Welcome to the 21st monthly I HEART YA Blog Carnival! (Every 2nd Tuesday). I HEART YA is a Blog Carnival for readers, writers, and lovers of young adult fiction. Every month there will be a blogging prompt that celebrates my favorite reading genre --YA fiction. Bloggers are invited to write their own take on the topic and post a link in the comment section, or if you prefer just put your thoughts in the comments. Either way, if you own a blog, grab the button to show your pride, and add your link to the list below. If you're not sure what to do, go to the I HEART YA tab for more details.


And here we go!


One sign of a great story is when you can't stop thinking about it even when the book is closed and you're going about your regular life. 


Even better is when you think about it long after you've finished the book. 


And even better than that is when you're so moved by a character that he or she has an impact on your real life. 


I think we all have wished we could be as brave as Katniss. Or as smart as Hermione. But has a fictional character ever inspired you to take some kind of action in your real life? I'm not talking about saving an entire planet, though that would make a great story. But maybe there was a time that somebody's story was so pathetic it made you feel better about your own life? Or maybe you just couldn't resist getting a pink streak in your hair after reading about a certain character with a wild streak? 


I'm going to tell my own "inspirational" story (for inspiration of course) to get the ball rolling. And I have to apologize for bringing up this book again. But if you were a pre-pubescent girl in the '60's, nobody was as inspirational as Judy Blume and her revolutionary "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." After passing the book (covered in plain brown paper) around the playground, and whispering about all the taboo topics that Margaret dared mention, my group of friends set out on a plan. 


We figured our 4th-grade bodies needed training bras, even if our mothers hadn't noticed yet. And, in fact, we didn't even need to even ASK our mothers. Or tell them! If Margaret did it, why shouldn't we? (And honestly I'm not even sure if that was part of the book. But we ASSUMED that was something Margaret would do. 


So we decided that we would give ourselves a month to secretly save our pennies and nickles: check couch covers, skip buying milk, keep eyes open while walking. When the month was up we picked a day to tell our mothers that we would be late coming home from school. We each came to school with our handful of change. After school we headed off on foot to a nearby department store where we would each pick out and purchase our very own training bras. (Talk about excitement!) 


But then the MOST embarrassing thing in the entire world happened! I had picked out my bra, and stood in line with the other girls. But when it came time to make my purchase I was short one nickle. The girls all started counting their own change to see if they had extra.


 Amid the crisis, a grown man who was in line behind us put a nickle on the counter. I was mortified that an adult male was in on our conspiracy.


But I ignored my hot cheeks, thanked the man, and continued with my purchase.That's what Margaret would have done. =)


So what about you? Has a fictional character ever inspired you in real life? (For better or worse?)


Share your thoughts! (And don't forget to add your blog to the Linky Tool, and share the link in the comments!)