Grayson is a short novel about its author, Lynne Cox, encountering a baby whale during a swim, and going on a brief adventure to find its mother. My dad handed me this book, telling me I would love it. After I read it quickly, he asked me what I thought, and I replied that it seemed like a short story that someone really wanted to make into a novel. As a result, the book is fairly repetitive; Cox makes the same observations multiple times, extends the short plot too far, and inserts unrelated childhood memories. Cox has a way with words, but there is a simile overload. However, the lyrical writing makes up for the almost total lack of dialogue, and the book can easily be read in one sitting. The reader learns a lot about marine life, and all of it is interesting. Overall, I would say that Grayson, with its easy-to-read nature, inspiring ending, and irresistibly cute whale, would make a perfect gift for a nature-lover (especially a young teenager), if not an especially memorable book.
