By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - Alice In-Between (Reissue) (2011-05-18) [Paperback]

Alice #22

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

At last, it's Alice in Charge--of her life, of her future...but, is it too much?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Banned Books, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Chick Lit

Paperback

First published June 15, 2010

About the author

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana, US on January 4, 1933.

Her family were strongly religious with conservative, midwestern values and most of her childhood was spent moving a lot due to her father's occupation as a salesman.

Though she grew up during the Depression and her family did not have a lot of money, Naylor stated that she never felt poor because her family owned good books. Her parents enjoyed reading stories to the children--her father would imitate the characters in Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer--and her mother read to them every evening, "almost until we were old enough to go out on dates, though we never would have admitted this to anyone."

By the time Phyllis reached fifth grade, writing books was her favorite hobby and she would rush home from school each day to write down whatever plot had been forming in her head - at sixteen her first story was published in a local church magazine.

Phyllis has written over 80 books for children and young people. One of these books, "Shiloh," was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1992, was named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and was also Young Adult Choice by the International Reading Association.

Naylor gets her ideas from things that happen to her or from things she has read. "Shiloh" was inspired by a little abused dog she and her husband found. The little dog haunted her so much that she had to write a story about him to get it out of her mind.

Reviews

[Kricket · Rating 4 out of 5]

just when i think there is nothing else PRN can throw at alice...and let me remind you that alice and her friends have experienced sexual assaults, divorced parents, homophobia, abusive relationships, leukemia, multiple deaths of loved ones, teen pregnancy, racism, alcohol related accidents, suicide, cruel pranks, and countless other teen problems...PRN brings in...

NEO-NAZIS!!!!!!!!

i'm sorry. i know that neo-nazis exist, and they must exist in high school too. and i know that i said this last june when the last alice book came out...but how many problems can one group of teens have?! the early books in the series seemed more lighthearted, just your everyday gaffes and misunderstandings, but every book since then has had One Big Serious Issue to consider.

the best thing about this book was when alice tries to go visit colleges for the weekend and everything goes wrong. this is so something that could have happened to me when i was her age, and it's these sorts of situations- not the heavy-duty ones- that keep me reading this series.

another thing i've mentioned in the past is how out-of-date PRN tends to sound, and it seems like she's doing a bit better. (with some exceptions.) then i checked her author profile and this chica is 77 years old. holy cats! no wonder she uses the word "slacks" for pants and says "funky" like it's a good thing. way to go, phyllis. i still like your books after all these years.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, there's no way I'm going to stop reading them NOW.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've lost track of the number of Alice books that will exist, but this is either the penultimate book or the third from the last.

As always, I love the character of Alice -- I wouldn't keep reading these books if I didn't. I mean, I'm now 10 years older than her character, whereas I was once the same age.

I have the same criticism of Naylor as before. In every Alice book as she gets older, it becomes more and more necessary to tackle "life issues" (see my review of Almost Alice). On one hand, this is commendable because I think Alice has really come to be an excellent role-model for young girls. Also, amidst the popular books of today that glamourize drugs, gossip, scandal, murder, cheating, expensive designer labels, and so on, this is not a bad thing at all, to have a character who is down-to-earth, lives an average life, and who treats others with tolerance and respect. Heck, if I were writing these books, I would tackle similar issues. I just hate that the Alice books are more issue-driven than they used to be, but perhaps that's what will stand the test of time when all those other YA books are forgotten.

This time, the "life issue of the book" is neo-Nazism! With a little inappropriate student-teacher conduct thrown in. I am surprised that Naylor has not worked school shootings into her plots yet, really surprised. Or cyber-bullying, unless I've forgotten one of her books. To be fair, she was even-handed in her treatment of the neo-Nazis' creed. As much as I disagree with ideals like those, I could understand their point of view.

What I nearly laughed my head off about, however, was the Thanksgiving dinner that Alice's family shared with (1) Sudanese international students and (2) one of her dad's employees with a Chinese background. Each person got to share their cultural "experiences" and everyone simply basked in the DIVERSITY! and TOLERANCE! choking the room. Don't get me wrong -- diversity and tolerance are wonderful. The whole scene was just TOO forced and picture-perfect. I really almost expected them to join hands and sing a song while rainbows poured out of their hearts. Also it was surprising that Yan mentioned her parents had an arranged marriage in China plus the one-child-only policy; I don't claim to know all Chinese practices but Naylor seemed to go for the most stereotypical (and somewhat outdated) ones without qualifying them a bit. It was misleading.

**OMG Awkward: Alice and Patrick have a brief conversation about "having" each other (sexually). Sorry, but who still talks this way? Especially 17-year-olds?! Maybe it was originally written differently and some editor nixed it...I don't know. For someone who deals with other hard-hitting issues so directly and unabashedly, Naylor certainly treats teen sex in a roundabout, secretive way. I am VERY curious to see how she is going to tackle the adult Alice in the last book.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been reading the Alice books since the late '80s; the first one was published in 1985. We're almost at the end -- maybe three more books? At this point, the 20 years (oh my god) I have invested in this series is the only thing that keeps me reading the new ones. It feels like Naylor is creatively done with these series, but since she's come this far, might as well finish the whole damn thing.

