Customer Reviews

Grayson

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

(3.5 stars) When seventeen-year-old Lynne Cox is finishing her morning swim between Seal Beach pier and the San Gabriel River jetty, south of Los Angeles, she is hungry and cold. It is March, and the water temperature is in the fifties, but Lynne, a serious open-water swimmer, is in training, regularly doing three-hour workouts in the cold Pacific. When she discovers that a baby gray whale is following her to shore, she realizes that the baby must have lost its mother. Remaining in the water, alone except for the whale, she continues swimming on the chance that the baby, whom she names Grayson, will hear its mother vocalizing or that the mother will find them.

For the next couple of hours, she and the whale swim the one-and-a-half miles from the pier to an offshore oil rig in deep, often rough, water. The whale is confused, often diving deep and disappearing for ten minutes or more at a time, and Lynne begins to despair. When he finally disappears for a very long time and shows no signs of resurfacing, Lynne, close to hypothermia and discouraged, decides to head back to shore, alone.

By now this story is so well known that it gives nothing away to say eventually there is a happy resolution. For Lynne Cox, however, there is a much bigger story than "just" the reunion of the baby and its mother. For her, this experience has been a test of her strength, her will, and her faith, resulting, finally, in her personal triumph.

A morality tale about the interconnections of man and nature, Grayson is full of the "truths" drawn by a sensitive seventeen-year-old who sees the baby whale in human terms. She thinks only positive thoughts, sending mental messages to the baby whale and to his mother, telling them that she will help them find each other. She explains that "there are two ways of thinking--one of possibility and hope, the other of doubt and impossibility," adding that sometimes "the things that make the least sense to other people make the most sense to me."

Thirty years have passed since this experience, the author tells us, and she believes she learned much about life from it, never doubting her romantic conclusions or the words-to-live-by that she presents throughout her narrative. Though the author originally wrote this book for adults, its popularity among junior high students speaks to its appeal. The world she describes is not the nature of "tooth and claw" or the survival of the fittest. It is a world in which humans can interact with nature through positive thoughts and energy, and those, in turn, can reunite a baby whale and its presumably loving mother. n Mary Whipple

Champion swimmer Lynne Cox's new memoir Grayson is the powerful and remarkable story of one day in the life of Cox and a baby gray whale she named Grayson. It was an ordinary day that became a race to save the life of the months old baby whale that had been separated from his mother.

While training for a major swimming event, Cox, then age seventeen, was swimming off Seal Beach in southern California. It was early morning (5:00 a.m.) and Cox wanted to start practice early so she could spend the day with friends. As she neared the finish of her practice she felt an unusual and unfamiliar presence in the water with her. It soon became apparent that a baby whale was following her. Although Cox was tired, she couldn't leave the water because the whale would follow her onto shore and die.

Cox, with help from her old friend Steve, made plans to find Grayson's mother. Time was of the essence as baby whales drink over 50 gallons of milk a day and are completely dependant on their mothers. If Grayson's mother were not found soon, he would die. But mother whales are very protective and Cox's life is jeopardized by helping Grayson. With little thought for her personal safety, Cox and Grayson start a race for life.

Grayson is a beautiful story told with deep love and emotion for Grayson and the experience. Cox's writing is lyrical, motivational and expressive. Her words are so 'right on' that you feel you are in the water searching, playing and living, along with the swimmer and whale.

Armchair Interviews says: Grayson is a must read. Your heart will sing and you'll want to share the experience with others.

Lynn Cox has written a timeless masterpiece in this brilliantly written story of the unexpected ocean journey she found herself on one early dark morning in Southern California. Accompanied with 'Grayson', an orphaned baby gray whale lost from its migrating mother off the coast of California's Seal Beach, Lynn Cox takes the reader onto a most exhilarating oceanic adventure in search of the orphaned whale's nursing mother.

As the reader journey's through the pages and the dark crisp water of the Pacific, you find yourself on your own odyssey - listening, feeling, and understanding what it is to trust yourself no matter what the circumstances life hands you are. With each powerful and purposeful stroke of Lynn's arm cutting into the water, you are reminded of the strength of your own will and capability. And as the sun cuts thru the early morning darkness and the journey to find Grayson's mother continues, we are all reminded that sense of will and purpose is boundless.

I found the metaphor and imagery used in this joyfully wonderful true-life adventure to be so vivid and sharp and pulsating that I can't recommend this wonderful story enough to readers of all ages . . . and if you know someone who is not a person who dives into a good story - Grayson is as good a book as any I have ever read - and a great place for any potential reader to begin in reacquainting themselves with the wonderment of reading and the imagination, and perhaps a re-visit with themselves.

