The Gray

The central idea--that, since water can slowly change a rock, any person on Earth can also change, a concept connected to Uncle Lou's beloved story from the Talmud about Akiva and the Stone--is one of enormous importance. Baron also gets props for his sympathetic and evenhanded depiction of anxiety and the many different ways to treat it, from in-the-minute breathing exercises to appropriate medication... Important and worthy despite some flaws in the storytelling.

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. ... 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. ... 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. 

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. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Agency. (June)

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