for no reason.

This year I made time for all of these books and here are the one's that I absolutely LOVED in no particular order because I cannot rank them. I tried, okay? Really tried, but couldn't.
Make sure you read these if you haven't because these are definitely worth the hype and high expectations.

The Hunger Games Trilogy:

Genre: YA Dystopia

Add To Goodreads

I'm pretty sure that all the mortals have already read this series and I was prolly the last one to embark on this crazy, badass journey. But if you haven't, then please, please read this series. I mean, this series right here is going to be a YA Dystopian classic someday, you'll see.
There's suspense and thrill and hold-your-breath-moments and awwws (Peeta) and ouchs and basically, it's everything you'd want in a page turner.

Simon vs The Homo sapiens Agenda By Becky Albertalli:

Some books give you warm smiles and tight hugs.  This is one of those. You'll melt into a puddle, you'll be filled with this fuzzy feeling called love. Although it's a light read, I did have a hangover after finishing it. Good stuff. Stuff that made me blush when I recalled a few scenes or dialogues and people around me thought I was either in love o going cray-cray.
So please please do yourself a favour and read this book.
I'm sure you'll love it, if you do however get around to reading it, you can drop me a message, we'll fangirl and swoon over Simon and Blue.

Add To Goodreads.

The Lunar Chronicles By Marissa Meyer:

Book One of The Lunar Chronicles, Cinder

Genre: Sci-fi, Fairytale retelling

Add To Goodreads

Scifi? Check
Badass female characters? Check
Fairytale? Check
Hot HOT potential book boyfriends? Check
Action and sass? Check
These are the first fairytale retellings that I've read and they are SO GOOOOD!
A little predictable, because retelling, but apart from that, this series keeps getting better and better with each sequel.

Between Shades Of Gray By Ruta Sepetys:

I read this book as a part of the Fictional Fortress's read-along. This historic fiction shows us the ugly and courageous side of humans. This book is full of suffering, pain and truth.
It's sad, yes. But a must read nevertheless.
Cause some voices have been clamped shut and this book brings them out in the loudest of pitches. For the people of Lithuania, for the people who have suffered injustice because of egotistical bastards in power, read this book. Read it.
You can read our review of this book here.

Add To Goodreads.

Fangirl by Painbow Rowell:

Genre: YA FictionAdd To Goodreads

This is a cozy read. When you're sad or depressed, this book will wrap the arms of familiarity around you.

Those were my top 5.
If you're interested in taking a peek at all the other books I read this year, visit my Goodreads.

What about you? Which books moved you / made you laugh / changed you this year?
Tell us in the comments!

Winter Reads & Recs by Readers

Hola!
This December we're reading books that bring out the holiday spirit & joy,
here are some books that our club members are snuggling up with,

Nothing says Christmas like LoTR rereads(and ugly jumpers)🎄🎅📚☕ 

- _slythrns

"This holiday season, I'll be reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I'm so ashamed to say I haven't read Little Women yet and therefore I have decided to read it this winter. ❤" says one of our bloggers Niv (nivthebooklovingnerd )

Sumedha says, "This came in today.. I'm getting so much in the feel of christmas already❤️😍😍

I gifted this to myself😂
Hope you are spending your holidays reading, as i am❤️👻"

1. And according,  to our blogger Varsha: Nothing says Christmas like this beautiful book. My True Love Gave To Me is a collection of cute and perfect holiday stories. All of them take place in the month of December and focuses on different holidays like Christmas, Hanukah and New Years and I love nothing more than curling up in bed with this book to get me into a holiday mood."

"He talked about the ocean between people. And how the whole point of everything is to find a shore worth swimming to."

- Becky Albertalli, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda///

One of my favourite quotes I've read this year. This is my Christmas read for @fictionalfortress

 By Arzoobibliophile

For mel , Harry Potter is her go to winter read. 

