Alice Alone ANNOTATION
Alice's first year in high school gets off to a difficult start when she and her boyfriend Patrick break up, but with the help of her father, older brother, and best friends, she gains a better sense of her own self-worth.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Breaking up is hard to do
Alice is starting high school, and everything is new. But it's the new girl, Penny, who's making ninth grade a real challenge for Alice. Penny is tiny and perky and a real flirt, and she seems to be focusing her attention Patrick. Even worse, Patrick seems to be enjoying it.
Alice and Patrick have been a couple so long Alice can't imagine life without him. Suddenly she feels lost and unattractive and scared -- not quite whole. How can Alice get back her confidence in herself, when she's not even sure who she is?
FROM THE CRITICS
VOYA
In this thirteenth book of Naylor's Alice series, Alice starts high school, hosts a coed sleepover, breaks up with Patrick, and inadvertently invites three ex-cons to Thanksgiving dinner. Her father is going to marry her teacher, her brother concentrates on his college studies, and her best friend confides that at age seven, she was sexually abused by a family friend. As the book ends, Alice realizes again that the road to growing up is rocky and that there are not quick fixes or easy answers. As always, Naylor has a knack for getting right to the heart of teen life through the Alice stories. The topics are approached in an honest and candid way, yet they are tempered, shielding both Alice and the younger reader. The characters that readers have come to know so well are realistic and well developed, including the minor ones. The dialogue is contemporary, balanced by a tone that is at times humorous and other times serious. Alice continues to mature into a self-assured young woman. There still will be bumps in the road, but Alice will survive because she has a network of family and friends who love her very much. Devoted Alice fans will swarm the library and stores for another in her continuing saga. Readers new to Naylor's most beloved character will see themselves and their friends reflected in Alice's world. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2001, Simon & Schuster, 240p, $15. Ages 12 to 15. Reviewer: Mary Ann Capan SOURCE: VOYA, August 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 3)
KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick; KLIATT
To quote KLIATT's May 2001 review of the hardcover edition: This latest entry in the deservedly popular Alice series has Alice starting ninth grade and dealing with the challenges that high school brings. She hosts a coed sleepover party (chaperoned by her kindly big brother Lester) and starts to feel pangs of jealousy as she realizes that a new girl, Penny, has set her sights on Alice's long-time boyfriend Patrick. She gets involved with the school newspaper and enjoys her experiences there; consoles her friend Elizabeth, who reveals that she was sexually molested when she was younger; and invites some female ex-cons to Thanksgiving dinner. My 13-year-old daughter snatched this book up the moment it came into the house and read it straight through. She commented that she liked that it was "realistic," and said "the series is getting better with each book." It's not necessary to have read others to enjoy this entry, however. Naylor does a great job of conveying Alice's anguish, self-doubt, and heartbreak as her relationship with Patrick comes to an end (hence the title, Alice Alone); her father and brother offer wise advice. Elizabeth's situation is handled with similar aplomb by the author, and the serious parts of the book are balanced by humor. Naylor, the author of the Newbery Award-winning Shiloh and many other books for children and YAs, has a deep understanding of how young teens feel and speak. She says that she plans to take Alice up to her first year of college, with a final volume covering her life from 18 to 60, so fans have lots more Alice to look forward to and to help guide them through their own emotional ups and downs. Category: Paperback Fiction. KLIATT Codes:J*ﾽExceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 2001, Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse, 230p.,
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-Readers of the "Alice" series have followed her into her first love and her first kiss, and now, in ninth grade, she experiences her first heartbreak. Her relationship with Patrick is over. A new girl has arrived on the scene and she is cute, funny, and vivacious, and Patrick is attracted to her. With her own love life dissolving and her father's engagement in danger, Alice discovers that adult love is as difficult as it is rewarding. Luckily, she has older brother Lester to give her perspective. The usual humor is also present, complete with a mortifying Thanksgiving dinner. Alice's growth over the course of the series is evident in how well she handles this catastrophe. The one false note comes at the end of the book, when Alice's friend Elizabeth discloses that she had been molested by a family friend years earlier. This scenario seems tacked on at the end, as if it were a cheap cliff-hanger. Still, Alice's problems ring true and, while the humor isn't quite as fresh, this latest installment in the teen's life will strike a cord with most young women.-Amy Stultz, Leesburg Public Library, FL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Book Watch
Alice is growing up and facing the special challenges of dating in a title which tells of a new girl's closeness with her best friend Patrick. When Patrick begins seeing Penny, Alice responds by challenging his affection, and finds herself alone. Her supportive family and friends lend help and insights, but it's Alice who must face some hard decisions in this fine title which needs no introduction from prior books in order to prove accessible to newcomers.
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