ARC recieved from NetGalley.

When Sasha becomes overwhelmed by his anxiety his mind takes him to a place he refers to as "The Gray". Sasha's parents become overwhelmed themselves after an incident at school and send him to stay in country with his Aunt Ruthie for a mostly technology free stay before he begins the eighth grade in the fall.

After a bullying incident with a group of kids at the closed Camp Akiva, Sasha offers to pay Eli to be his bodyguard. Slowly, Eli opens up to a friendship with Sasha where the two begin working with the horses at a nearby ranch, taking lessons in Krav Maga at the Temple Aday Shalom and morning trips to go fishing. When Eli doesn't make it home the community must rally together to find them and the local teens must overcome their differences to assist in the search.

I loved that this middle grade book approaches the topic of anxiety and the connection to overuse of technology. Students who have anxiety will appreciate the tips for coming down from a panic attack. I also liked that after the first few chapters the focus became more about relationships between teenagers, bullying and the power of letting people see your inner self.

Excellent book about anxiety and changes as Sasha goes to spend the summer with Aunt Ruthie. When he gets overwhelmed Sasha goes to a place he calls the Gray. His uncle called Sasha’s sensitivity a gift and Sasha wonders if going away will make things worse. While at Aunt Ruthie’s Sasha makes new friends Eli and Ivy, and he learns to work with horses. He finds he likes being outside where he can fish with Eli and swim with Ivy. When something happens to make Eli run away, Sasha knows he has to help look for him. Will his anxiety get in the way? He remembers “ when things feel big take them just one step at a time.”