Ms. Pine suffers from fibromyalgia syndrome, a potentially debilitating muscle disorder.

Ms. Pines, 40, makes no pretense that she's not hard-core adolescent, at least a good deal of the time.

Ms. Pine, 17 years old, took on a controversy surrounding two groups of fungi, mushrooms and false-truffles.

"Boys have a tendency at a certain age to start traveling in packs; they do things in groups," Ms. Pines said.

Ms. Pines said that for a publisher, "girls are almost always there for you.

"We can demonstrate the harm after it occurs," Ms. Pine said.

"He's never been to church before," said Ms. Pines, who found the pooch six years ago in a junkyard.

Ms. Pines said she, her husband and two children plan on remaining as rent-stabilized tenants.

Ms. Pine is keeping her name.

Ms. Pine lives here with her husband and two young children, works part-time for a sales promotion company and sings when she has the chance.