conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me a description for a story titled This Is the Story of You about Mira, UpFor, Jersey with the genre: Teen & Young Adult, Literature & Fiction.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Gr 7 UpFor Mira and her friends, living on a small island off the New Jersey coast means tourists all summer, a small school and close friends, and wild weather as a way of life. When the forecasters warn of a storm, no one is overly concerned and life continues, albeit with an eye on the weather. Mira, worried about her younger brother, who has a serious congenital disease and is hospitalized on the mainland, goes about the normal storm preparations while she waits to hear from her mother with an update on Jasper Lee's condition. She visits with her best friends as they wonder about the new boy who has just started attending their small school and is secretive about his past. Mira, alone when the superstorm hits, sustains several injuries, but with the help of a reclusive beach dweller, escapes her damaged house and begins the struggle to find friends and survive without her mother and brother. When returning to her home to salvage what she can, she finds a strange girl who is sleeping in her bed, has gone through all of her things, and has secrets she does not want to share. the author's nuanced novel is mutlilayered, poetic, and poignant. The bonds of love, friendship, family, and community in the face of adversity blend seamlessly with the emotional journey of Mira and her friends. Loosely based on Sandy and its aftermath, the story goes beyond the disaster novel genre and becomes a story of despair, hope, and triumph. VERDICT This beautifully written story works on many levels and is rich in its characterization, emotion, language, and hint of mystery.Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas, Denton
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Delete the last sentence.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Gr 7 UpFor Mira and her friends, living on a small island off the New Jersey coast means tourists all summer, a small school and close friends, and wild weather as a way of life. When the forecasters warn of a storm, no one is overly concerned and life continues, albeit with an eye on the weather. Mira, worried about her younger brother, who has a serious congenital disease and is hospitalized on the mainland, goes about the normal storm preparations while she waits to hear from her mother with an update on Jasper Lee's condition. She visits with her best friends as they wonder about the new boy who has just started attending their small school and is secretive about his past. Mira, alone when the superstorm hits, sustains several injuries, but with the help of a reclusive beach dweller, escapes her damaged house and begins the struggle to find friends and survive without her mother and brother. When returning to her home to salvage what she can, she finds a strange girl who is sleeping in her bed, has gone through all of her things, and has secrets she does not want to share. the author's nuanced novel is mutlilayered, poetic, and poignant. The bonds of love, friendship, family, and community in the face of adversity blend seamlessly with the emotional journey of Mira and her friends. Loosely based on Sandy and its aftermath, the story goes beyond the disaster novel genre and becomes a story of despair, hope, and triumph. VERDICT This beautifully written story works on many levels and is rich in its characterization, emotion, language, and hint of mystery.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me the first paragraph for this story.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: This Is the Story of You
  In the beginning it was just the beginning. The storm had no name. It was far away and nothing big, mere vapors and degrees. It was the middle-ish of September. Empty tables in restaurants, naked spaces in parking lots, cool stairs in the lighthouse shaft, no line for donuts, deer in the dune grass, padlocks and chains at the Mini Amuse, the Ferris wheel chairs tipping and dipping.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me another paragraph.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Scenes from a zombie movie. Nobody looking like themselves. Hard to tell who was what at first, hard to put the names of the people back on the people—Mr. Xu from Liberty Bank; Jimmy D. of Paradise Custodial; Gloria Fell, who yanked your stuffed animals down from the racks at the Mini Amuse like it was the last time she'd ever be bothered; Eileen, the lady Jasper Lee and I had bought Mickey's coral earrings from and now she was traveling with a circus of curlers in her hair, mascara smudges beneath her eyes, a pair of man's chinos under a short lace dress.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me the last five paragraphs.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: She said other things after that, but they, too, were hard to follow. The bang of a fallen lantern against Shift's head. The boy unconscious and falling. The sea right there, below the cliff where the two of them had been standing. And then Eva herself was jumping in, but the sea was growing stronger. It was knocking Eva around with its strength, and Shift was already dead.
  I thought of the starfish leg, the pale fishbones, the knots in Eva's hair. I thought of the waves crashing and her bones snapping, and I didn't know how she'd saved herself, how she was still here, with us.
  She was crying harder, saddest sound I ever heard. I let Sterling to the ground and hugged Eva tight. Deni leaned in, too, the exact same time, and we were invisible cities and sea monsters and each of us shoring the other one up.
  Sean Banul: I gave Mira your last name with your permission. Every time I typed those five letters, I thought of your convictions and strength, of your cat with its hopeful paw raised. Reverend Agnes Norfleet: Deni's steadfast wisdom is inspired by you. Many others will find their names in these pages, and none of that is accidental. The community of us in the story of us.
  Finally, and always, my son, Jeremy, who loves the beach as I love the beach and who cares about the work I do, and my husband, Bill, who joined me by the seaside during those off-seasons of near and lovely isolation.