The purpose of this case study was to explore a middle school student's emotions in the tutoring context in order to better understand the "struggles"faced by a struggling reader. Through cognitive explanations of emotions, the researcher identified aspects of tutoring that influenced Mitchell's feelings of enjoyment, pride, and success. These included having opportunities to make choices, participating in activities that were personally relevant, working within his instructional level, and having opportunities to experience success. Through social explanations of emotions, the researcher identified aspects of schooling that influenced Mitchell's feelings of struggle. These included feeling frustrated by the social comparisons made at school and feeling alienated from teachers. The researcher concluded that it is possible to create contexts in which struggling readers experience success and begin to redefine themselves.