Getting over Tom

Welcome to the delightful array of smart and sassy women who valiantly -- and hilariously -- struggle with the eternal battle of the sexes in this gutsy collection of stories.Child brides, misguided newlyweds, and lusty middle-aged grandmothers are just a few of the characters Abigail Thomas brings to life in these wise and witty stories about women of all ages trying to deal with love for men, with their families, and with their own lot in life. Thomas presents interesting heroines: there's the girl in ''Sisters'' who hates her younger sibling for (among other things) her precise memory. In ''Seeing Things,'' Maude, who ''wants to be tan the whole year round,'' and whose ''great ambition is to be whistled at on the street,'' is told by her younger sister, ''You look ridiculous smoking with the chicken pox.'' And then there are the four stories about Buddy and Virginia, who have to drop out of school and get married after she gets pregnant. From sibling rivalry to marital strife, Thomas uncovers the pain, the poignancy, and the belief in love that lie in the hearts of her heroines.