DON'T WORRY, KAAVYA. THEY SAID THE SAME THING ABOUT ME WHEN I WROTE THAT BOOK ON THE DANGERS OF WHALING.

BOSTON -- The publisher of a 19-year-old Harvard University sophomore's debut novel is investigating the work because it includes several passages that are similar to a book published in 2001.

Kaavya Viswanathan's "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life" was published in March by Little, Brown and Co., which signed her to a hefty two-book deal when she was just 17.
On Sunday, the Harvard Crimson reported the similarities on its Web site, citing seven passages in Viswanathan's book that parallel the style and language of "Sloppy Firsts," a novel by Megan McCafferty that Random House published.

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IS THAT A THICK SOCK IN YOUR BOOT, PAAVO, OR ARE YOU JUST GLAD TO SEE ME?


Finns are so uncomfortable with themselves, says Alexander Stubb, a Finnish member of the European Parliament, that when they meet someone for the first time, they stare at their own feet. Then, after 10 years of friendship, they stare at the other person's feet.

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