The Gray
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The Gray is a sensitively told middle grade story from Chris Baron about living with anxiety and finding ways to cope.
It’s been a tough year for Sasha—he’s been bullied at his middle school and his anxiety, which he calls the Gray, is growing. Sasha’s dad tells him to “toughen up”—and he does, but with unfortunate, hurtful results. His parents and therapist agree that a summer in the country with his aunt might be the best medicine, but it’s the last place he wants to be. He'll be away from his best friend, video games, and stuck in the house that reminds him of his beloved uncle who died two years earlier.
His aunt is supportive, and there are lots of places to explore, and even some potential new friends. When Sasha is introduced at a local ranch to a horse coincidentally--incredibly--nicknamed the Gray, he feels he's found a kindred spirit.
But his own Gray is ever-present. When one of his new friends disappears, Sasha discovers that the country is wilder and more mysterious than he imagined. He tries to muster enough courage to help in the search . . . but will the Gray hold him back?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Prescribed a device-free summer to mitigate his generalized anxiety condition and occasional panic, which take him to a misty, distorted world he calls "the Gray," 13-year-old New Yorker Sasha steels himself for a month upstate. He'll be visiting his widowed aunt, Ruthie, near the closed-down Jewish summer camp she and late Uncle Lou used to run. Beset by town bullies and memories of his late uncle, and feeling unmoored without his video games, Sasha experiences anxiety spikes and sensory overwhelm. Connecting with nature at the old camp and revisiting Uncle Lou's Talmudic stories coaxes him to decompress, however, and he opens up to new activities and budding friendships that challenge his assumptions about others and reveal the benefits of change. Baron (The Magical Imperfect) intricately captures teen friendship dynamics, interweaving quiet suspense by gradually divulging a pivotal, dark moment in the town's recent past. Sensory-rich settings and viscerally imagined depictions of anxiety manifest an immersive world without pulling punches, carving a hopeful path for Sasha's mental health management. An author's note shares Baron's lived experience with anxiety. Characters cue as white; Sasha and his family are Jewish. Ages 10–14.
