The aunt Jane stories are a pleasure to read, well written with a story line which does not require a vivid imagination to be believable. Petticoating is still practised today in a number of communities around the world where tradition demands that a youth must spend some time living as a woman before he can be accepted as a man. For a change there are very few errors in these stories - there are some, e.g. laughter and bells do not PEEL - so the reader does not become frustrated in trying to work out what the author intended to say. I would have preferred the aunt Janes to have been written as new stories rather than alternatives to previous tales, I cannot think of a reason why this was not done.
  I do not like 'magic' stories, it always seems to me that the author uses magic to conveniently cover any part of the story which would otherwise be difficult to explain. 'A Change of Direction' goes a step further by introducing the Nazi cartel as male witches and Eleanor Roosevelt as a high ranking witch in the 'Sisterhood'. Perhaps she was but it doesn't seem to be a realistic concept to me.

Sorry to disagree Mia...

But the thought of Jane dealing with a sociopathic personality actually makes this a more interesting story.  Though I do feel Tigger could have done a bit more with building a horror-tension element.  She only had the one bit of telegraphing with the blood Marie found.  I felt like there should have been a more implicit threat to Jane, Marie and Wilma/Bill in Lawrence's presence.

Oh, and Tigger... two plot-bunnies to toss your way...

1) I read this week about a student in NYC who was arrested for cheating on an exam by disguising himself as a girl.  He was apparently taking the exam for a girl he knew (wasn't clear if it was a girlfriend or not).  Was charged with trespassing on school property, I think.  Wonder how Jane might handle THAT student, particularly with the publicity that surrounds such incidents, a student who has already survived exposure and ridicule.

which lead me to the following separate scenario...

2) Jane and the current big sister are at the train station waiting for the arrival of their latest student... Who steps off the train in a dress...(a whole new monkey-wrench for Jane's program!)  This can be explored multiple ways; They can be impeccable already or clearly a boy in a dress or somewhere between.  The person sending could be; Another Sheila...  A judge's order (other than Ruth, you did indicate that she wasn't the only judge sending Jane students)... a fed up mom... any, all, separate or in combination.  Somehow I picture this as the one scenario where Jane might have to follow through on the threat of exposure.

I am not qualified to expound upon these so I freely gift them unto you.

Starbuck

I think it was a bit of a cowards way out. To make the only student who failed a sociopath. I would have preferred it if it was a normal guy who figured Jane's method out and thwarted her plans. Makes her a bit less omnipotent and perfect. Or if he was unstable it would have been a more interesting story, if she had to deal with failure and someone hurt or killed because the student snapped.

And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have wanted Jane to get or bury his body.

Very good story. Some people are just wrong she is lucky that Wilma watched over her. Before I transition I was always fighting and getting in to bother but that was because I was  trying to be something I was not but this kid just plain bad. Keep up the good work

No, Aunt Jane did not fail, it was Lora that failed. Aunt Jane never gave up upon any student in the end. But now that Darryl and Rocky have a child and Aunt Jane is a Grandmother, it will be nice to see the legacy of Aunt Jane around Seasons House.

Wow, this shows great potential to become a fantastic storyline. Don't keep us hanging around for the next installment too long :).

Love,
Anita