A Million Shades of Gray

This young adult (YA) novel is set in the Central Highlands of Vietnam during the last few years of the war. The lead character, Y’tin, is an adolescent whose life ambition is to be an elephant handler, a dream which he’s well on the way to achieving and which he’d be a shoo-in for if he didn’t live in war-torn times. His life is complicated by the fact that his father has worked for the American Special Forces (as a tracker), and the war is turning in the favor of the North.When US forces withdraw and South Vietnamese forces are overrun, Y’tin escapes into the jungle with a couple of other boys and their elephants. Almost immediately a fault line freezes out Y’tin. The three boys had been close friends in the village, but under the stress of jungle life, the other two resent that Y’tin’s father worked for US Special Forces and that Y’tin, himself, had once gone on mission with the Americans. They believe that this is what has brought the war to their village. On the other hand, they recognize that Y’tin is more gifted in jungle craft than they, especially tracking, because of the education of his father.Because of these skills, Y’tin is chosen to go back on a mission to reconnoiter their village, and he finds it’s been bombed out and nobody is to be seen. This leaves it unclear how many of the villagers escaped versus being executed by the North Vietnamese forces—but he does know many were killed. [Incidentally, the title comes from Y’tin’s view of the jungle after seeing the remnants of his village—i.e. instead of being a million shades of green, all he can see is gray.]Besides telling the story of Y’tin’s adventures in surviving the war, the novel pivots on Y’tin’s role as a mahout—and ultimately as a protector of the elephants. Y’tin finds himself in a position in which his dream is no longer tenable, and he must decide whether take a heroic risk to save the elephants or hold on to his dream in the face of unfavorable odds.The book is only a little over 200 pages arranged into 14 chapters, and—as would be expected of YA fiction—is readable. The book’s strength is in building a lead character who’s interesting by virtue of his mix of worldly naiveté and jungle [local] wisdom and giving him intense challenges and dilemmas. Weakness? The strict chronological progression results in a slow start in which the author spends a chapter establishing that the lead character loves elephants without anything interesting happening. However, if one gives the book til the second chapter, things start happening.I’d recommend this book for readers of fiction, and particularly those interested in YA fiction and stories of war.

This is a beautiful book about the love of a boy for his elephant. It also shows the effects of the U.S. Pull-out from Vietnam on a group of friendly Vietnamese. Their entire existence was threatened because they had aided the Americans, but later the Americans did not uphold a promise to aid these people when the Vietcong and North Vietnamese came after them. It exemplifies the one more sadness of this useless but costly war.

Having read other of Cynthia Kadohata's books, I was expecting more. The story seemed under-developed and disjointed... I would have liked to see more in-depth writing about any of the many plots in the book... more about the elphants, more about the invasion of the North Vietnamese Army, more about the villagers' collaboration with the Americans, more about the reasons for the boys' changing relationsip but in the end, I was left disappointed and underwhelmed.

Cynthia Kadohata sets the bar high for writing and never disappoints a reader. This book is a fantastic read for upper elementary and middle school students. It will become one of my book club choices!

Some writing just resonates with one's soul and this poetry did with mine. I could envision experiences that tugged at my emotions and made the words on the page seem familiar. Moving!! I hope more is coming. I have recommended it to everyone I know who reads - and a few who don't.

as a young person during the Viet Nam war I have been trying to get that information to my grand children and this book ws a great help. One of them has a lovely Thai mother and it was nice for her to be able to offer some insights onher homeland.

This book is pretty good. It was enjoyable to read. If you like animals it's a must read book. I would suggest it.

Great book for teen boys especially with the protagonist facing many challenges as he transitions from a boy to a man.

The story of Ytin, a member of the Dega tribe of the highlands of Vietnam, whose only aim in life is to be an elephant herder for his village. It starts in 1973 when the Americans are still involved in the Vietnam War, but are pulling out, leaving the North Vietnamese and the VietCong to fight it out. In 1975 the war comes back to Yting's village and they're forced to flee, taking the elephants with him, but when they meet up with a wild herd, Lady, his elephant wants to join them and he lets her go. Eventually being re-unite with his family in a new village, he realises he doesn't want to fight, but he doesn't see how his old life can be sustained and the book ends with him deciding to go to Thailand to continue to be a herder. Somehow the book never reached its potential. It tells alot about the struggles of the boys, but doesn't really go anywhere with it. Not sure what the title means, as it's mentioned as a phrase one, and that's it. Suitable for 10+. I can't see many finding it exciting enough.

Ok, not the best, but different, a unique story. I can’t say I loved or I hated it. It’s good.