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Grayland
After her sister’s suicide, Marina Magaña struggles to get through each day. Stuck in a dead-end job, stalled out of college, and falling out with friends and family, her world is stagnating, drained of color. She’s lost and doesn’t know where her life is headed.
One day she finds a mysterious locket, and soon after, a mysterious figure—the gray man—appears. Marina doesn’t know what to make of the strange events that follow, but she comes to understand that the gray man is more powerful than she could ever have imagined.
In a tale touched by traumatic loss, painful self-discovery, and lyrical beauty, Marina must find out if she has what it takes to move on before it’s too late: before she, or someone she loves, gets caught between her mistakes and the power of the gray man.
One day she finds a mysterious locket, and soon after, a mysterious figure—the gray man—appears. Marina doesn’t know what to make of the strange events that follow, but she comes to understand that the gray man is more powerful than she could ever have imagined.
In a tale touched by traumatic loss, painful self-discovery, and lyrical beauty, Marina must find out if she has what it takes to move on before it’s too late: before she, or someone she loves, gets caught between her mistakes and the power of the gray man.
264 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2015
1 person is currently reading
469 people want to read
About the author
Maddie DeLange
1 book14 followersThe world is a fascinating place, and I’m thankful to be in it. I like being outdoors, being indoors, spending time in the Pacific Northwest, and also getting away from it. I live to eat, love to learn, and, just like everybody else, take too many pictures with my phone.
My home is in Oregon with my friends, family, husband, and son.
My home is in Oregon with my friends, family, husband, and son.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 18, 2015
"Rachel's dead because she slit her wrists and bled." That seems to be Marina's mantra at times to help her cope with the fact that her sister is gone. She was close with her sister but her sister apparently had a lot of secrets that didn't come out until after her death that left some unanswered questions for Marina where she keeps having "dreams" about her sister and talking to her trying to figure things out.
Then one day Marina comes across a "magical" locket & starts seeing the "Gray Man". She doesn't know what's going on until her sister tells her in a "dream" that he's there to give her 3 favors & she tells Marina that she would like to come back but Marina asks her that if she used a favor on her, what's there to say she wont just kill herself again? Rachel just basically shrugs her off. Marina's life is basically going nowhere fast.. Her brother is more successful & brushes her off all the time, her mother seems to rub this in her face at times, tho she doesn't think it's intentional. She wants her family to be a family again, but after her sisters death everyone just went their separate ways. Marina also has a dead end job & doesn't want to go to college because she doesn't want to end up in debt, so she really doesn't have much of a future but her best friend and roommate is going for pre-med, as is all her roommate's friends, so Marina is an outcast.
So here Marina has this locket that she can use to get whatever she wants. She can wish for money, a great job, her sister back, etc. So what does she do? Does she do anything at all? You'll have to read the book to find out and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the ending!
I received this book for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
Then one day Marina comes across a "magical" locket & starts seeing the "Gray Man". She doesn't know what's going on until her sister tells her in a "dream" that he's there to give her 3 favors & she tells Marina that she would like to come back but Marina asks her that if she used a favor on her, what's there to say she wont just kill herself again? Rachel just basically shrugs her off. Marina's life is basically going nowhere fast.. Her brother is more successful & brushes her off all the time, her mother seems to rub this in her face at times, tho she doesn't think it's intentional. She wants her family to be a family again, but after her sisters death everyone just went their separate ways. Marina also has a dead end job & doesn't want to go to college because she doesn't want to end up in debt, so she really doesn't have much of a future but her best friend and roommate is going for pre-med, as is all her roommate's friends, so Marina is an outcast.
So here Marina has this locket that she can use to get whatever she wants. She can wish for money, a great job, her sister back, etc. So what does she do? Does she do anything at all? You'll have to read the book to find out and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the ending!
I received this book for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
March 2, 2021
1.5 This was definitely not what I expected at all. The description doesn't really match what the book ends up being. It felt like a rough draft by someone writing for a class. Much too much description of things that weren't important to the story. Unsatisfying.
September 30, 2015
Grayland opens with a bang as Marina encounters the dead figure of Rachel in a dreamscape where Marina longs to join her. But Rachel committed suicide, and Marina is left seeking closure, acceptance, or something more.
This 'something else' is what Grayland is all about, moving readers from Marina's process of mourning and grief to living life again in a horrible autumn that seems endless.
Family and friends, beach fires and work, and the ethereal presence of the mysterious gray man always on the edge of Marina's mind wind a slow, lazy smoke trail that only strengthens as chapters explore events of past and present and the threat of a transformation that is taking over Marina's life.
Grayland 's story line moves deftly through family relationships, interactions, and a growing threat that interferes with carefully-built relationships in Marina's life. As the mysterious gray man becomes a more powerful force in her life, Marina faces many choices - and can't confide in anyone about any of them.
As a beach discovery takes over her life, readers are drawn into the compelling saga of Marina's struggles for survival. The story moves full circle through beach, life, family and friends and leads to a place that opens and closes with Rachel and an event that knocked Marina off her feet and threatened her perceptions of the world. What is the force that ties them together, and what does the gray man have to do with it?
Grayland is about life, death, and everything between the two, and is a gently-moving saga of love, dreams, manipulation, and struggle that will enchant novel readers looking for a powerful saga of recovery.
