Shades of Gray is a work of middle grade historical fiction set in the South during the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War. It was written by Carolyn Reeder and published in 1989. The book won numerous awards, including the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and the Jefferson Cup Award from the Virginia Library Association. Reeder has written numerous books for adults centered on the Shenandoah Valley, where this novel’s protagonist, Will, hails from. She has also written numerous works for children. Shades of Gray follows the story of Will as he leaves his hometown after the Civil War to go live with his uncle, who Will believes is a traitor because he refused to fight for the Confederacy.

The novel explores numerous themes, including how other people’s opinions contribute to a person’s self-awareness, how there are different definitions of courage, and the value of hard work. The necessity of seeing gray rather than just black and white is intertwined throughout the novel.

This study guide refers to the March 1991 First Avon Camelot Printing paperback version of the novel.

Content Warning: The book contains references to death, wartime violence, and the death of children due to both war and disease. There are numerous culturally significant references to slavery, and the protagonist of the novel is pro-slavery.

Plot Summary

As the novel opens, Will is on a journey with Doc Martin, his mother’s doctor, to go live with Will’s Uncle Jed, Aunt Ella, and cousin Meg. He must leave his hometown because his entire family died during the war. His father died fighting, and his brother was killed because he mocked Yankee soldiers. His two sisters died of disease brought to the area by the military encampments, and he believes his mother’s death was caused by a lack of desire to continue living in the midst of all of her loss. Doc Martin cannot take Will to live with him because, as a single doctor, he does not have enough stability in his life to raise a son. During their journey, Doc Martin tries to explain to Will that Will’s uncle is not a traitor because he did not work against the Confederacy. He merely refused to fight for it. Will does not see this distinction.

When Will gets to his aunt’s house, he doesn’t use his uncle’s preferred name, Uncle Jed, out of disrespect. Will knows he is imposing on the low-income family and asking a lot of them. As a city boy whose family enslaved people, Will does not know how to perform manual labor necessary for surviving in the country. His cousin, Meg, teaches him how to do some chores, and he pridefully tries to keep up with her, even when he cannot. One day, when Meg and Will go fishing, they come across three boys. One of them, Hank, tries to goad Will into fighting or giving him his fish. Will’s brother, Charlie, however, taught Will how to defuse such situations with wit, and Will manages to avoid a fight and keep his fish. Hank continues to cause problems for Will throughout the novel, but the two forge a reluctant friendship by the novel’s end.

Uncle Jed teaches Will how to check the trap lines. Will is ashamed when he cannot immediately find his way back to the traps; he does not want to wound his pride by showing weakness in front of his uncle. His uncle also has him work around the barn and help fix a fence. At the beginning of the novel, Will does not see the value of hard work, but as he assists his uncle, aunt, and cousin, he develops a grudging respect for his uncle.

Will continues to struggle with his conception of courage and his belief that his uncle lacks this courage. When Hank tries to fight Will, he agrees to fight the older boy because he does not want to look like a coward. Later, when he tells his Aunt Ella that he had no choice but to fight Hank because he did not want to be a coward, she tells him that just because someone else thinks he is a coward does not necessarily make him one. Uncle Jed points out Will’s self-centeredness, and he also explains that a man must do what he thinks is right, even if other people disagree or think him a coward.

Will receives a letter from Doc Martin saying that his sister has come to live with him and has one of the enslaved people who used to care for Will and his family. Doc Martin tells the boy that he would be happy to raise him as a son. Will is excited and plans to go live with the doctor, but he neither writes back to the doctor nor tells his family about this. By the end of the novel, he has come to respect his aunt, uncle, and cousin, and he decides that as his only family, he wants to live with them.