"There's no better place to spend Christmas than at Hogwarts, with the Yule Ball, the Christmas feast in the Great Hall, a trip to Honeydukes in Hogsmeade with a stop at The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer.
No better place to spend winter either, with snow on the grounds and roaring fires in the great fireplace in the Gryffindor common room { or your house common room if you're not a Gryffindor 😉 }.
In fact, I can't think of a better place to spend any day, any time of the year!"

"Winters have Harry Potter written all over them. Don't ask why. That's just how it is. Especially when the copy you own is illustrated. 
Also how cute is the Harry Potter badge? " says another one of our bloggers, Shonazee

@thephotodiary says, "I choose our Bond, Ruskin Bond to define the holiday season. 🙌 I grew up reading Ruskin Bond; I'm still growing on his works. 💚 Everyone who loves Ruskin Bond will agree with me here."

What are you reading this Winter?
Share your reads using #winterswithff
Stay tuned for a vvv important announcement :) 

December Book In Spot-light: Seahorse By Janice Pariat Book Review

The "Book in Spotlight" for December is the retelling of the Greek myth of the seagod Poseidon and his male devotee Pelops - "Seahorse" by Janice Pariat. A beautiful and under-rated gem, I hope you pick this up and love it as much as I did. This book has been shortlisted for The Hindu Prize For Literature 2015.
And here's how I met this beauty and what I think aboot it,

Title: Seahorse

Author: Janice Pariat

Publisher: Vintage, Random House.

Published On:November 21st, 2014

Page count: 294
Review By: Shonazee

Blurb (via Goodreads):
Nem was not like his college classmates. Instead of crowding around a TV set, Nem opted for lonely walks where he could indulge his passion for photography, until the night he saw Nicholas, a young professor from London, with another male student. The affair is passionate and brief. When Nicholas returns to London, Nem must move on. He graduates and soon finds success as a critic in New Delhi’s burgeoning art world. Then comes an invitation to speak to artists in London, and the past is suddenly resurrected. As London's cosmopolitan art scene envelops Nem, he is haunted by the possibilities of a life with Nicholas. But Nicholas eludes Nem, avoiding a reunion with his old student, but leaving clues that lead to someone else: Myra, a woman Nem thought was Nicholas's sister. Brought together by their love for Nicholas, Nem and Myra embark on a surprising friendship.

Janice Pariat explores the concept of emotional memory with the inquisitive mind of a scientist and the prowess of a poet. Rich, immersive prose drives a story with international scope, one that seeks answers to the age-old mystery of what binds us to others, and how we can ever let them go.

"What if that was all we ever wanted? The things that didn't happen."

The Setting & My Introduction To Seahorse:
This November I met one of my virtual book friends for the very FIRST time. Saying I was nervous about the meet-up would be an understatement cause I'm literally Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell when it comes to meeting new people buuuut this girl, we hit it off instantly. No awk- hi's or hugs. We bought books to swap, duh, of course, we did.
I gave her three of my precious, Twenty love poems by Pablo Neruda, The Shadow Of The Wind and our prev club pick, The Illicit Happiness Of Other People.
She gave me Water For Elephants, The Year Of Runaways and Seahorse.
Being the kind of confused soul that I am, I spent an entire week, yes, an entire week and I'm not even exaggerating or kidding - to decide which book I should start with.
I was just going through Seahorse, glancing at the first lines and before I know it, I'm on page 10. Like whaaaat even!

"We are shaped by absence. The places that escape our travels, the things we choose not to do, the people we've lost. They are spaces in trellis on which we trail from season to season."

Review:
This book ranks second on my Fav book beginnings (First being, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts)
And so it began, my love affair with this beautiful book.
This book is the definition of beautiful writing. It's glorious. Yes, glorious.
I literally marked every alternate page for the quotes that I liked. loved.
The author seamlessly shifts between the past and present. New Delhi and UK, leaving us in wonder and awe.
You'll fall in love with Delhi's summers and London's bleak days. That is how good it is.
It is a story about incomplete, open gaping wounds. About the love of your life leaving without a goodbye or explanation. Just vanishes. Leaving you wounded. And forever trapped in past.
All those feels wrapped up in this book.
I did enjoy the story but was too busy admiring the writing to actually connect/relate to the story or characters. Having said that, you should definitely pick this book up. I'm not kidding when I say it has gems embedded in it. So go get your treasure chest in the form of this book.