This 'something else' is what Grayland is all about, moving readers from Marina's process of mourning and grief to living life again in a horrible autumn that seems endless.
Family and friends, beach fires and work, and the ethereal presence of the mysterious gray man always on the edge of Marina's mind wind a slow, lazy smoke trail that only strengthens as chapters explore events of past and present and the threat of a transformation that is taking over Marina's life.
Grayland 's story line moves deftly through family relationships, interactions, and a growing threat that interferes with carefully-built relationships in Marina's life. As the mysterious gray man becomes a more powerful force in her life, Marina faces many choices - and can't confide in anyone about any of them.
As a beach discovery takes over her life, readers are drawn into the compelling saga of Marina's struggles for survival. The story moves full circle through beach, life, family and friends and leads to a place that opens and closes with Rachel and an event that knocked Marina off her feet and threatened her perceptions of the world. What is the force that ties them together, and what does the gray man have to do with it?
Grayland is about life, death, and everything between the two, and is a gently-moving saga of love, dreams, manipulation, and struggle that will enchant novel readers looking for a powerful saga of recovery.
January 10, 2016
I didn't know how I felt about this book when I first started it at the end of September. If felt just like the name of the title--this grayland where our protagonist, Marina, lives in a state of limbo.
I could connect to her on some level, not only because she is hispanic, but because I too have felt like my life is at this stalled point where I don't know how to move forward. It's scary because you're supposed to know what you want to do and when and where. You're supposed to enjoy life, but you don't know how. So I could understand Maddie on that depressed level she lives in, and also on being the sister of a sibling who has been molested.
All throughout the story though, I had one reoccurring question: Who is the gray man? While I never do get a response to that question, I do think he stands as a sort of symbol of depression and a representation of wishes we ask life to grant us. Like do-overs. I think he is freaky though, along with that creepy locket Marina finds that haunts her when she tries to get rid of it.
This gave me a lot to think about in regards to how people deal with life and grief, but more especially about depression. It made me reflect on my own life.
4 Platypires.
I could connect to her on some level, not only because she is hispanic, but because I too have felt like my life is at this stalled point where I don't know how to move forward. It's scary because you're supposed to know what you want to do and when and where. You're supposed to enjoy life, but you don't know how. So I could understand Maddie on that depressed level she lives in, and also on being the sister of a sibling who has been molested.
All throughout the story though, I had one reoccurring question: Who is the gray man? While I never do get a response to that question, I do think he stands as a sort of symbol of depression and a representation of wishes we ask life to grant us. Like do-overs. I think he is freaky though, along with that creepy locket Marina finds that haunts her when she tries to get rid of it.
This gave me a lot to think about in regards to how people deal with life and grief, but more especially about depression. It made me reflect on my own life.
4 Platypires.
December 31, 2015
I found this story to be interesting, but not enthralling. In all honesty, I just never really got drawn in the way I usually do with horror/thriller stories.
This is a story about life, death, grief and everything in between. It's a good concept, but the story of what happens after Marina finds the locket and is granted three wishes felt a little too undeveloped.
The book didn't always hold my attention, and sometimes left me confused with some of the plot points. The author does an excellent job of describing the hopeless feeling of a person with depression, however. She captures the constantly flitting thoughts, as well as the weariness and confusion.
I really wanted to like this book more....but it needs that "something" to hook the reader and draw them deeper and deeper into the story.
**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**
This is a story about life, death, grief and everything in between. It's a good concept, but the story of what happens after Marina finds the locket and is granted three wishes felt a little too undeveloped.
The book didn't always hold my attention, and sometimes left me confused with some of the plot points. The author does an excellent job of describing the hopeless feeling of a person with depression, however. She captures the constantly flitting thoughts, as well as the weariness and confusion.
I really wanted to like this book more....but it needs that "something" to hook the reader and draw them deeper and deeper into the story.
**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**
September 9, 2015
Goodreads Win Copy
Marina Magaña finds herself struggling after the suicide of her twin sister. Lost in her own world of a dead end job, in between college, struggling with family relationships and not knowing what she wants from life.
When she finds a mysterious locket on the beach, her world starts to chance. She meets a stranger in a gray man who changes her life and keeps dreaming of her dead sister and three wishes.
As she searches for her role in life before unknown dangerous lurks as the gray man seeks her out. Can she find away to help those around before it is too late? An interesting perspective of coping with suicide and how it effects the people around them.
Marina Magaña finds herself struggling after the suicide of her twin sister. Lost in her own world of a dead end job, in between college, struggling with family relationships and not knowing what she wants from life.
When she finds a mysterious locket on the beach, her world starts to chance. She meets a stranger in a gray man who changes her life and keeps dreaming of her dead sister and three wishes.
As she searches for her role in life before unknown dangerous lurks as the gray man seeks her out. Can she find away to help those around before it is too late? An interesting perspective of coping with suicide and how it effects the people around them.
September 12, 2015
Grayland was a fantastic read. I didn't want to put the book down. Perhaps it was because the author, Maddie DeLange, brought Marina to life via challenges she faced and what lessons she learned along the way at the end. This would be a great movie.
September 9, 2015
Good plot with complex characters. I really enjoyed this book. Won courtesy of Goodreads Giveaway.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews