VaszlavikLENS1

Brittany Vaszlavik February 7, 2012 LENS 1 Reader-response Literature for me has always provided an escape. I become immersed in the characters and try to feel things as they feel them. When I was a quiet teenager books gave me a voice and new ways to handle the pressures in my life. __King of Shadows__ provides a great outlet for young adults in general as well as those who may be grieving from incredible loss and don’t know how to deal with it. In a general perspective Nat guides young children into how to use literature as an escape just as I always have. By literally diving into Shakespeare’s world he shows the metaphorical way we can loose ourselves in a world with no rules. The best part is I find I learn so much about the real world when those rules are suspended. This aspect of the book is what really connected with me. Even simple passages like when Nat describes Rachel Levin he says, “she shook her long hair back over her shoulders and winked at me. The light glinted on the tiny diamond stud in the side of her nose.” (Cooper, 9) It sounds more like a commercial and I know I’ve done that in my own mind where I see the world and describe it like a narrator. After reading this I realized I must have learned it from books and I’ve been doing it from a young age. It makes life more interesting. Sometimes it’s like having a private joke. What I didn’t really connect with but what I learned later in class to be highly beneficial was how Nat connected with those trying to grieve. The lose of his father was really the reason for his escape and when I joined the introvert group I was able to see how much an impact the passages on his grief were able to do. Because Cooper was so apt at making that connection I feel that this book would be highly beneficial for young adults to read. It is a lesson for both those grieving and young adults in general. It provides the foundation for creating that outlet within literature that I deeply enjoy.