Shades of Gray

The Civil war has ended, but twelve-year-old Will Page can't forget his hatred of the Yankees he holds responsible for the deaths of everyone he loved. And now, he must go to live with relatives he has never met—including an uncle who refused to fight for the Confederacy.

Not only must Will, a town boy, learn to pull his own weight as a member of a farm family in the war-ravished Virginia piedmont (working alongside the uncle he's sure is a coward), he must also face a trio of local bullies who seem to resent his very existence.

Awards

Scott O'Dell Award
A Notable Children's Book (ALA)
A Notable Children's Book for the Language Arts (NCTE)
Jefferson Cup Award (VLA)
Jane Addams Children's Book Award/Honor Book
Child Study Children's Book Committee Award (Bank Street College)
An IRA Young Adult Choice

Reviews

"This slim novel deserves a place among the best YA fiction written about the Civil War era."
—VOYA

"Good characterizations are the highlight of this thoughtful Reconstruction Era story. . .. Believable characters and well-placed incident keep the reader going here . . . and a good feel for time and place makes this story memorable."
—Kirkus