Katie take a serious look at some of that review and think.

"After they continue to dress him like a girl, they wonder why he wants to be a girl?" If this statement were true, the number of FtM transgendered would be enormous, and the number of MtF would be miniscule. Many more girls wear 'boys' clothes than boys wear 'girls' clothes.

"Next, since when do you take a child shopping and let HIM pick out the clothes at age 4????" I will admit that I don't have children, but even at that young of age a child knows what they want to wear, and parents allow their children at least some choice in what it is.

"The 1st mistake made within the story line is when the couple needed to buy the little boy pants and he didn't want them cause the ones his abusive father put on him were to small and hurt....didn't they think to get sweat pants with an elastic waist, take him home and let him see they wouldn't hurt." I admit that I had similar thoughts when I first read the story, but also realize that they needed clothes now, not later, and that until they got him to trust them, having any clothes is better than none, and fighting over the clothes isn't worth the difficulty.

"And, don't take him to a Day Care...take him to a speech specialist and get him able to pronounce his name. " This child was much more in need of social interaction with other children than to be stuck with a speech specialist. Many children, even those older than 4, have trouble speaking. Some need help, some learn on their own. And Jenny had much worse problems than saying 'Jeremy'.

You, Katie, are an excellent weaver of stories. You create characters that are believable and come alive.

Remember those who can, do; those who can't, teach; and the really inept criticize.

As an aside, I really hope that that reviewer never has children, because they will definitely need therapy as adults.

Keep writing if it makes you HAPPY! PLEASE, DON'T let one bad review get you down!

KT it is a good story and a well written one.I have had too much life and way too much good therapy to trigger easily and yet your writing was able to trigger me. Very powerful writing ,My dear.Very powerful indeed.

I think we all need to learn how to take feedback. For me, good or bad or even hateful I neither accept nor defend nor reject. I sit quietly with it and allow it to challenge me and my ideas (including about myself). That which fits and has value, I incorporate that which does not fit or is of no value, I discard.

Folks will comment on your work out of their own experience or agenda and some of that will be hurtful or hateful and have nothing to do with craft or art mostly politics, ignorance, fear, or misguided theology. Always remember, it boils down to,"I liked it."; "I didn't like it" all of the rest is superfluous bull shit.

Katie, you are a dear sweet woman whom I am proud to call sister. You have an innate compassion which comes across clearly in your wonderful writing. Yes, nastiness hurts, especially from family or co-religionists but they are wrong and hateful and frightened little people take such words with a grain or 30 of salt and keep on writing and keep on being your good and lovely self. And, yes, I am still reading "Child" and yes it is better now. And by 4, my son was choosing most of his own clothes both in the stores and in his room.

LUVU

Joani

There is an anekdote about John Ford's movie "The Stagecoach".

The movie starts out with a lot of native american Indians on horseback pursuing a stagecoach, the Indians shoots at the passengers and the passengers returns fire, eventually the Indians' attack is foiled and they flee.

At the release press conference a journalist asks: "Why don't the Indians just shoot the horses, and have it done with?", to which John Ford replied, "If they'd done that, there wouldn't have been a movie!".

The point, as I understand it is: in order to move a story forward a writer needs some plot devices, eventually with a greater audience the writer will encounter a reader who, for a multitude of reasons, will reject belief in that plot device.

Early access readers, e.g. trusted good friends who has access to early revisions of the story, can help locate some, but not all, of the plot devices which causes suspension of belief.

As for the specifics to this plot device: I am convinced that some people would allow their four year old child a great deal of influence over their manner of dress and others would disregard their child's opinion all together.

The internet is a sewer. It carries the effluent from billions of keyboards. While some things that entered the stream are beautiful, they're mixed in with all the rest.

If you want to get a perspective on comments in general, go pick out a few news stories on USA Today's website and read the discussion threads. Bleh! While some of the comments are from thoughtful people with useful opinions that add to the discussion, the majority of them are quite the opposite. Even the business news on the bloomberg.com site is assailed. Rubbish, hot air, incoherent babbling, personal agendas, "Look, Ma! I is on teh internetz!", politics, and complete trollery.

Enjoy your positive comments, but don't take them too seriously. As for the negative ones, just remember they came out of that giant sewer pipe, and if the smell is leaking through, adjust the clothespin on your nose. The show must go on!