Bite-sized Review: Beautiful, mesmerizing prose.

Also, click here to check the book trailer out.


"We treasure the incomplete, for it lends us many lives - the one we lead and the million others we could have led. We are creatures of inconsistency. Passionately partial. Unexecuted. Unperformed. Undone. Unaccomplished. And un-concluded."

Club Changes & December Read-along Announcement

Hii guys!
We have made some big and important changes and we want you to be a part of it as we step into the new.
Without further ado, let's jump right into them,

Firstly, we want to clarify that the book club is international. We will not only cater the Indian reading crowd, but our services are available across borders and time-zones. So yes, we're now an online, international book club. Already waiting for the giveaways, are we? :P
From December, instead of having Books of the month, we plan on having a Theme of the month. We will also pick one Indian author book every month for "Book In Spotlight"
You can join us for the theme or book in the spotlight or both.
You are free to choose whichever book you'd like to read as long as it fits the theme. And needless to say, you can read as many books as you want to.
At the end of the month, we plan on having virtual book club meets where we'll all talk about all the books we read and what we liked about them, how our perspectives changed and how our lives changed and how we laughed a lot, cried a little, you're getting me?
Obviously, the meets will have a limited number so you might want to sign up as soon as we put the announcements up.
We're still working on the virtual meet part and are very very excited. More info on that later.
Meanwhile, why don't you get yourself wrapped up in warm blankets, with a big cuppa hot chocolate and sunggle with books relating to our December theme, which is -
"Winter/Christmas/Holiday"



We'll be sharing our FAV winter themed books through the month, so can you.
Use #winterswithff and let us know which book you're planning to read or which book you'd recommend to fellow book members or your current reads or YOUR FAVS.

Also, stay tuned for our Book In Spotlight. More on that tomorrow :)

Are you joining us this December? Would you be interested in a virtual book club meet? Let us know in the comments down below!

Book Blast: When Our Worlds Collide by Aniesha Brahma

About the Book:

Akriti has led a pretty much sheltered life. 

Zayn has been shuttled from city to city when he was growing up. 

She is comfortable watching her life from the sidelines. 

He wants to feel rooted to a place he can call ‘home’. 

They meet each other quite by chance. 

And both seize the chance to be someone they both need in their lives: 

For Zayn, it’s a 'Partner-In-Crime'. 

For Akriti, someone who just knows how to be there for her… 

When their worlds collide, 

It is not what either of them expected it to be. 

Zayn has a steady girlfriend. And Akriti has a crush on him. 

What happens when these two become friends? 

The biggest adventure of their lives? Or the road to heartbreak? 

What happens when two completely different people collide? 

Do they become friends? Or, is their friendship doomed from the start? 

'When Our Worlds Collide' is the story of two twenty-three-year olds, Who are finally growing up and finding their feet in the world. 

A tale of friendship and love, crushes and betrayals, messes and second chances, Marriage and divorce… and the elusive happily ever after! 


Book Links:

Goodreads I Amazon

What inspired When Our Worlds Collide? 

(Background of how I came up with the plot.)

I guess the thing that I intrigued me was the fact that it’s not always about the happy ending. Sometimes, it just the story that is more important. Because if every girl who fell in love with a guy, got her feelings reciprocated and rode off into the sunset, it wouldn’t be real life. It would be a fairy tale. I did not want to write a fairy tale. I wanted to write a story that seems real, that people could relate to.



So I thought about this girl called Akriti who develops a crazy crush on a guy she meets quite by accident. She realizes later on that she would never act on those feelings because he has a girlfriend. A girlfriend that I did not put in the story as an obstacle, but as something that is very much a part of our lives. How often have you heard the joke, “everyone I like is either gay or taken?”



