  | Gray Author: Baron, Chris | |
| Price: $23.78 | ||
Summary:
Sasha has been bullied at his middle school and his anxiety, which he calls the Gray, is growing, so his parents and therapist suggest a summer in the country with his aunt might help him.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (04/01/23)
Booklist (04/15/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 04/15/2023 Thirteen-year-old Sasha deals with generalized anxiety and panic attacks, which he has dubbed “The Gray.” They get worse when he spends too much time on his electronic devices, so his concerned parents decide a device-free month upstate with his great-aunt Ruthie will be a tonic. Sasha disagrees: “This will be the worst summer ever.” Nevertheless, country, here he comes. Happily, once there he quickly makes a friend in Ivy; unhappily, he runs afoul of a band of bullies, from whom he is rescued by a mysteriously taciturn, solitary boy named Eli. Grateful, Sasha tries to befriend the boy, who is a year older, but is rejected. So he hires Eli as his bodyguard and agrees to help him at the horse ranch where the older boy works, trying to tame a wild horse called—wait for it—The Gray. Baron’s often-quiet story is well-plotted, and the characters are empathetic, especially Eli. The theme, change, is well-handled and perhaps will change readers as much as it does Sasha in the end. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
