Shiver

Summary:  Shiver is not your typical werewolf story. It is a teenage love story with a twist. The werewolves don't change into savage beasts during a full moon, it happens when the temperatures become too cold for them to stay human. Grace, the young protagonist, was bitten by a wolf when she was young but never changed. We never really figure out why she never changed. It could be that her father left her in a hot car or that she got really sick with the flu right after with a super high fever. Sam, Grace's wolf, her protector and savior also tells part of the story from his point of view. Sam's parents were cruel to him, trying to kill him in a bath tub when Beck supposedly swoops in to save him.  

During the story one of her classmates, Jack Culpepper is "killed" by the wolves.  He wasn't a very nice human but he is even more mean as a wolf. His sister, Isabel, discovers the truth and wants to cure him, Sam and Grace's friend, Olivia. Jack bit Olivia changing her too. She thinks it was Grace's high fever that was the cure, so she comes up with the idea of giving each of them bacterial meningitis, a deadly disease. Jack takes his dose, but dies 3 days later.  Olivia decides she wants to become a wolf and refuses her dose and Sam takes his dose but becomes a wolf right in the middle of it and runs off. We are left with Sam and Grace embracing as humans at the end of the story, obviously with sequels already written there is more to this story.

Stiefvater, M. (2009). Shiver. New York: Scholastic Press.

Commentary:  The strengths of this book are that even though it is a love story that not many boys can usually relate to, it has both boy and girl protagonists and tells the story from both of their point of view so boys can relate to it as well.  After watching many author interviews, I found out that she came from a family with 5 children who were all musically inclined. She changed her name when she was 16 years old.  She was originally Heidi Hummel.  She wore black and goth before it was considered cool. She was homeschooled from 6th grade on. Despite that she was not around a hoard of teenagers growing up she really knows the teenage heart and soul and how to reach into their mind and reach them through her stories.  Grace has parents that don't pay very close attention to her so Sam is basically able to live in her room for weeks without her parents even noticing.  This is probably something that most teens would probably believe happens because they believe no one ever notices them but the truth is they could probably never get away with that.

Connections:  This book would be a Fiction, low fantasy novel being that it is based in a small town very similar to another city that we would see in Minnesota. Although it mainly focused on the characters and their development and struggle, the events that take place as werewolves would not really happen making it a fictional story. This story tugs at my heart, wanting Sam to survive as a human for Grace but I also don't want him to lose his family connection with Beck and Ulrich and his wolf family. I enjoyed they way this book went from one narrator, Grace, and then switched to Sam's point of view in the next chapter.  It was also interesting how it told the temperature for each chapter so a lot of the time left you thinking, "ok this is the chapter where he will change, its too cold." But then he wouldn't. It was intriguing. 


Link to the author's page Maggie Stiefvater

Book Trailer

YASLA Interview with Maggie Stiefvater

Interview with Maggie Stiefvater (this interview references her trilogy Raven Cycle) but helps us to get to know this author.

National Writers Series:  An Evening with Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver Study Guide
I found a lot of fans asking if Shiver would be made into a movie and here is what I found on Maggie Stiefvater's Tumblr Page.

The Notorious Benedict Arnold

Summary:  The Notorious Benedict Arnold tells the story of one of America's bravest revolutionary leaders and most notorious traitor. Born in Norwich, CT young Benedict Arnold came from a once prominent family that fell into disarray as his father fell on hard times financially. While away at boarding school (Yale) he lost his sister to Yellow Fever driving his father to alcoholism that worsened upon the death of his mother. Since they could no longer afford schooling, his mother set him up with an apprenticeship as an apothecary and tradesman. He joined the military at this point but when is mother got sick he deserted to take care of her. After his father's death he forever took care of his only living sibling, Hannah. 

Upon finishing his apprenticeship he became a very successful merchant in New Haven, CT marrying his wife, Margaret, who bared three sons. Like many colonists, the Stamp Act and other British taxation began to degrade his business so he decided to join the military and the Revolutionary War. 

Arnold's military in the service of the United States was distinguished but filled with controversy. He lead the war into Canada and the siege of Quebec and showed to be incredibly brave and bold. While there, his wife died. He technically built and led America's first Navy on Lake Champlain where he successfully held the British Navy at bay and in the second battle of Saratoga he again saved the Revolutionary Army with a fit of brilliance. 

