Carolyn ReederShades of Gray

When young Will is left an orphan, he is delivered to his aunt and uncle, a place he does not want to be. Will is devoted to the Confederacy, for which his father gave his life, and his uncle chose to stay out of the war and refused to fight, an act Will views as cowardly. Through Shades of Gray, Will grows in how he views the war, the Union, and the Confederacy. It’s written for young people so it reads fast. It would likely be helpful for the reader to already know some about the Civil War beforehand. I recommend it to kids who are interested in or learning about the Civil War.

I liked that the book came early. Book was used for school reading.

At first I didn't like this book, then I got to the mid section and loved it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

This is not the best book I have ever read, but it is certainly a good one. The author does a good job of pointing out that there were good people on either side of the Civil War. This is something that is often glossed over in education. Typically one side is vilified while the other is lauded. The protagonist's journey is relate-able for children who are on their own moral journeys. All people must go through times when they find that they can no longer agree with what they used to believe, and it takes a great deal of strength to encounter it head-on.Helping students/children understand that the world is not made up of white and black hats is vital to their development. From modern issues of immigration and religious fervor, there are many connections that can be made between what the characters in the book experience and what children and adults experience today.

Although perhaps overly simplistic, this book points out the fallacy of thinking in absolutes--the idea is that no one is ever entirely bad (or wrong) or entirely good (and right). Historically, however, it goes a little overboard on the moral equivalency of conducting the war--suggesting that both North and South harmed civilians. This may be true; but there was a substantial difference of intent and degree. For instance, the Confederates burned 1 northern town; the Union burned hundreds. The union policy was of destroy the Souths ability not just for the army to wage war--but for the civilian population to feed itself. By contrast, Confederate armies took only what they needed; it was not done for revenge or to impoverish civilians. Maybe it's a distinction without a difference to some people (and of course now it's popular to say this was to expiate the sin of slavery--although that was not the justification given at the time) but this book glosses over some facts that are pretty relevant to the discussion and would have made for a more nuanced story.

This book is an amazing story about how a boy is getting used to a new life outside of Winchester, VA after the civil war, when most of his family was killed off or dead from sickness. This story is emotional and wonderful at the same time with great plot twists and great story overall. I highly recommend this book. I fell in love with it within the first 10 pages of the book. If you are doubting if you should read this book don’t, because it is a wonderful experience.

I expected it to be boring, but it was really interesting to be i. I highly recommend it. It was great.

It is a book on the life of a boy who lost his whole family in the Civil War. It is hard for him to go from owning slaves to working very hard. In the end he learns that a person is not judged by the past. A great read for ages 8-15.Shades of Gray made me feel the choices you have to face when your uncle is an enemy in your mind. It made me feel how close you are to your family and how hard a death is.(Mom here) My daughter read this book in a couple of days. It's a pretty basic read.