Timothy M.

This was a most productive stop for both their trades, and also very sweet in relation to Thom and Eric.

St. John really needs to stop putting himself down and blaming himself all the time. It's not healthy. But then I guess his state of mind isn't exactly good, eh? And he never gets a break, some new shit always pops up to hit him where it hurts.

The malaria case was interesting and I can't help wondering if evil had a hand in the mutation. We didn't find out why Kenneth felt the child had to be saved.

I enjoyed the revisit to Stolze's farm and it was particularly nice to see Thom have fun. It was a good wake-up call for Kenneth, he won't make that mistake again.

A new adventure begins I think Kenneth was getting restless anyway, lol. Patrick's worry is not unusual and a sign of a good leader.

I hope that was the last of the brigands, they had preyed on the countryside for too long. Also Thom got to revenge his captivity. The quarterstaff story was really cool, and it seems to have brought some good forth in both father and son..

This meeting was eagerly awaited, I like these four champions of the Light and it is no coincidence they have met and banded together to combat Evil. Thom will benefit too, and not just in the shaing of boy magic.

Their missions are becoming more daring and important. I'm glad Patrick could comfort Alan after his first kills. Thom may gain some much needed confidence from mastering sword skills. I'm glad he has the two tweens to look out for him, and I hope they won't regret taking on this oligation.

Yay, a dungeon crawl Not much exitement, apart from the turkey, lol. The rescue of Thorn was good in spite of the sadness related to the boy's broken spirit. But Patrick and Alan will help him heal, if at all possible. Also great job on recruiting the farmer to the spy network.

The mission of the boys is now clear and I think they are well-suited to the task. The mishap of Cadfael unlocked this possibility, so perhaps we should not chide him too much for his stupidity in riding his horse across the river rather than walking.

I love all your stories from this world, but this is one of my favorites. Patrick is such an honorable tween but the love and devotion of Alan will not be denied.

Any more Fire and Ice for us to read about? I'll recall reading about Paxeunt in the Sedona chronicles, but that was before the Baron died, I think.

Sigh, why did Tobias turn into a cat, I thought he was smarter than that. Same for Kiorl kissing the Fallen Angel. And now he's probably back in his room, still hungry, silly twit. Yep, Nassau is making them all pay for the new bathroom.

Well, that went well, so Erik can hopefully relax a little now. I like the whole family and they way they interact. I did chuckle a bit at this sentence: Christian nearly choked on his soap

Forcing kids to taste food before they reject it, to eat what's on their plate, and making them sit at the table until they do, as some sort pf punishment, strikes me as old-fashioned and counter-productive. So many parents turn the matter of food and dinner time into conflicts and power struggles. No kids in affluent families will starve to death from missing a meal. Simply telling Troy and Bradley they can have some carrots and apples and plain pasta instead would have solved the problem. In Denmark we would give them rugbrød med leverpostej (healthy dark bread with paté made from liver). In any case, lots of kids dislike have food where they can't distinguish the ingredients, so next time Alan should stir fry things separately and put them in separate bowls, so the boys can take what they want to try. Other than that, I think they did pretty well, and Alan should simply have told Bradley that fuck was a very bad swear word which would make teachers and other adults upset if they hear it from a kid. But it's OK to say in the privacy of your own room when you're upset. Forbidding kids to say such words will simply make them more attractive. But telling them not to say it in front of grandparents and at school, for their own sake, is useful. Bradley is smart, he'll get it.

One could argue the best gift from Andy's grandmother is her saying he's not the son of Gunnar, but I think the real one is her saying Andy's mother wanted him and loved him. She must have felt guilty all her life for not letting her daugther stay and support her wish of a divorce. Andy paid the price for that, too. Otherwise this was the celebration we were all waiting for. Loved the hoodies.

All I'm gonna say is well done on tying everyone guts into huge tangled knots. Not that I'm surprised the news of the wedding burst out like that. And I know who Nonna is going to call. The bad guys won't know what hit them before it's too late: someone who knows everyone and everything in this town.

I agree with mayday, the main point of this chapter was to show how Andy was able to stand up for himself and deal with these situations firmly but politely. I think Mrs K was asking Andy those personal questions as a stand-in for Zander. It's the best explanation for why she would do something awkward like that. I'm glad he could confirm to her that the decision to let Kaz participate was the right one. The sibling reactions were more unthinking than prejudice imo, and I can still recall Zander coming out to his parents. They got a wake-up call which showed they had never really been confronted with this matter before, and Zander's gramps probably influenced the Stevenson side of the family with his old-fashiond views. But at least they are ready to listen and learn, and their love is never in doubt.