While Washington loved Arnold, his fame grew too much and he got caught up in the constant bickering with Congress. His injuries at Saratoga were so grave that he was assigned to be the military governor of Philadelphia where he had some shady financial dealings and married a Tory who eventually supported him in his final betrayal. Disgraced by being passed over and constantly harassed by both the Pennsylvania legislature and the Continental Congress, Arnold was convinced (in part due to his mounting debt) to betray the American forces and General Washington. Due to a few mishaps and lucky situations for the Americans, Arnold's plot was thwarted and luckily discovered. While he was named a British Officer and served England for a number of years, he died unknown and unremarkable in England years after the betrayal.  

Sheinkin, S. (2010). The notorious Benedict Arnold. New York: Macmillan.

Commentary:  Arnold was a very proud, brave, energetic and brilliant. His past however also created a man that was prideful and easily angered. The tragedies early in his life compounded by the challenges (embarrassment of his father) had a profound impact on his life. The things that lead him to become a great fighting general and the man Washington loved also created conflicts making him a political liability. The constant slights and financial pressures due to this probably lead him to his betrayal. He was a staunch advocate of the American cause but the influence of his second wife along with constantly being slighted had a large impact on his psyche. If Arnold had stayed loyal he might have been known as one of the bravest US commanders behind Washington. Washington actually offered him leadership of his left flank but he had already made his deal with the British and chose West Point to divide the US army and hopefully cause their downfall. Ultimately, Arnold's conflict between honor and pride became his downfall.

The only memorial left to him is the leg he gave in the battle of Saratoga. At some far flung area of the Saratoga battlefield is a statue of a leg, the one Arnold gave in the service of the American cause there. At one point either Washington or one of his men said that "His leg was a hero and patriot, and the rest of him was a traitor".

Connections:  I would consider this book a Non-Fiction Informational Biography about the real life of Benedict Arnold and the situations that created his eventual betrayal. Although it mainly focused on Arnold and his life it also provided insights into the key players in his life and the plot to deliver Washington to the British. The book does a good job describing the events, pressures and situations that lead Arnold to his eventual betrayal. The book takes Benedict Arnold through his young life into adulthood. There are many themes of confrontation and significant life changes (deaths, changes in career, etc.) impacting a very independent-minded Arnold. The book also includes few fully developed characters and eventually focuses on the consequences of his actions. 


The link to the author's page for Steven Sheinkin. Sheinkin was originally a textbook author and tried his hand as a documentary filmmaker which didn't work out. He now writes about historical figures and situations. 

Book Trailer

Interview with Steve Sheinkin after he won the 2012 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award for this book.

Lecture with Steve Sheinkin

New York Times Book Review

Educator's Guide

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

Summary:   Glory O'Brien is about to graduate from high school and she has no future plans.  Her mother committed suicide when she was a young girl and left her and her father always searching for who they are. Glory and her friend, Ellie, decide to drink a bat one night and after that they can both see the future through "transmissions" from other people. Glory sees a second Civil War coming where women have lost all their rights and young girls are kidnapped in droves in the middle of the night. Glory is not sure of her place in the world but after graduation she begins going down to her mother's photography studio where she finds a journal. She decides to write a journal of her own documenting the "transmissions" she receives in hopes of providing insight to others someday, like her mother has in a way provided to her.  There are lots of things revealed in her mother's diary and the transmissions, like Ellie's mother sending nude photos to her father in addition to her mother "loaning" the land to her Ellie's mother that they are using as a commune, which they take back at the end of the story.

King, A. (2014). Glory O’Brien’s history of the future. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Commentary:  The strengths of this book are that the only thing Glory knows about her future is that she does not want to go off to college like everyone else.  That is all that she knows. She is fearful she may end up down the same path as her mother.  She is looking for herself and probably has been since her mother committed suicide when she was 4 years old. She questions just about everything because of that one event in her life.  After graduation, she begins going down to her mother's photography studio much to her father's dismay.  She finds a book that her mother has created titled Why People Take Pictures, it is sort of like a journal.  

