Sara Alva

What a sweet story. I have a thing for "nice" jocks in stories A little bit of tense shifting in a few places, but other than that the descriptions and dialogue flowed pretty smoothly. The opening paragraph really caught me-- I imagine it would for a lot of writers Great job!

You moved me to tears. This is the first work of yours that I've read, and I truly enjoyed the care that you put into your writing. It flowed smoothly with few if any errors, allowing me to fully immerse myself in the story. Many of my former students 'work' alongside their parents, collecting cans and bottles for money. I know how important that small amount of cash can be to some people, and the scenes in your story really drove that home to me once again. I also work with young children who will probably be diagnosed later in life with some form of mental disability, and as frustrating as it can be for a gen ed teacher to try to educate these students, I've come to realize they have a beauty all their own. That's what I saw in Ben, anyways, who has probably made Kyle a better person just by his existence, and even managed to bring some healing to his mother. Lovely, moving story. Thank you for sharing it.

Reform Judaism in particular tends to be a blend of traditions and spirituality. Many reform Jews choose which traditions to adhere to (e.g. keeping kosher, fasting on yom kippur, keeping kosher for passover) based on what they feel holds meaning to them. So, you'll find some who keep kosher, some who don't. Some who want to marry w/i the faith, some who have no problem marrying outside of it. Some even claim to be "agnostic Jews," participating in the cultural aspects of Judaism while forming their own personal beliefs in God. I agree w/ Caedus; you could try going to his temple. Some temples even offer classes for interfaith relationships. Also, talk to him. Ask him what tenets of Judaism are important to him. Ask if your different beliefs bother him. If they don't . . . I'd say things'll probably work out

I really started to wonder how Chris had turned around so quickly--how he seemed so confident and had so much knowledge at his disposal, the way we wish all youth did. I shoulda realized there was a reason it felt a little unrealistic-- the twist was sad, but "made" the story. I agree w/ Andy's comment-- there is the hope that Matt's death will cause Peter to reevaluate his assumptions.

A story like this makes me long for a good outdoor adventure. And the ending was so sweet

Wow, how exciting! 'Course I never really considered Maryland a southern state Makes me even further disappointed with my adopted state, though

Hm, I kinda like that. Andy does have a little of the Q cockiness when he replies to reviews w/ his noncommittal answers

Ooh, family drama. A change in the will, ay? I have my guesses, but I'll just keep my mouth shut since you wouldn't tell me if I were right, anyways.

I was waiting for the money issue to rear its ugly head again. Wonder if it'll ever be fully resolved (or at least, w/i the timeframe of this story). In a way it'd be realistic if it wasn't. That sort of ingrained aversion to taking perceived handouts can take years to reevaluate. As the "poor half" of a 5 yr. relationship, I know you don't just magically wake up one day having made complete peace w/ someone else spending their money on you. Good chapter.

Well said, Maria.

I'm sorry for your troubles . . but good god that was funny. Laughed out loud a few times.

Loved Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! So funny. The music from the King and I was pretty catchy. My all time favorite is Man of La Mancha, I think. My mother used to play the record and I learned to sing Dulcinea's song long before I knew what it was really about . Got to see Brent Spiner as Don Quijote last year-- he was really good.

Really Maria? There are definitely some musicals that are less than happily-ever-after, including one w/ a character that shares your name . . .

Why thank you. I did try that little icon, but must have muddled it up somehow

I've always had a thing for Mozart's Symphony No. 40. It's just one of those pieces I could imagine a story to-- it has a sort of suspenseful feel to it. Sorry, I'm not savvy enough to embed the youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=aZD9nt_wsY0&vq=medium#t=101

Hey, I wanted to hear the full story! Hehe guess we'll hear it through further chapters. I do not agree with this. I think we all wonder this some times. Great line. Interesting connection between Jack and the shrink. Can't wait to see where this goes.

Glad you liked the hiking scene. I haven't done a ton of hiking, but the mountains by Cville were really beautiful when I was up there. And yeah, Jared may act tough, but just like everyone else, he has his insecurities. Thanks for reading!

In my old age , I prefer single-shots. In my youth, I loved series. Wonder what the change is about . . . shorter attention span, maybe?

Oh goodness with this 15 min! I should just go back and write it in Thanks for stopping by to leave a review, I appreciate the feedback. I think you've got a pretty good understanding of the characters; hope you like where I take them

See, Maria, your typos are the best! lol

But would that make it smell sweet? I always imagined it was a bunch of spices.

The sci-fi books my father kept from his childhood always smelled sweet. I'm guessing it had something to do with his mother's cooking in their small apartment. I loved to sniff those books (and continue to love the ones I stole from him). Good thing my grandmother didn't cook w/ a lot of garlic and onions

At our school-wide professional development before school started, one teacher announced that his favorite part of the summer was going to see Jay Leno when he had "the porn stars" on. After a lot of giggles, we figured out he meant "the pawn stars." Guess our mouths have typos, too.

I just typed "kindergarten meth review worksheet" into my school computer (instead of MATH review). The safety filter stopped my search results.

My friend was once searching on google for a Korean bbq restaurant. He typed in Korean bbw (big beautiful women) instead of bbq, and google image gave him some rather large ladies to look at.