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Tough-O-Meter

We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)

(4) Base Camp

Dancing on the Edge might look like a short, simple novel, but you know that saying about not judging a book by its cover. It might be relatively brief, but it's jam-packed with complex characters, subtext, emotion, and tons of other cool tools that take time and attention to analyze. Don't try to breeze through this one, because you'll miss a lot of really awesome stuff that adds depth and powerful meaning to the story. We recommend reading it twice—once to get a feel for the plot and characters, then a second time to dig into the symbolism, details, and themes.