Connections:  I would consider this book a Fiction, low fantasy novel being that it is based in current times but with flashbacks to the past and flash forwards of the future after she and her best friend drink a bat. These visions or what Glory calls transmissions are revealing. Sometimes they come from the past and other times they are glimpses into the future.  It appears that there is an impending second Civil War, where women's right are the target. Similar to things that are going on in our world currently, not just women's rights but with human rights.   These transmissions are quite confusing at first but as she begins to get more and more Glory begins to embrace them and record them in her own journal The Origin of Everything, like her mother did with her photography journal.  Although I really liked this book, it was a difficult one for me to read because my father committed suicide.


Link to the author's page for A.S. King  I love that she touts herself as an author, thinker, juggler and wearer of magical writing pants.  I need some pants like that.

Book Trailer

Interview with A. S. King.

New York Times Book Review

Educator's Guide

Audiobook Excerpt from Audiobooks.com

Knife of Never Letting Go

Summary: The Knife of Never Letting Go is about a small town of only men.  Todd Hewitt is the only boy left in Prentisstown. As it turns out, to become a man you have to kill someone and Todd can't kill. He has been told since birth that during the war with the Spackle (natives of the planet they inhabit) that all of the women have died and that the Spackle infected them all with "noise" or the ability to hear other men's thoughts. 

Since Todd lost his parents in the war, two men, Ben and Cillian raise him on their farm. They also want him to leave Prentisstown before he becomes a man. Todd discovers a "gap" in the noise in the swamp which turns out to be a girl (Viola) from a ship in outer space looking to further colonize the planet. Her ship has crashed in the swamp killing her parents and she is alone. Todd, along with his dog Manchee rescue her from Aaron (the town Preacher) and the other men of Prentisstown who were waiting for Todd to become a man, create an army and take over all of New World. 

As the book goes on it follows Todd and Viola as they build upon their relationship dealing with both the tragedies of New World and their growth into adulthood. The book follows Todd as he struggles to understand the lies he's been told all his life, the loss of Ben and Cillian and his growing concern and care for Viola. Ben and Cillian gave Todd a diary of his mother's before he left that he struggles with reading (he can't read). Viola and Todd spend the entire book running away from the Prentisstown army lead by Mayor Prentiss and to the largest inhabited city on New World, Haven. 

Todd eventually confronts Aaron, other villagers, his own "noise" and confronts and kills a Spackle that he'll always regret. He is reunited with Ben and loses him again while he and Viola struggle to beat Mayor Prentiss to Haven. 

Ness, P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

Commentary:  The strengths of this book are that it does a very good job balancing the themes of loss, betrayal, adolescence, friendship, sacrifice and strength. Todd and Viola act as support for each other trying to keep themselves good in a world full of bad things. They fight through continuous setbacks and challenges while growing stronger in friendship and trust. Both Todd and Viola struggle with the losses of family and friends while attempting to hold on to the hope that Ben eventually refers to as they reunite later in the book. Even the loss of Todd's dog who bravely defends him continues to haunt and strengthen Todd throughout the book. In the end of this book (it's part one of three) however Viola is shot and mortally wounded while Todd finds out that Mayor Prentiss has beaten him to Haven and declared himself the President of New World. 

Connections:  I would consider this book a Fiction, low fantasy book.  Although they have left the "Old World" (Planet Earth) and come to the "New World" there is not much in the way of sci-fi to make this a high fantasy book. Todd is highly independent after his caregivers have sent him off to protect him. He runs from those in power of the small town, the only place he has ever known having to explore himself and a planet he thought he knew but really knew nothing about. There are many Young Adult themes included in this book. Most all of the themes were considered except contemporary issues, the book reads like a western on a different planet. The "noise" and alien life are really sci-fi parts of the book. The main characters (Todd and Viola) deal with conflict and develop consistently throughout the book. Once difference is Ness does a good job working to define a great number of the characters in the book though he does leave a lot of them undeveloped and with little depth. However, many of the "shallow" characters are built upon in the subsequent books. 


Link to the author's page, Patrick Ness.

Book Trailer

Interview with author, Patrick Ness from the London Book Fair.

