Monday, December 31, 2012

Book Spotlight ~ Shades of Gray by Susanne Jacoby Hale

Book: Shades of Gray

Author: Susanne Jacoby Hale

Publication Date: December 15th 2011

Goodreads link


Blurb:

In inner-city New York, horros lurk in the unruly hallways of Malcolm High School. As in-school riots and gang violence consistently envelop the classroom, Olivia Dalton attempts to teach her students while simultaneously directing a drop-out prevention program that embraces an ever-increasing group of at-risk students. Left with little hope she will ever have children of her own, Olivia becomes entrenched in her students' lives, partly out of love, but also out of an unconscious desire to avoid her own internal anguish.

Meanwhile, Olivia's devoted husband, Tom, is having trouble facing his own disappointments in not being able to create a family. In an effort to protect Olivia, he attempts to hold her back from the one place she feels useful and fulfilled-her career. But despite her husband's efforts to quell her desire to help the troubled and confused, Olivia presses on and believes in change, even in the face of her students' continual mistakes and poor choices. Neither Tom nor Olivia have any idea that everything is about to change when an unassuming gift is left at their door.

Shades of Gray is the profound story of one woman's unpredictable journey to the truth, new beginnings, and a kind of love she never knew before.

About the Author: 

A former drop-out prevention teacher in a New York City high school, earned a master's degree from New York University in education and creative writing. Although, when she began teaching in the real ACE program, depicted in Shades of Gray, she had no idea that it would change her life forever. Having been out of the classroom for a few years, Jacoby Hale still felt the need to make a difference in the lives of students.

She had a fondness for writing since she was a child, but it wasn't until many years later that Jacoby Hale felt the need to tell the story of a dedicated teacher. She believes that good teachers are often unappreciated, while students' needs are frequently misconstrued. Sometimes the only thing missing in today's classroom is compassion "If we close our eyes, all kids look the same," says Jacoby Hale, "I learned this the day I fell in love with my ACE students."

Susanne Jacoby Hale currently lives in South Florida with her husband and their three children. This is her debut novel.

For more information on Shades of Gray, follow the links below:

Susanne Jacoby Hale's Website
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Goodreads

Please check back later for a review on Shades of Gray.

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