Shades of Simon Gray (Readers Circle) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 0 stars

“Simon Gray is in a coma after his car slams into the Liberty Tree. His uncertain status stresses Devin, Kyle and Danny who recruited Simon and his computer expertise to help them cheat for good grades and ultimately be accepted by good colleges. When the police come around to question them they worry even more about being found out and whether Simon knew to conceal the evidence. Also bound up in the story is the background and true story of Jessup Wildemere's tragic hanging from the tree by city officials back it 1798. Simon finds his spirit traveling beyond the hospital where he meets Jessup at the tree.”

• Rated 4 stars

“The book Shades of Simon Gray, written by Joyce McDonald, was intruiging because it was strong in the area of content. It involves Simon Gray, a young high school student with an amazing ability with computers and is involved in "the project" with Kyle's gang, who gets in a car accident in which he gets in a coma and everything is unraveled. It keeps making you wonder whats going to happen next. "April is the cruelest month, Breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding a little life with dried tubers." It is saying April is the time where you reminisce the times that gave you grief and mixing it with what you desire, while Winter is the time where you forget the things that hinder you and starting anew.Therefore Joyce McDonald has written a book that has solid content. Like the content, the style of the this book was very dark. "A few hours past sunrise a murder of crows, thousands of them, blacken the skies swooping overhead in ominous waves, barking their deafening caw." It gives you creepy visual of what is happening to Bellehaven in your mind and makes you feel like your in the book. The style is very melancholy and gives you a creepy yet sorrowful vibe. As mentioned above I was very impressed with the style of this book. The form of this book was complicated and I found this effective. One main reason that this form did work was because of how their are many characters in the story, the author split the chapters by telling what some of the characters were doing in that chapter. Another reason that this form did worked was because it kept the book balanced and to help understand the chapter. These reasons made the form of the book work for me. It was exellent because the author was clear even though the form is complicated. As a result, I give this book a high recommendation becuase the content, form and style are perfect matches to the "Is this a good book?" puzzle. ”

• Rated 0 stars

“shades of simon gray is turning out to be a great book so far.Im reading it for a book club that I'm in. I've only gotten to chapter three but it is really a good so far! book.


shakira hernandez #47 ”

• Rated 0 stars

“This book is good so far but i hope it gets better becaise i am only on pages 28 and 29. i am on chapter two.”

• Rated 1 stars

“Loved it until about page 80. Then it got REALLY BORING, predictable, and a bit annoying! I kept waiting for something better to happen, but the end was completely anti-climatic! The summary boasts encounters with ghosts, but this only happened about 4 times throughout the whole book! It should have been called Shades of Devin's Guilt!”

• Rated 2 stars

“The beginning of the book had me hopeful for a gripping ghost story. By the end I was thinking of how much more the author could have done to improve the book.”