A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata - OPTIONAL

Kadohata, Cynthia A Million Shades of Gray 216 pg. Atheneum BFYR, 2010. Language - PG. Sexual Content- PG. Violence - PG-13. $16.99. Deep in the jungles of South Vietnam, thirteen year old Y'Tin is the best elephant trainer in his village. He dreams of one day going to elephant training school or even opening his own training school. Those dreams come crashing down when his village is attacked by the North Vietnamese. He is separated from his family and flees with his elephant, Lady, into the jungle. His father always told him that a jungle will change a man, and it isn't until Y'Tin is forced to choose between family, friends, enemies, and elephants that he understands what his father means.
I was intrigued with the premise of this book, but it fell flat for me. It was very dry and very slow. It did give the reader a glimpse into the struggles of the Vietnamese people during this time period, but I think kids would have a hard time enjoying this one. EL/MS- OPTIONAL. Whitney, Library-Teacher.