Around the Cul-de-sac charts the inner workings of Sydney Lagunilla, a kid growing up in the '90s who views trespassing on her neighbors' properties as doing them a favor. In this work of realistic fiction, the Central Florida native finds a way to skirt a standardized test worksheet, and in an above-ground pool, acts out the farewell floating door scene in Titanic. Sydney's ruling passions undergo rapid shifts, occupying her time with rowboat adventures or whatever sport features in the latest (now nostalgic) family comedy. She could be catching lizards one moment, then staging a performance of the 1996 Grammy Nominees album in the next. These 16 short stories are magnetic and will leave readers bemused through seriously funny and honest narration. This is the debut short stories collection by emerging humor writer Christina De Paris.