Ahh, another author who enjoys killing off beloved characters. Okay, maybe Sam wasn't "beloved" so much...but... 
 I blame Suzanne Collins and Mockingjay. Great series, terrible 3rd installment. Reading should be like an escape, a fun one, and though happy endings make me mad too sometimes, like when the heroine gets everything she ever wanted without any concequences, I need my characters I learn to grow and like to LIVE, damnit! 
 Plus the last line of the book is straight from American Beauty, or pretty dang close. 
 I'm done with YA until another Hunger Games comes along.