When I first began to paint Zayn with words, he was not called Zayn. He was called Piyush. In a short story called, “The Walk” (which is up on my blog), Akriti and Piyush take an evening stroll through Gariahat, talking nineteen-to-the-dozen. But once I concluded that short story, I felt as though there was more to their story. They could not just be friends who met up, walked and talked.

I began to piece together their histories, how their lives would intertwine with each other, how they would be drawn to each other’s lives like magnets against all odds. I wrote out the entire plot outline, added the secondary characters of Ayoub, Suzanna and Surbhi. (Each of them scheduled to appear for an interview of their own on my blog.)



Akriti and Zayn’s story basically tests the limits of their friendship. I am sure people can relate to it. They would be able to relate to the drama, the fun and the heartbreak that accompanies crushing on your friend.



After fleshing out the story a little, I decided to do something that I had never done in my earlier works. I decided to introduce characters from another work of fiction of mine in this story. The other novella would then act as a companion to this novella. So, that was a lot of fun. We will let you guess who those characters might be because we want readers to tell us who they want to read about next!

A question that I am sure will be asked of me is if this story was based on real life. Well, I am always inspired by real life. In fact, sometimes I put people I know into my stories. One such example for this particular tale is Suzanna was inspired by Diptee di, and she picked out the name herself. Although she named her character after the Suzanna from Ruskin Bond’s short story and novella, Susanna’s Seven Husbands. I just insisted on using a different spelling.



As for who Akriti, Zayn and Ayoub are based on: well, some elements for Akriti were borrowed from some pretty women I know. Ayoub was a figment of my imagination, and Zayn had been based in part on someone that I used to know. But my imagination made him into someone I wanted him to be. Not the person that he really was.



Coming back to When Our Worlds Collide, I was determined to tell the story of a mad crush and how it ends realistically in the story. Do they get their fairy tale happy ending or don’t they? You will just have to read the novella yourself to find out.



About the Author:

Aniesha Brahma knew she wanted to be a writer since she was six years old. She was schooled in Dolna Day School and went on to pursue B.A., M.A., and M.Phil in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur Univeristy. She currently lives in Kolkata, with her family and five pet cats. The Secret Proposal was her debut novel, followed by The Guitar Girl. She was a contributing author with her story The Difference, in the anthology: Voices, Old & New. When Our Worlds Collide is her third work of fiction, and first novella.

Stalk Links:

Facebook Page * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Website * GoodReads

Book Blast: Faith Of The Nine by Sachin Dev

About the Book:

The Third Yuga is slowly drawing to a close. Nam – the greatest Empire on Janani – is going to face some fierce winds of change. Seers foresee omens of death and destruction in the return of the Banished One – A God who will claim the ashes of this world as revenge. While out in the streets, rumours abound - of older forgotten powers stirring.


Caught in this maelstrom of a power struggle between Gods are three ordinary lives: General Fateh, the most celebrated soldier in Nam who starts to question his faith, Ishan – a gifted orphan who struggles to comprehend his destiny and Abhaya – a young monk in search of truths about this world. Their choices and actions will shape the destiny of this scarred world that becomes the playground for vindictive Gods.


In a world where Rakshasas arise out of left-over traces of Maaya and twilight forms the portal to countless worlds around us for Daityas and Yakshis to dance through, a God is only as powerful as those who believe.And when Gods rise, faith of men will be tested…And broken.


Buy Links:

Paperback: Flipkart * LandmarkOntheNet * Infibeam * Pustak Mandi

eBook: Newshunt * Google Play

Fantasy for Adults

When you usually ask around for
recommendations for Fantasy for adults, you end with Game of Thrones at the top
of the list. Followed perhaps by scores of Shannara books. (Which by the way
are still coming out! Terry Brooks is a phenomenal author!)