Teacher's Note

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Summary: This 2005 Printz Award Nominee is about a minister's son, Turner, and his family that have been relocated from Boston to Phippsburg, Maine in 1912. Turner is bullied for being a minister's son even when he doesn't always act like one. He makes friends with Lizzie Bright Griffin from Malaga Island, much to the community and his parent's dismay. The townsfolk try to send all the Island folk packing because they want to turn Malaga into a tourist attraction. Turner stands up for them but things take a deadly turn when his father realizes he needs to do the right thing too. Ms. Cobb leaves her house to Turner in her will.  He hoped it give it to Lizzie and her caregivers, when her grandfather died.  The townsfolk burn down all the houses on the Island and the remaining residents of Malaga are sent to the insane asylum. Turner later finds out that Lizzie died a few weeks after she left Malaga.  He had hoped to save/free her, like touching a whale saved and freed him.

Schmidt, G. D. (2004). Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster boy. Boston, MA: Clarion Books.

Commentary:  The strengths of this book are that it is well rooted in history, one that we cannot change but would truly like to.  The author builds the likability of both young protagonists, Turner and Lizzie and their friendship.  Turner may not change much in the book but he certainly helps others in the book to change, like his father, his friend, Willis, Ms. Cobb and many of the townspeople.  The issues of the time were discrimination and placing people who are different from us or elderly whom we no longer wanted to deal with into asylums.  A sad time, indeed. 

Connections:  I would consider this book a Realistic Historical Fiction novel being that it based on a real event that occurred in 1912 in Maine, illustrating very similar events that take place in the book. Although it mainly focused on the characters and their development, the events that take place truly tug at your heart strings so much so that I wanted to jump into the book and scream at the injustice. I found this book to be an endearing Young Adult Literature book where the young protagonist places himself into direct confrontation throughout the book despite being warned numerous times to stay away from Malaga Island and his friend, Lizzie Bright. 


Link to the author's page for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Book Trailer

Interview with Gary D .Schmidt (this interview references his book Okay for Now) but helps us to get to know this author.

Teacher's Guide

Annie on My Mind

Summary:  Liza meets Annie at a Museum and they become more than friends over the course of the school year. Liza attends private school and Annie attends public school. They come from very different backgrounds. Liza is suspended because she doesn't "report" a friend who is piercing ears for profit in the basement of the school. During the suspension the girls become closer. The girls spend the holidays together. Two female teachers at Liza's school go out of town for spring break. Liza offers to house and pet sit for them. A school administrator discovers the girls at the house in a precarious situation and the teachers return in the midst of this discovery. Liza is suspended again and must go before the school board to plead her case. All the while, the school is struggling to stay open. The school administrators fear that if Liza isn't dealt with swiftly, it will effect the fundraising campaign. Liza is exonerated however both of her teachers are released of duty because of their relationship even though they had taught there for years. The girls go off to college on opposite coasts. Liza isn't sure what to do about their relationship and never responds to Annie's letters. In the end, they reunite and live happily ever after.

Garden, N. (1982). Annie on my mind. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Commentary:  The strengths of this book are that it allows teenagers who are questioning their sexuality to have a book that they can relate to.  The main character, Liza, always seems to have to bear the brunt of the consequences because she is in a position of authority at the school, president of the student body.  She seems to be held to a higher standard than everyone else. Both main characters are questioning who they are. Will they tell their families? Annie says she will but then doesn't.  Liza is "caught" and forced to because of the impending appearance before the school board.  I would say that this was a book before it's time back in the early 80s.  Nowadays, this would almost be a non-issue, almost.

Connections:  I would consider this book a Realistic Modern Contemporary Fiction novel being that it based in New York, Brooklyn and Manhattan with realistic characters visiting real landmarks. Although it mainly focused on the characters and their development, the events that take place could happen to any young teenagers, becoming friends, making poor decisions, going through rough times, falling in love. I found this book to be a sweet tale of young love, with a happy ending.  So far, this book is the only YA book on our list I have read that has had a happy ending.  

Link to the author's page Nancy Garden - May 15, 1938 – June 23, 2014.  Although the author is no longer living, her author page is still up and relevant.