`Grayson' is a timeless masterpiece I have read and re-read. From one author to another, I would like to thank Lynn for, after all these years, sharing with all of us the adventures of that magical day you were blessed with on Seal Beach.

Lynne Cox had an amazing and rare wildlife opportunity and experience--there's no doubt about it. Unfortunately, she either couldn't find the right words or thought using more flowery, mystical imagery would enhance her telling of her encounter. Her first-hand retelling is interesting, but it's not altogether engaging or well written. It's like her story telling is weighing down the actual experience. I'd recommend the book to others, but I'd share my copy rather than telling anyone to buy it new.

The author draws the reader into her experience through vivid word imageries. We join her as she dives deeper, " entering a mermaid's world where color and light were transformed into liquid. I swam through colors, through liquid silvers, whites, yellows, greens, purples, and blues. It was like diving into bubbly white champagne, into clear gin, deeper into swaying walls of chardonnay... I passed a world of shimmering julep green, through merlots and grape...finally into the deep water the color of blueberry juice.

And later in the book Lynne Cox recounts "the water changed to a bright purple blue and it was like floating on Van Gogh's irisis."

You will be enchanted by the imagery, calmed by the waves, and yet excited at the same time by the challenge of the rescue, will she make it, will Grayson be saved. The story has all the enthusiasm of a sporting competition, the beauty of nature, and will awaken the sensitivity of humans to the dangers of our fellow earthly inhabitants - the animal world.

I have two daughters, one in kindergarten, one in fourth grade, and every night I read them both to sleep with a chapter from this amazing book. Not only is it well written, but it tells the story of a teenage girl who has tenacity of spirit to swim in the cold ocean every day before dawn to train for swimming long distances. In doing so the writer/swimmer tells of how she faced her fears in those cold, dark swims and how she passionately loves the ocean and all the mysteries it contains. My girls were mesmerized by her story, and while the five year old fell asleep a lot sooner than my fourth grader, none of us could ask for a better story to read together. What a great message this book gives kids; to face the unknown, to have faith in oneself, to work hard for a goal that many people couldn't imagine, and all the while respecting and caring about our environment! Cox captures details about the tiniest of creatures to, naturally, the touching story of Grayson, a lost baby whale she stuggles to help. Grayson is filled with fascinating details about marine life off the Orange County coastline, specifically, Seal Beach, and reminds us all that there is something mysterious and wonderful about how connected we are and that we bear a responsibility to honor that connection. I loved this book! All of us reading it (ages 5, 9 and 45) couldn't wait to get to the next chapter. Frankly, I think Grayson really should be included in all fourth grade lesson plans and curriculums; it's so informative about marine biology and contains such a great tale of the inner strength of young people! Read Grayson to your children! Not only will you love the story yourself, but they'll thank you for the lessons it contains later on. All children, especially girls, need more role models like Lynne Cox.

I read this book and I liked it however I felt that it was a bit sparse and not really deep. Ok, it wasn't really supposed to be nor did it need to be but there was just something I did not like about the extremely simple sentences and the repetitive metaphors and descriptions. I'm very glad I did read it, however I'm also very glad I got it for a very small price because I never would have been happy about paying the full price for this book.

Reading "Grayson" is ....like Ms. Cox's 'Swimming to Antarctica" so wordy and stretched that the reader may give up before finishing. I did finish Grayson because I wanted to know the ending. I had even thought, when first reading, that I would give this book to my daughter who teaches Reading to fifth graders. But....I decided against it for the reason that I know they would love the first but really get bogged down before the final page. It's a great story but could have been condensed into perhaps 10 pages.

I love the ocean and found this book beautiful and moving. It describes the experience of meeting a baby gray whale and then trying to help it find its mother. There is some wonderfully descriptive writing of the ocean, and facts added in that give it more meat. It also gives lots of advice and encouragement, not to give up, to follow your dreams and that anything is possible. We bought the audio book for a family vacation and my 4 year old and 7 year old both enjoyed the story very much. They are excited to attend a grunion run and are also excited about whales.

I enjoyed reading this book so much I decided to read it to my ten year old nephew. The book was very descriptive which allowed my nephew and I to look up different types of sea creatures on the internet while reading. I found the book to be very inspirational due to the author's inner dialogue with herself. I found messages regarding positive thinking and not always fitting in to be additional bonuses in this wonderful book.