Because for most of us ( especially more so
in a country like India) we are wary of being found reading a book whose cover
looks like Chandrakanta the old Doordarshan series we used to watch as kids. So
we still get by with the Harry Potter series and sometimes don’t think much
beyond.

So I’ve been reading only fantasy (or
broadly speculative fiction that counts Fantasy as one of the main streams –
Sci-fi & Horror being the other mainstay besides countless sub-genres) for
the last fifteen years now. Ever since I picked up LOTR & Dune ( by Frank
Herbert. Masterpiece! ) in college. I’ve suffered looks of disdain by
colleagues/ fellow travellers as I was nose-deep in some fantasy western (Namely
– Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. Yes. He writes stuff outside of horror
too!) But I cared less than the backside of a rodent for such. I was living in
a different world and I was loving it.

So this, is an attempt to list down some
fantastic gems I discovered during this journey of mine and to let the broader
world be aware that Fantasy has come a long way from the tales of a young farm
boy setting out to find his destiny (which involved throwing a beautiful ring
into the volcanic fires of Mordor!) I will also try and slot them into
different sub genres as I know them. Makes it easier for recommending, right?

Epic
fantasy.  Magic
that will leave you spell bound. Political manoeuvrings. Tricky backstabbing. Adventure.
Kingdoms or worlds at stake. All this and more!

Mistborn
Trilogy & the on-going Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. The on-going series is a massive ten part magnum opus and it
reflects all things great and fun about the genre. Cannot recommend enough of
this guy. He is prolific when it comes to writing. Churning out at least 1-2
books every year. Year after year.

Promise
of Blood ( Powder Mage trilogy # 1) by Brian McClellan. Sometimes called Flintlock fantasy This guy is setting the fire to
the keg with this explosive debut novel in this series that deserves to be read
more.

Gentlemen
Bastards series by Scott Lynch – Chronicling the
life and adventures of a thief and petty crook, Lock Lamora and his friends,
this is also one stunning piece of work that any lover of mayhem and adventure
should definitely be getting his hands on. Lies
of Lock Lamora sets up the rollicking pace of this series and it’s on
book-3 now – with the rest of the books eagerly awaited. You should jump onto
this ship. 

Grim
Dark Fantasy. This is modern fantasy with a lot of
writers jumping into bandwagon. Brutal, gritty, splashed with blood and gore –
and darker themes explored.

Malazan
Book of the Fallen – 10 book series that is
COMPLETE and mind blowing by Steven
Eriksen.

Any book by Joe Abercrombie. This guy is truly the emperor of this sub-genre
with his brilliant books setting out to explore darker spaces within a man’s
mind.

Broken
Empire by Mark Lawrence. Be warned, this books may
be a bit too intense but are shining example of what a writer can do to twist
the readers into his dark worlds. It features a 11-year old sociopath who sets
out to conquer the world.

Prince
of Nothing trilogy by R Scott Bakker. If you like
your fantasy philosophical, dark and heavy this is your one stop. His second
trilogy is incomplete and eagerly awaited.

Military
fantasy.  Yes,
there is something like this. And Myke
Cole’s first trilogy starting off with Control Point is a wonderfully
accessible entry point into such worlds. Combining the best of military fiction
with fantasy worlds.

Silk
Road Fantasy. Again a recent phenomenon of readers
getting bored of medieval European settings for their fantasy tales. Notable
books are Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay,
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin
Ahmed, The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu.

There are multiple other books that are
genre-benders mashing up the good things in one genre with another. It’s a gold
mine out there and I would urge all readers who ultimately like a good story to
keep exploring beyond the walls and gates of Hogwarts. 

  

About the Author:

Sachin discovered Tolkien in his teens, alternative rock as a new adult and digital marketing in pretty much his late twenties. These still form a large wedge in his circle of life. Travel, radio and theatre have also figured in that ever-expanding and diminishing circle.