Lots of jitters here and most of then caused by Andy feeling out of control. Not surprising really, but I'm mainly sorry about him missing hte appointment with Dr. Shea. He should have insisted, but that might have brought on another round of questions from hs family. Of course, we all knows he's the kindest boy in the world and the one least likely to turn violent. I loved how he enjoyed the track meeting in spots and having a loving parent there. i'm glad Monica made it a priority in the middle of the wedding preparations. Andy will probably improve at the pole vault and his race starts, because he is very stubborn in a good way. Just like Zander is, even with blue balls.

Another good title for this chapter could be: Making People Speechless I loved the boys springing the surprise on Terry and Kaz, and Andy certainly enjoyed making Terry speechless. The only person he liked surprizng more was Mrs. Marjorie and that scene was priceless too. She immediate saw the significance of the event in broader terms, just as Mr. Stevenson did. It underlines the importance of having the wedding at church and showing the whole town what love is all about. I guess Garret and Monica were somewhat taken aback at the boys still wanting to marry, but I think Andy's reasoning is sound. And considering the way Stevenson men fall in love Zander's parents should be happy about Andy's unswerwing devotion and commitment. I think his grandmother instinctively sees that, and that is why she goes through with the gift of the rings. (Will there be time to have them sized for the boys before the wedding?) Of course that was another of those speechless moments for all of us. There were a bunch of small ones too: the news about Bruce's father, the boys having to buy suits and deal with all the wedding hassle, the interviews with Father Brewer and Dr. Shea, but the last major one was the applying for a marriage license. That one had me chortling with glee as the boys stumped the two disapproving ladies and made the supervisor do what she's paid to do without getting the chance to act on her narrowminded opinion. :D so awesome and I bet Garrett went back for the license just to have the chance to smile and thank her politely.

Apart from Zander having another 'silly' bout of insecurity this was such a wonderfully happy chapter. It's funny to think Zander almost needs the marriage more than Andy. All Andy's good deeds are coming back to 'haunt' him as in reward him. I hope he'll manage to visit Toby at some point.

Ambrose is one clever detective, but I'm a bit angry with him for the dirty uncle trick he played on Andy. But he's right about Eustace never letting him forget those mistakes. Uncle Allan may be a good guy, but I cannot believe he and Andy's grandmother never contacted or visited the boy when he got older. Not much family love or concern there.

Not much I can add to the speculations and rants of other reviewers, espacially since I know the rest of the story and after reading you replies. I think marriage is both a practical and a sweet solution, who cares if it lasts two years, twenty years or a life time. It's what the boys need here and now, emotionally and legally. I wasn't too surprised to see Ambrose turn up, although having him appear on a Sunday morning makes me wonder if he's here in an official capacity or not. But I never doubted he would keep investigating the riddle of Eric, perhaps just to placate a probably irrate Eustace who saw his farm help evaporate as a result of his son's nosy and suspicious mind.

Everybody else have commented on Zander's silly notions and Andy's surprising solution - and for once I get to say I agree with all the lengthy reviews before me. So I only have one bone to pick: Why the fuck did Mr Stevenson have to ruin a nice dinner and make Andy afraid all over again by telling him of the appeal the moment he knew? That was such an insensitive, dick-headed move! Now we know where Zander gets his stupid act-before-thinking gene from. And while it can be excused in an immature teen, there are no redeeming factors for his dad. He didn't even apologize when he saw Andy sitting in his study in the middle of the night, which was the moment he should have at least realized what those news did to his adopted son. Idiot, grrrrr

Like my Swedish friends and others I loved the court scene. Like Kaz told Zander: let the adults with power do this the official and legal way. And the revenge on Bruce which Andy engineered was much better than Zander's hot-headed reaction. My favorite moment in this chapter was coach asking Andy where he's been hiding his talent for the past year. I'm sure he wouldn't like the honest answer. Oh, and while I'm sure judge Harrison's official note will set wheels rolling I also want to imagine DR. Shea filing a complaint about the stalking and the repercussions on the mental health of her patient. That should make Ms Chandler's boss sit up and take notice too - not just of her but of the two people who were aiding and abetting this charade. It's so awesome to read this story again, and this time I'm even remembering to leave reviews.