Amelia v Shades

 School Library Journal Battle of the Books, Round 2, Match 1. Amelia Lost v Between Shades of Gray. Judge: Marc Aronson

The nonfiction versus historical fiction round!

Aronson evaluates both books on their merits; noting what they did and did not do. Like other judges, he’s not afraid to point out what he sees as flaws.

The selection? “Between Shades of Gray. As books, they are equally well-crafted and worth reading. But Ruta’s novel does for the destruction of Lithuania what, say, Paula Fox and Tom Feelings did for the Middle Passage—gave our readers access to a haunting, tragic, and crucially important part of our common past.”