On perhaps a more prosaic note, he is an engineer from BITS Pilani and holds an MBA from Indian School of Business. Attribute the love for numbers and pie-charts to this. He is currently based in Bangalore and happily married to Harini. He spends an inordinately large amount of time chasing after his two dogs (who love the free life a bit too much) when he is not busy dreaming up fantasy worlds full of monsters. And beautiful Yakshis, of course.


He can usually be found ranting on twitter under the handle @xenosach, devouring books and talking about them on his blog. You can always stalk him online at his official website

November Read-along

Hellooo people of the book world!
As you guys already know, we'll be reading only ONE book in November because, exams.
We asked you guys  to vote for the book you'd like to read with us and after a week of voting, the result was a TIE between Me Before You and Ready Player One.

Since Goodreads was acting weird and wasn't letting us create a new poll, we ended up having a tie-breaker-face-off-poll for 24 hours on Instagram and it's time for the result,
Behold, this November we are going to read
*drum rolls*

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. 
The fictional Fortress is taking a detour to the future and you're are very much invited.

FicFort Notes:
1. Make sure to tag your progress, comments anything related to this read on social medias with #ficfortressreads.

2. Some accounts will be featured on our IG through the month. Only criteria, use the tag.

3. Keep a look-out for the pre-discussion thread on Goodreads, cause that thread is gonna come in handy to: find a buddy for buddy reading, *if* there are any book deals, you'll be informed. Also, if we find e-books, those will be given away.

4. Spread the word!

Happy Ready Soldiers!

Are you joining us for the November Read-along?

November Read-along: Book Nominees

Hello Readers!

It's time to vote for the book you'd like to snuggle up with next month.
This November we will be reading one book instead of two, because exam season. You get to pick, so, choose wisely, here are the four contenders:

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling:

For all our readers who wanted us to add non-fiction to the read-along, we present to you this
hilarious memoir.

Read the blurb, here.

Shonazee's Pick

2. Me Before You, Jojo Moyes:

Most people who've read this book complain of a hangover. So, if you're looking for a tear-jerker, you have come to the right stop. Also, this book is being turned into a movie that may come out sometime next year.

Read the blurb, here.

Somdyuti's Pick

3. A Thousand Nights, E.K.Johnston:

A YA Fantasy retelling of One Thousand And One Nights. This book is full of folklore, legends, fairytales and magic! Also it's a new release, this book came out on October 6th 2015.

Read the Blurb, here.

Varsha's Pick

4) Ready Player One, Ernest Cline:
Sci-Fi. Futuristic setting (read: 2044). Video-gamers.
If any of these words interest you, pick this book up already! (Not already. November, pick it up in November. Meanwhile, vote. okay?okay.)

Read the blurb, here.

Niv's Pick

Vote here:

November Book Of The Month Poll

It's time to cast your vote again. Hurry up, go go go!

May the odds be in your favour.

Me Before You
A Thousand Nights
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Ready Player One

Results will be declared on 25th October'15.

Until then, stay rad, keep reading!

Book Blitz: First Brush On The Canvas edited by Priyanka Roy Banerjee

About the Book:

Graham, Daniel, their friendship, life and death.

Vampires, guardians' adventures at night. Coffee, love and a new couple. Imli and her mother in a complex web of darkness. A small town girl confused about virginity. Michael Jaikishen and his writing endeavours. Child adoption by a gay couple. Mahabharat - a modern tale in an epic form. The spine-chilling tale of Tina and Uncle Joe. A juicy love story by our guest author Sujata Parashar. These and many other unputdownable stories in this book.


First Brush on the Canvas is an anthology comprising selected stories from Melonade (2014), a nationwide writing marathon organized by Writersmelon.com.


Goodreads * Amazon

Melonade Authors’ Intro:

Uttiya Roy – Nourished with Bangla literature, he aspires to change the world someday writing in English. His days pass blending Life Science textbooks with poetry. 

Upasana Bhattacharjee – We catch ‘em as young as they get! Our youngest writer is still a student, but that doesn’t reflect in the matured story she’s written dealing with inconclusive logics and paradoxes. 

