Kitt

I can see Brad thinking just that way, as easily as any parent could go there. The my way or the highway attitude didn't go over very well back when i was Wills age either. In fact it still doesn't in most cases. When someone is being unreasonable in their presentation of the issues they seldom have a chance to resolve them. About half the readers seem to want to lay the entire situation at Will's feet. Will is being a brat, Will is not taking Brad's calls, Will is building a sex room. OK, so what if every word is true, and Will IS getting out of control, drinking more, doing more drugs? Will starting every attempt at conversation with animosity and letting the discussion deteriorate into shouting and threats do any good? Try sitting down and talking to the kid POLITELY. If someone started out by threatening to take me to court, even today, my response would be to say "Then speak to my lawyer". One cannot reason with a gale storm. Walk away and let the wind die down. I agree with everything you said here but one. Will did not rape the man. Rape is a crime of violence, and it is NOT a consensual act. Malcolm could have stopped the situation by saying no. Will did not force himself on the man, he gave a submissive partner what he was looking for. To leap to the conclusion that it was rape ranks right up there with the conclusions others have leapt to that Will is drinking too much and getting into more drugs than just the pot.

Are you SURE you are not a part of my family???

I love that you have Rob dress the idiots down for their behavior! Someone needs to go a step further and turn Dee over their knee, but then - if momma had done that when the prima-donna was a child she wouldn't be like this now would she? Are you sure you were not at my family dinners? All giggling aside - you really make the characters come to life here.

Last time i looked it was also illegal to buy ice cream after 6 pm on Sunday's unless you have a doctors prescription in one town. Being "legal" for Brad and "illegal" for Will does not change the fact that Brad has adopted a "do as I say not as I do" attitude and is doing it with extreme animosity and frequently at the top of his lungs. And pot smoking is legal in California? I was under the impression that was only if you have a medical card. And btw- smoking regular cigarettes are illegal under 18 as well - doesn't stop thousands of kids does it?

Speak for yourself! lol I am partial to a-Lan Mandragoran myself.

Brad often doesn't even talk at Will - he shouts at him.

Aside from the obvious implications that 911 may have in lost/hurt/missing family members, I can't help but think the tragedy of that day may be the catalyst that sets Brad's head straight. Perhaps it is a function of living so close to ground zero, but the people around me found themselves re-evaluating their lives and relationships in the days that followed. Many of us lost friends and family and it made us look at those we had left differently. I don't see JP as "Immediately supporting Will for the sake of just that". I think JP see's the forest in spite of the trees in the way and understands that Brad is pushing when he should be pulling. You want to get closer to someone stop being argumentative and pushing them away.

Wow. I can feel JP approaching his boiling point in this latest chapter! I can't help but think of a sleeping volcano. It may not erupt often but when it does... We already know that momma Dansfield is quite capable of putting someone into a political office and doing what ever she deems necessary to keep said politician in line. I would hate to see Gathan fall into her hands at some point in the future, but I can also totally see it happening once she decided her self exile should come to an end. I would think that would be a possibility for yet another book in the series. "From Humble Roots" maybe? Note to Mr. Arbour, You had asked me to expound on my comment on your anniversary about my family all reading your work. Check your messages sir! The response you requested is in your pm's.

My apologies for contradicting you Grienne, but Will did not kick Brad out of Escorial, he removed himself and informed the family he would not return till after Brad had left. A small but very important distinction, And where did you get the idea Will is into narcotics? Sure he smokes a bit of pot, but that is something every man-jack in the family has done since long before Will was even born. It does not make use of other drugs inevitable. Nor does having a bar in a home make someone an alcoholic. Brad tends not to act but to react when it comes to Will. He lets his emotions get the better of his thought processes, something everyone seems to condemn Will for. That isn't unusual in a teen. It should be in an adult however. Brad seems to be intent on provoking some drastic behavior in Will that the courts will see as sufficient reason to revoke the emancipation. Refusing to put The Hobart parents into an untenable position with the Marie situation and removing himself from a discussion that could only go downhill and pick up speed doing so looks to me as tho Will is being the more reasonable party this evening. A well written chapter Mr.Arbour. Your attention to the little details as usual make the story for me. The narration makes me feel as tho I am sitting at the dinner table at Escorial watching the events unfold. You turn the reader into a fly on the wall, something we have all wished to be a time or two in our lives. You give us all we need to be able to identify with one or more characters in your story, but withhold just enough to make us keep coming back for more.

I know a real life Elizabeth Dansfield. She took herself from upper middle class thru college to a low level executive position eventually marrying a man with the sort of money she felt she deserved. Love had nothing to do with the relationship as far as she was concerned. We went to high school together and she started her scheams at about the age of 12 and was very much like Marie when she was in her mid teens. I was looking at it less like ED "nurturing" Marie and more like Marie learning that any means to an end is allowable. You have to admit Elizabeth did some pretty low down things to obtain her goals.

I would love a glimpse into Jared's head every time Cole made one of the silly mistakes signing that are bound to happen. I know how many I still make when signing.

I'm surprised he could tie it all together in three. By the time i decided to just wait till it was done it was more like four related novels funning concurrently than one story.

Makes me wonder just what was in Calvin's head. Was he aware he had the ability to change Rock so dramatically? And if he did know, why would he leave Rock to his own devices now that he has influence? Did the boy care so little for his troll that he did nothing to stop the guards? It had to be Rock's claws they found after all, trolls are territorial critters aren't they?

Thanks for letting me know Ron. I had stopped looking for new material when I learned of his passing.

Both were excellent - wish they would finish em but its hard for Jordan to write after he have passed away. Eddings has 5 excellent series out as well.

Here is a thought- What if Clair were to withdraw Marie completely from the social aspects? Home schooling is quite popular now, altho i have no clue how much it occurred in 2001. I am quite sure the Hobart budget could afford tutoring. Complete house arrest with no one but Claire for company during the day other than tutors MIGHT make an impact on Marie, Obviously taking her phone from her didn't, she simply got another that she tried to hide. I think Claire hit on something that did make an impact in that keeping her home first day may have put her at a distinct disadvantage in the clique. Most notably if one of the guys mentioned why it occurred.

While i completely agree, there is a difference between ruining a guys rep ( something she is also doing here with all the tales carried and pictures on the locker) and plotting to detrimentally affect a family members health. Bad enough to not be able to trust family emotionally but when physical threats start its way past time to do something.

Good God! We want to teach Marie to become a BETTER person, not create Elizabeth Dansfield Jr.

My apologies for the similarities to a movie i have ever seen or even heard of. If you read the chapter blurb, zombies are not usually my thing, so there must be a host of movies I could have inadvertent similarities to.

Clair did seem a bit miffed at the hidden second cell phone now didn't she? I keep waiting for JP to blow his cork. Bet when it finally happens it makes a Will fit seem like child's play

Very nice. It says a lot that you managed to leave us wondering where the characters go from here? Will they go their separate ways or start a new direction together.

LOL you really want to make things difficult on that little voice don't you? I would be happy with him finishing any one of the stories he starts in my head! Tie em all together????

One of the things I find most disturbing is the lack of education that accompanies this topic. As far back as the 70's when i was in school most history/social studies programs included units on the holocaust. While some were more inclusive than others, for the life of me I cannot remember homosexual relations being mentioned in any form. Nor was it ever mentioned in my daughters studies in the 2000's. As Zombie noted, history has a way of repeating itself. How can we hope to learn better as a whole if there are gaps in education?The revisionists seem to want to sweep the holocaust victims under the rug. Seems to me like a goodly number of them are already hidden there.

Thank you.