LitPick Review
Gray Zone by Veronica R. Tabares is about a sophomore girl named Autumn. After Autumn encounters cyberbullies, her parents insist she transfer schools. Autumn has always been the shy girl without many friends, but she plans to change this when she arrives at her new school. She strives to become the outgoing, friendly girl that everyone wants to be friends with. Yet trying to fit into this new and improved personality isn’t as easy as she thought it would be. So when her best friend, Sophie Rose, also transfers to Autumn’s school, Autumn is relieved. However, she soon finds that Sophie Rose has also taken on a new personality, and the two friends drift apart from each other. After a tragic event changes Autumn’s life, she realizes no one can escape the wrath of bullying.
Opinion:
I enjoyed reading Gray Zone and appreciated its themes concerning bullying, since it is so common in schools today. I liked how parts of this story were told through Sophie Rose’s diary entries, which allowed you to learn about events through dual perspectives. The events described in this story were realistic, but I don’t think the ways the characters handled the situations were lifelike. It was easy to like the main character, Autumn, as she was very relatable. Overall, I liked this novel and would recommend it to others, especially victims of bullying. This book brings attention to issues that are occurring every day in schools.