Book Trailer

Interview with the author  Nancy Garden

Study Guide - if you want access to the entire thing, it requires payment

Another Study Guide - this one includes literary elements and analysis

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black

Summary:  The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a book about a teenager, Tana, whose mother had been infected by a vampire when Tana was younger. Her father tries to save her mother by locking her away in the basement for the required 88 days to let the infection run it's course. Unfortunately, his efforts fail. Tana attends a party where she and one other boy, Aidan, her ex, are the only survivors after a vicious vampire attack.  While Aidan is infected, she fears she may be too. In the process of escaping, she also saves a vampire, Gavriel. In order to protect her family from herself, she runs to a coldtown, a vampire compound to protect society.  Once you go in, you can never leave.  

Tana is trying so hard to stay human but is betrayed by two strangers, Midnight and Winter, they had helped get to Coldtown. Tana is infected by Midnight and ends up falling in love with the vampire she saved, Gavriel. With lots of twists and turns and casualties, Tana stays true to her word and tries her best to stay human to get back to her father and sister, Pearl, who shows up in Coldtown after receiving a text from Tana. The story ends with Tana sitting on the floor after killing a number of vampires, much the same way her mother was locked in the basement trying to "sweat the infection out." She has Gavriel by her side offering to help her every step of the way. 

Black, H. (2013). The coldest girl in Coldtown. New York:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Commentary:  The strengths of this book are that the brave, young character draws you in with her quick thinking, survival instinct and ingenuity. She takes it upon herself to get to Coldtown for the fear that she may infect others, also to protect her father and sister.  It relates to YA readers with it's social media and reality TV aspects. It does a good job of being relatable to just about every possible teen with references to straight, gay, transgender, bi, etc.  Tana's desire to stay human is deep seeded in her family's history. Despite her new love interest being a vampire, it might lead you to believe there may be a sequel someday. However after reading the author's FAQs, she states that she wrote this book as a stand-alone.

Connections:  I would consider this book a Fiction, Low Fantasy book being that it is set in a world that we could recognize despite some obvious fictional aspects like vampires, walled cities to keep the vampires from infecting anyone else, etc.  It mainly focused on the characters and their development. If my library were genrified, I would have a hard time categorizing this book, as it could go in Horror, Paranormal or even Action/Adventure.  I found this chapter book to be a typical Young Adult Literature book with the young protagonist literally running for her life, falling in love with the wrong person and lots of teenage angst.   I have always loved the Spiderwick Chronicles and wasn't surprised this book was by the same author.  She has a great imagination.


Link to the author's page for The Coldest Girl in Coldtown  

Book Trailer

Interview with Holly Black (which includes a reference to The Coldest Girl in Coldtown)

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Summary:  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book about a 14 year old boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. Junior aka Arnold is born with "water" on his brain so he has numerous health conditions including seizures, a stutter and a lisp.  All of these conditions set him up to be bullied by people on the reservation, including a set of 30 year old triplets who beat him up. Despite all the rough times Junior has been through he maintains his sense of humor or maybe I'd call it his sarcasm. He loves drawing comics and you can see this throughout the book. He also likes making people laugh, especially his best friend, Rowdy.  A teacher encourages Junior to leave the reservation because there was no HOPE on the reservation, he has to go find hope. Rowdy considers his leaving a betrayal of the worst kind so he won't speak to him. 

Junior suffers through the a number of alcohol related tragedies of losing his grandmother, who is killed by a drunk driver, his father's best friend who is shot in the face and the worst is his sister dies in a fire, while passed out in her trailer.  Despite all these tragedies he still works his hardest to find hope and leaves the reservation to attend an all-white school over 20 miles away, sometimes having to walk to school and home.   He and his best friend reconcile over basketball, still razzing each other the whole way.

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Commentary:  The strengths of this book are that this young character draws you in with his humorous drawings and quick and funny wit.  His brutal honestly and survival instinct are incredibly poignant.  The chances and risks he took to get out of his situation appeals to the young adult audiences.  It empowers YA to know that they can overcome things like sickness, poverty, alcoholism and devastating sadness.  In his interview on KCTS9 on November 12, 2008, he talks about how every teenager believes they are a freak, but that he truly was a freak with an extra large head, hands and feet but rest of him was really small for his age because of the encephalitis when he was born.  It's something that every teenager can relate to and feel hopeful that nothing can hold them back or keep them down, just look at this author.  He eventually found hope.