Stuti Chandra – She writes because she’s alive. This lovely lady is from Patna and has dipped her nose in English Literature at Delhi. 

Shaily Bhargava – A photographer, a logophile and an Equity Technical Analyst – all in one. She reads and writes in Noida, accompanied by beautiful clicks through her lens and lots of Coffee. 

Arunav Chowdhury – Have you met this Proletariat Axomiya before? He’s a movie buff and a news junkie rolled into one, who writes wonderful modern takes on the age old Mahabharat. 

Rafaa Dalvi – A Mumbaikar, an engineer, a blogger and a prolific writer. He’s already made his presence in three anthologies and likes to experiment with different genre. 

Diptee Raut – A quilter, a blogger, a quirky mom, an amazing writer and our co-winner of Melonade’4. She’s one bundle of positive energy who can spin stories and weave quilts simultaneously. 

Abhishek Mukherjee – Have you read his blog posts yet? Though he likes to believe he’s only a Cricket Historian, you have to read his humorous takes on Mythology to believe he’s the best. 

Anwesha Ray – An amazingly sensitive writer, she lives and works in Bangalore with her family. 

Avishek Basu Mallick – He’s the winner of Melonade’4. If you wish to laud him for more, he’s an engineer and an MBA, working in Bangalore and a featured writer on Sportskeeda.

Arijit Ghose – Blend Carnatic music with exceptional satire and the result is Arijit Ghose. Cheeky, expressive and vocal – we hope he becomes a great writer someday. 

Amit Nangia – For those working in MNCs for years, he’s your inspiration. Amit’s first novel has just released after facing many rejections but that didn’t deter him from writing. Climbing the rocks, gliding in a parachute, bungee jumping or making cocktails; nothing could elevate his spirits as much as writing did.

Tnahsin Garg - Tnahsin often exercises his freedom by convincing other folks that ‘free will’ does not exist. His first novel ‘The Prophecy of Trivine’ is a science-fiction based in India.

Sujata Parashar – Author of the immensely popular ‘In Pursuit Of’ trilogy, and a wonderful poet. She contributes articles to various websites and magazines, and is a social activist. She’s a guest author in the book. 

BOOK REVIEW: BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY

   

Title : Between Shades of Gray

Author : Ruta Sepetys

Publisher : Philomel Books

Published on : 22nd March, 2011

SYNOPSIS

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

REVIEW

I'm sure everyone here knows about World War II, one of the darkest periods in our history. And what comes to your mind when someone mentions it? Hitler perhaps? Or the Axis and Allied powers? The Book Thief? Anne Frank? How many are familiar with the Baltic Invasion? I wasn't till I read this book.

Between Shades of Gray is different from other WWII books because it doesn't focus on an event widely known by the world, but the one that has been overlooked for quite sometime by history as trivial. 

The Baltic countries beside Russia, like Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia also suffered greatly. BSoG captures the hardships one of the Baltic countries had to go through. 

Lina finds her life as well as her family's abruptly spiraling out of control when the Soviets deport them to Siberia. Everyday becomes a struggle to survive. Starvation and illness become a constant companion and hope to make it out alive as a family is the only will to try and survive.

This is not a pretty book. It shows the ugliest side of humanity but also it shows how resilient we are. But the author mainly focused on how unfair it is that history never remembered the pain of the Baltic countries during and after the war. And it is unfair. I truly didn't even know about labour camps, similar to concentration camps set up by the Nazis to execute Jews, were also set up by Russians to punish the people of the Baltic countries. 

To say I'm grateful that Ruta brought this story to life seems wrong, as all these unthinkable things actually happened to millions of people. But I am grateful because she gave the people of Lithuania a voice and it needs to be heard by everyone. So I urge you all to read this book

PS:

Between Shades of Gray is being turned into a movie titled Ashes In the Snow . Click the link to find out more :)