With strength he didn't know he had, Manjiro plunged into the sea and swam, head down, toward the boats. When he finally reached one of them, he raised his head and looked up. He could not lift his arm to reach out. His blood turned to ice, and dizzy again, he felt himself sinking. For when he had looked into his rescuer's face, he had gazed into a pair of eyes as blue as the sea.

—Heart of a Samurai,
Margi Preus

This is an effective cliff-hanger because it
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The author's purpose in writing this passage is to
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After reading this passage, most readers want to know
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