Connections:  I would consider this book a Realistic Fiction novel written in a diary format, considering it is loosely and autobiographically based on the author's experiences growing up on the Spokane Reservation.  After listening to his interview, he didn't necessarily water down his book but sort of.  In the book only 3 of his family members and close friends died but in real life 8 of his family members and close friends died that year.  


Link to the Sherman Alexie's page FallsApart.  He has a new book just out June 13, 2017. It's a memoir called You don't have to say you love me.  Just watching the book trailer makes me sad.  What a sad life.  It also inspires me, that someone with so many strikes against them can rally and truly find hope, when I might feel like it was all lost.

Book Trailers

Interview with Sherman Alexie, after he received the award for this book.

LSSL 5385 03 Textbook Reflection - Chapters 1-5

First, thank you for creating an online and FREE textbook for us to use. I love the incorporation of the youtube videos and links to great ideas and other youtube channels for us to follow like MentalFloss. I think it's a great way for us to connect when sometimes I feel so removed because it is an online course.

I laughed out loud on a number of occasions at John Green's Mental Floss video.  So fun to know some of those things about books that I have read and reread a zillion times over the years.

Why do we share literature with children?

• It's fun. We will engage in things if they are fun.  Fun matters.
• It helps children acquire language.  Reading 20 minutes everyday makes a huge difference.  
• It develops empathy.  Empathy is stronger than sympathy.  Empathy can be developed through books. You don't actually have to go through the experience to develop empathy. 
• It creates lifelong readers.  Unconscientious delight.
• Series Readers - reading books in a series
• Serial Readers - reading books by the same author or reading books in the same genre that you enjoy
• Reading ladders - gives readers a place to start
• Reading autobiographically - reading about characters like us
• Windows as mirrors - can you see yourself in a book
• Reading vicariously - reading as a window, reading about other people's experiences. Books that may deal with tough consequences and not necessarily have to experience those consequences themselves.
• Cultural, sports
• Reading about kids who are different than we are
• Reading for Philosophical speculation - how they feel about things ethically, religiously, who am I, why does the world act this way?
• Reading for aesthetic experiences - just reading for the joy of reading
• Develops imagination - children need a chance to imagine and ask "what would happen if....?"
• It can transmit culture. Transmitting diverse cultures.

Division of Young People's Literature

• Children's Literature - 0-8 years old
• wordless picture books
• regular picture books
• easy readers
• illustrated chapter books
• early chapter books
• short novel, very little illustration
• Middle Grade/Tweens - 8 - 12 years old
• graphic novels - Roller Girl
• chapter books - George, Raymie Nightingale
• But what about Middle School?  ages 11-13
• Usually 6th, 7th and 8th grade
• This is not a division of young people's literature - not a category
• deal with tougher issues, more targeted for the upper age
• books like Drama - romance
• Lilly and Dunkin - 8th grade character
• Ok for now
• These student have a hard time finding things they like but they aren't quite ready to read YA books.  It can be a challenge.
• Young Adult - 13 - 18 years old
• need to look at the subject - language, subject matter, etc.
• may not be for middle schoolers
• There is a big difference between a 13 year old and 18 year old
• New Adult - 18 - 30 years old
• started in 2009
• appealed more to an adult audience
• typically deal with first college experiences, first major relationship, living away from home for the first time
• late teen and early 20s, dealing with adult issues usually without parents in the picture

Reflection

    I am an elementary librarian so it's been a long time since I've read any Young Adult books. It's all I can do to stay on top of reading what my students are reading but this is definitely expanding my view.  I am a person who feels things very deeply AND for a long period of time. You might say I have an over-active empathy meter.  As a tween, I cried for weeks after reading Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows.  Still to this day, it is hard for me to watch shows, movies or read books where children, pets (or anyone actually) is treated poorly, abused, injured, etc. especially at the hands of an adult who should know better. I will readily admit that reading the books that I have read so far this semester have been very difficult for me to read. I put myself into the shoes of the main character too easily.  I remember when I was reading Harry Potter on the treader mill in my younger days and Dumbledore was killed....I started crying right there in the middle of 24 hour fitness. Maybe reading 25 YA books over a fast and furious summer will toughen me up and thicken my skin.