Ruta Sepetys
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Ruta Sepetys is a successful, passionate, 48 year old author who takes great pride in her Lithuanian heritage. She was born in Michigan and is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. Her Lithuanian roots inspired her to write Between Shades of Gray, as it includes a main character living in Lithuania during World War II. She has a passion for art as well as for writing. Sepetys entered Hillsdale College to study opera, but graduated with a B.S. in international finance. Before Ruta published her first book, she spent quite a lot of time in the music industry, helping songwriters create a story and a message through their song. Her first novel was Between Shades of Gray, which she published in 2011. Since then, she has published two books. One, which she published in 2013 is called Out of the Easy. Her latest novel is called Salt to the Sea, and was published just this year. Sepetys did extremely well with her first novel. The historical fiction book earned many recognitions, such as being named a New York Times bestseller and earning a Carnegie Medal nominee. Sepetys has had great success with her books and continues to thrive in the writing industry.