Well done all. We need more books like this to promote understanding that we are all different in our own way and that is ok as it makes for an interesting world. How awful would it be if we were all the same? Whereas Fragile Things had decidedly adult content, this one gets no more racy than the suggestion of teens having "a time good" at a house party in "How to Talk to Girls at Parties". The rest is mostly stuff such as a crime noir version of nursery rhymes, a troll-under-the-bridge story, foodies in search of the ultimate meal, and a take on the quest for the Holy Grail in which an ordinary housewife finds the Grail at a thrift store and won't give it up to Sir Galahad because it looks nice on her mantel. (I could totally see one of the Pythons in drag playing the woman.) Reading how life is with Autism as a teenager from an inside perspective is priceless. I've always said the best way to understand Autistic people is to talk to them and let them tell how it is. M does that in this book. Being a mama is HARD, but as Abbie says: "Hard is not the same thing as bad." This book helps give mamas the courage, wisdom, and tools to embrace the hard in the face of our culture and reap the rewards that come from perseverance and sacrifice. The second story reads like a fairy tale. A young boy is accosted by a Troll under a bridge. A troll who is going to “eat his life”. He keeps escaping the troll by promising him he will return later in his life, where he will have acquired more “life” for the troll to eat.

I found out about this book via a newspaper article and thought it was interesting because of it being a collaborative effort by schoolchildren.Chivalry"- Gaiman at his best. The strength of this story lies in both plot and characterization. I am completely enamored of it in every way and even more so because I listened to Gaiman's reading of it (available for free on-line- google it!) If you read only one story from this book, choose this one. It makes me wish I were teaching HS English all over again, because this story is worth sharing. * * * * * How to Talk to Girls at Parties": Two boys invited to a party, but you can tell from the beginning that there is something deeply wrong with the characters. The humble-bragging is not relatable at all. Once she spent too much time on her phone! Her lowest parenting moment when “everything came to a head” and she “LECTURED” her kids. She didn’t yell, just “harped” on them for not finishing their chores. Keeping your temper sounds like a parenting win to me but no this required dramatic intervention: she decided to only speak gently. Why didn’t I think of that?

The remaining stories are bound in magical realism. From a group of gourmands who fear they have eaten everything there is to be eaten on the planet, that is until they find out about the mystical Sunbird. To a story about a child who can talk to ghosts, and simply wants to provide the ghost of a woman who was drowned and burned as a witch, a headstone to mark where she is buried. This one just happens to be my favourite. I was diagnosed 2 years ago at age 41. The main voice in this book is teenage "M" who shares her story with autism, being a teenager and wanting to be "normal". The Limpsfield girls certainly found their voice and it has all the urgency, immediacy and sheer vibrancy of teenage life... I hope that M's journey will help girls with autism making that same journey through their early teen years to find themselves and believe in themselves as well as help others understand and believe in them. Memorial Day honors US soldiers who died fighting for their country. Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May.

There are 12 months in a year: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December. Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth. The voyage lasted from 1519 until 1522. Magellan was killed towards the end of the voyage. Remember, friends, that we were never called to either a) bury our heads in the sand and pretend that suffering doesn't exist OR b) immerse ourselves only in doom and gloom and forget that we have hope in the Lord and an obligation to keep loving God and loving our neighbor. I guess there’s just really something intriguing about imaginary creatures like monsters and unicorns. Personally, as an adult I find them cute, too.

Her first “sin” reveal is that she scrolled too much on her phone shopping for a dress to wear to a wedding AFTER the kids went to bed. 🙄🙄 We will never have peace until to listen to the Holy Spirit in the area he is nudging us to grow in. Easier does not equal good, and hard does not equal bad. It is often our hardest mothering seasons that bear the most fruit in the long run. And it is the hard won fruit that tastes the sweetest.”It was one of the most enjoyable and relaxing trips that I can remember in recent years, and the scenery was beyond beautiful. (Special thanks to my nice parents for staying with our kids and keeping everything running smoothly at home.) Troll Bridge"- This is a good adolescent short in that the symbolism is well done, but overt enough to be on the right level. It is not such a good adolescent story in it's discussion of sexuality and specific references to genitals. As an adult, I can appreciate this story; as a teen, I would have been distured by it. (I am a goodie two-shoes.) * * * But the response was, don’t complain. Just be a better mother. Use your own strength and be better than the mediocre mothers around you. And whatever you do, don’t be mediocre too. Mammoths were large, elephant-like animals that lived during the Ice Ages. They had long hair, long tusks, and finger-like projections on the long trunk. Of course, they like the cute and fuzzy kind (think Monsters Inc.) versus the type that hides under the bed and what nightmares are made of.