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Where Roses Grow  by PIppinfan1988 2 Review(s)
PervincaReviewed Chapter: 5 on 4/30/2004
I've been very busy the past few days with my exams, and now I have to catch up on all the stories I missed reading! lol You almost had me crying during this chapter. I feel so sorry for Pippin! I was beginning to dislike Lilas, and believing that she had seduced our Pip and it was all her fault. But then, with this chapter, I started to feel sorry for her! The poor girl's not to blame; she didn't know any better. Please continue soon :)

Author Reply: Hello, Pervinca! You poor lass! Exams your first week back at school! I know they'll all come back with As! ;-)

Wow...that's a feat, nearly making someone cry over an original character (who will only be written in this one story!). I can tell you, it puts a bounce in my step. I'm glad you feel sorry for Pip, and it's easy to because we all love him dearly. But we all know it takes two to dance the Springle-ring! Sure she's to blame--and so is he. Alcohol has a way of clouding our judgment; making us do things we would not normally do, but we are all concious of *what* we're doing. It just takes a LOT of willpower to turn the wheels and say 'no'.

More reply than you bargained for, eh? (wicked laughter) Thank you for taking the time to read Roses and review! Good luck on your exams!

Pippinfan

Lily TookReviewed Chapter: 5 on 4/28/2004
When I first saw your story, I got to the warning and stopped. I've always been a huge proponent of the innocence of hobbits, and the idea of any hobbit, especially one in the quintet (Frodo, Pippin, Merry, Sam, Bilbo), having premarital relations is to me both repulsive and completely out-of-character.

Unfortunately, I have this hugely inquisitive streak, sparked by your author's note of how you didn't usually imagine Pippin in this situation either, but wanted to see how he'd react. I managed to hold off for a while, telling myself I still didn't want to read it.

Then I started to dream about it. I kid you not. My subconcious must have investigated thirty different theories of how you might have fashioned the story, the circumstances, etc. etc. I finally gave up and just read the story.

Wow.

You are very talented. You have a deep understanding of the characters themselves, and I honestly haven't read anyone else whom I would trust to portray such an unlikely situation character/culture-wise and keep everyone in character. I find myself checking at least once a day to see if there's an update. I still don't think Pippin would have gotten into this particular mess (and you don't seem to either), but if he did, this, to my mind, is exactly how he'd act. Lilas is very well-developed, and even as her actions . . . earlier . . . anger me, I can't help but like her.

Your language and dialogue is excellent -- Pippin's line “But I don’t love her, Merry. I don’t think that marriage is the answer; I don’t want to marry someone I don’t love.” is especially poignant and has clung to my mind since I read it.

I suppose, however, that you want constructive criticism. The one place that really sticks out was your use of "moseyed" to describe Lilas's walk to the wardrobe. You might want to replace it with a word such as "wandered" or "meandered" -- moseyed is usually associated with cowboys casually sauntering over to a bar/house, and it threw me off for a minute.

Hmm. I think that's all for now. Thank you very much for an interesting and thought-provoking piece, and I look forward to the next part!

May the Shire be with you!

--Lily


Author Reply: It's rare that I receive a reiview such as this. I'm stunned. It wouldn't matter if it was from Roses or Rags (another research story), when I get a response like yours, it makes all the sweat and research worth it. I'd do it anyway, though, because I love hobbits. Especially Pippin and Merry. Like you, I'm a firm believer that they waited, but there was something in me that wanted to explore and express the trials, and rare joys of being a parent--or spouse--too soon in life. I am also using this journey to see how tweens react having spousal responsibilites thrust upon them as well. As Pimpernel said, will his jovial spirit rise to the occasion? How do they cope with each other, and how will they cope with a wee one? Hmmmm. Questions to explore.

Thank you much for the feedback on 'mosey'...I didn't see the relation when writing it, but now that you've said something, I can't separate them. :-) I will adjust that word; 'wandered' seems good.

Again, thank you for your amazing response. Take care.

Pippinfan

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