Shades of Gray (Steeple Hill Women's Fiction #32) [Paperback]

Jacquelin Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

Although married for 20 years, Sela Barnes is convinced that having an African-American daughter-in-law has never been acceptable to her husband's parents. However, when tragedy strikes, Sela turns to God for the first time and gains a new perspective.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Steeple Hill (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373785534
• ISBN-13: 978-0373785537
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,279,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jacquelin Thomas is an award winning, best selling author with twenty-nine titles in print. Her books have garnered several awards, including two EMMA awards, the Romance In Color Reviewers Award, Readers Choice Award and the Atlanta Choice Award in the Religious & Spiritual category. Jacquelin was a 2005 honoree at the Houston Black Film Festival for the movie adaptation of her novel, Hidden Blessings. She was the first recipient to receive the Writers Achievement Award at the North Carolina Book Festival in Winston-Salem.

Although Jacquelin initially published in the romance genre, she decided to follow the call on her heart to write Christian fiction because she seeks to write books that will touch your heart and uplift your spirits with tales of characters who yearn to have an intimate relationship with God. Committed to writing books that glorify God and her growing teen audience, Jacquelin published the first of her Young Adult Inspirational Fiction series titled Simply Divine in October 2006. Her second book in the series, Divine Confidential was nominated for a 2008 NAACP Image Award. She has since gone on to publish two more books in the series.

When asked why she is so passionate about writing teen novels, Thomas shares that teens are confronted with so much--sex, drugs, violence and abuse, physically and mentally. They need to not only listen to what the world says about these things but also to what the Bible says.

Jacquelin is a member of the National Writers Union, Romance Writers of America and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She is happily married to her best friend and is the proud mother of three children. Jacquelin and her family live in North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Those Gray Areas, March 21, 2006

By 

Sharel Love "Sharel E. Gordon-Love, Author" (North Plainfield, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shades of Gray (Steeple Hill Women's Fiction #32) (Paperback)

Title: Shades of Gray

Sela Barnes and her husband Rodney enjoyed a wonderful marriage, good relationships with their six children and a beautiful home. The only thorns in their side were Rodney's parents who refused to accept Sela as part of their family because Sela is African American and Rodney is White.

The book opens with Sela and Rodney renewing their vows for their

twentieth wedding anniversary at their new big, beautiful home

surrounded by family and friends. This would be their last milestone together as Rodney is soon diagnosed and succumbs to a condition called congestive cardiomyopathy, a disease that is hereditary.

Knowing that her life will forever be changed due to the death of her husband did not stop Sela from trying to make peace with her in-laws because she promised Rodney she would. Sela was constantly having a battle of words, wits and wills with her in-laws until her oldest daughter and son sat down with Sela and their grandparents to voice their opinion about how they treated each other. Ultimately it was Sela's decision to return to the God of her youth and depend on His strength so that she was able to make it each day after the passing of her husband and to finally make amends and become a true family.

I enjoyed this beautifully written novel by Jacquelin Thomas, but I still had questions when I was finished such as what was it really like to be an African American woman married to a White man in the South? The book takes you through the emotional struggles of dealing with grief from Sela's point of view, what her children did to cope and how she helped them, but it was not until the end of the book that I found out that it is not about race. It was about those gray areas in our lives that transcend the color line and is covered in a multitude of love.

Reviewed by Sharel E. Gordon-Love

APOOO BookClub

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Except The Lord Build The House, They Labor In Vain That Build It., February 26, 2006

By 

On Assignment Reviews "Linda!" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shades of Gray (Steeple Hill Women's Fiction #32) (Paperback)

In Shades of Gray Ms. Thomas' portrayal of the challenges of the Barnes family brings the reader face to face with the magnitude of the power of unresolved issues.

Throughout the pages you will come to know the love and trust Rodney Barnes has for and in God. The same reverence is seen in his children who range from five to twenty years in age. It is his wife Sela who worships from afar.

After twenty years of marriage and six beautiful children the gap between Sela and her in-laws has only widened. When tragedy strikes it is the truth of Psalm 127:1 (Except the Lord build the house), that is put to the test. Beset by pressures seemingly unbearable Sela initially reacts out of her pain. Words of love and truth spoken by her children and those from the journal of her husband are tools used to chip away at the cell walls holding her hostage to the pains of her past and present.

The story is not one unfamiliar to us whether it is a personal encounter or one experienced by those we know. It is the manner in which Shades of Gray is written that causes one to examine where they are at in personal relationships, (with God and others).

I commend Ms. Thomas for gifting the reading world with a novel that speaks to the truth of what a godly family should be and our responsibility to stand firm and to fight to retain the legacy for future generations.

Linda F. Beed, D.R.Ed

On Assignment Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome....Fresh....original...., February 23, 2006

By 

Jackie M "jaibeem" (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shades of Gray (Steeple Hill Women's Fiction #32) (Paperback)

Jacquelin Thomas is a phenominal author. She has definitely crossed over to show that Love is not black or white, but shades of gray. She has written a riveting story of how we all have to make changes and that GOD is in control of our lives whether we think so or not. Sometimes we wait too long to see the error of our ways and through children, Adults can also learn.

Proverbs 22:6 states to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Sela Barnes has and is raising some wonderful children and she should be very proud, from the youngest to the oldest, they know who GOD is and they are strong and more help then she actually can imagine. Her and Rodney have been married 20 years and you would think that by now her in-laws would be used to her, but see whenever you allow things to go on and you don't consult GOD years fly by and lost time is just that,you never know who you will need in your life. Rodney is the love of Sela's life and the apple of his mommas eye, but I think Rodney could and should have done more to decrease the gap between the family. Sela and Ethel have to deal with difficult situations and Sela realizes that once she has released the past and allow to GOD to work, he will use who and what he wants to bridge the gap and find a common ground for all involved. This story has some great moments, some sad moments and some angry moments, but it all has to come together, because you don't get to choose who is in your family and who you love. You also see where a lose can also bring about a gain. Rodney is a sweetheart though, planning so far ahead and he just prepared so much for his family, his love for Sela and the children was genuine. Ms Thomas can do a sequel with the children and also it is going to be time for Sela to move on - she is still young. Also Jay and Ayanna will have a story to tell I am sure and it is great that they are grounded and in the LORD! Excellent writing...