Including Alice ANNOTATION
Fifteen-year-old Alice finds it hard to adjust to the changes in her life when her father gets married and her brother moves to his own apartment.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
After four years of hoping, wishing, scheming, and waiting, the moment Alice has been yearning for has at long last arrived... Alice's dad is finally marrying Sylvia Summers! Alice always knew they were perfect for each other when she set them up back in seventh grade, but she's relieved that The Big Day is here. She's never felt so excited, so vindicated, so grown-up, and so ... well, so left out. Now that the wedding is really happening, no one has time for Alice anymore, and the situation just gets worse when Sylvia moves into their house. Nothing is the way Alice thought it would be. Her dad and Sylvia have their new life together; Lester has his new apartment; and Alice feels like she's on her own for the first time in her life. She's also starting to notice that even though Dad and Sylvia are perfectly happy together, not everyone gets along so well. Elizabeth and Ross never see each other; Leslie and Lori are breaking up; Pamela and her mother can't seem to find a way to even talk to each other; and Alice herself has started to hear some surprising rumors about Patrick... As Alice watches her friends sort out their problems and sees her dad and Sylvia navigate their new marriage, she starts to understand all the hard work that goes into relationships and how even when people seem to be meant for each other, it's not always easy to be together.
FROM THE CRITICS
KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick
At long last, Alice's father is marrying her former teacher, Sylvia. Alice is wildly excited, but now that the wedding is about to take place, she's beginning to feel left out, and there are all kinds of adjustments to be made when Sylvia moves in. She also takes a look at other relationships—she and Patrick are no longer going out, but will she ever get over her anger at Penny, who she feels stole Patrick from her? A new girl named Amy is trying to join their group, but she tends to blurt out tactless things. Lester has moved out, and Alice is getting braces. As always, Naylor injects a realistically up-to-date, though not explicit, aspect to her depiction of teens; two of Alice's friends are in a lesbian relationship, and the girls all speculate about their ideal wedding night in a conversation with Alice's prudish Aunt Sally. As my 16-year-old daughter, a longtime reader of the series, points out, the life lessons here are sometimes spelled out a little too overtly, but fans of this warm, honest series about the trials and tribulations of growing up will be eager to read about Alice's latest experiences. KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 2004, Simon & Schuster, Atheneum, 288p., Ages 12 to 15.
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-Alice is now a sophomore, and finally, after four long years, her dad is marrying Sylvia Summers. When the wedding day arrives, Alice is excited but quickly begins to feel left out. Changes come to the household; first her older brother, Lester, moves out and then her father and Sylvia begin making plans to remodel without talking to Alice. She is further exasperated when the embroidered sheets she toiled over for a wedding gift do not fit the new bed Sylvia and her dad have purchased. Over time, with patience from both sides, Alice realizes that though her dad has a new life, she is very much a welcomed part of it. She realistically deals with the challenges and angst that teenagers face in their daily lives including fitting in, peer relationships, getting braces, and blended families. As in the previous books, Alice is curious about sex and relationships. While perhaps not as fresh or funny as the earlier titles, this book can stand alone, and fans of the series will appreciate the ongoing saga of these engaging characters.-Angela M. Boccuzzi, Merton Williams' Middle School, Hilton, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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