Just finished reading “First Love” by Ivan Turgenev, a short  book that was published in 1860.  Every young person should read this story.  It could serve as a training manual for the inevitable crises of passion that every young man and woman will go through at one time or another.

The most amazing thing about this book is the way it grabs the reader and pulls one into the mind of the main character, a sixteen year old boy who is hopelessly in love with a beautiful young princess, who just happens to be several years older.  Even though the result is predictable, the author creates a tension that is almost excruciating.