Naylor should get credit for tackling hard issues in her books, but my god, at this point, it's a frickin' laundry list. It's more like Degrassi Junior High, without the charming bad fashion and Canadian accents. There was one episode of this book I liked -- Alice and her older brother tour colleges -- and the rest of it was so boring and contrived.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I'm committed to this series but I'm starting to hope that it finishes when Alice graduates. Naylor covers a lot of ground but there are so many Big Issues that it's hard to see Alice's life in and among them. And yes, I'm happy to see that Naylor isn't afraid to tackle the issues, but having this many crammed into one book is about 3 too many. It's teetering on the edge of didactic, the dialogue is stilted and intermittently unrealistic- but it's still Alice, so I'm stuck reading it. The best part of this book was the totally believable comedy of errors surrounding Alice's college visit.


If you haven't read any of the series, this is not the place to start.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have so enjoyed this series, but it has finally tipped over the edge for me. Every single book has become a Very Special Episode focusing on the Issue of the Week, and they are heavy-handed and preachy. The dialogue is stilted and unbelievable (particularly from the mouths of teenagers). The situations are contrived. If Alice's friends aren't directly involved in the Issue of the Week, they are practically invisible. We didn't even get much of Lester here, or.... anybody. Just Alice whining.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

More adventures of Alice’s life!

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, being able to watch Alice grow into her senior year of high school! She resolves issues of neo-Nazis, college applications, and a prom.

[Jillian Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice in Charge by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is the 22nd book in the Alice series. The protagonist is Alice, an over-extended high school senior. She is dealing with a lot of pressure with her multitude of clubs, college applications, and her father's failing business. Even though Alice is extremely stressed out, she finds time to forge relationships with people she feels compelled to help out. Daniel is a Sudanese refugee, and Amy is a mainstreamed special education student. Alice finds the right way to befriend these students and offer them her support.

Throughout the story, the students at Alice's high school are confronted by messages left from a white supremacist group on campus. As an editor of the school newspaper and a member of the student jury, Alice feels the need to figure out who is leaving these hateful messages. Through her research, she is able to narrow it down to one student, Curtis. Instead of shying away from Curtis, Alice decides to let him explain his point of view in the school newspaper, and then she lets other students comment on the article. She forces Curtis to examine his beliefs. In the end, she realizes that behind all the hate is a boy who is suffering abuse from his father. Here is another student who Alice befriends and looks to support, despite of everything he has done to Alice, her friends, and the school community.

Several themes from this book would allow many teen readers to connect with the characters. The students are dealing with very real stress from school and college decisions. Alice agonizes over whether to stay close to home, go away, or maybe be closer to her boyfriend. Also, Alice and her friends all live in very modern families. Alice lives with her dad and stepmom, and most of her friends' parents are divorced. Along with this, Alice watches her father struggle with his business. These are all real issues that young people are dealing with.

I'm not sold on the fact that Alice takes interest in befriending a student who commits hateful acts based on race. This seemed a bit unrealistic, as Alice should have been afraid of this boy. Nonetheless, this book might be a good way to introduce students to the fact that hate exists in our communities. Young readers might compare their own experiences with hateful acts with those in the book.

[Ernica]

I Liked how the book started with them remembering Mark and ended with Alice's article on Mark but that the whole book hadn't been about his death. Sure there were moments where Mark was remembered all the time but this was their senior and they also had to go on living even though Mark was no longer with them. I'm glad that Lester was finally able to graduate but Alice going on her college visits made me think of my colleges hopefully i won't make the same mistakes she did like going to the wrong campus and using the wrong map. OMG and how could i forget Amy being molested bey a teacher? I'm glad that she spoke up and even glad that she had more friends now and that people weren't making fun of her as much just because she was considered a little "special" and I honestly don't think I could have made the decision that Alice made to go to college so close to home - i get that she wanted to stay around to help out and stuff but I don't even wanna think about applying to colleges in the same state but i guess it's a good thing that here dad told her that even if she did go to school in Maryland she would have to stay on Campus and live there! I get it she's scared and none of the plans that she and her best friends have made about going to the same college will hold out but they'll be fine. And gosh it's their senior year -shouldn't it have been a breeze like they thought it would be? I guess it's a good thing that I'm doing everything now. And omg I couldn't help but feel disgusted with this book i mean i liked it i love the Alice series but some of the characters and their racists views just made me want to stop reading the book and when they mentioned Sudan- I couldn't help remembering that some of my friends are from Sudan but at my school - no one would have ever put a double 8 sign in their locker meaning "Heil Hitler". I'm glad that everyone else had gotten Daniel to feel welcome and poor Alice- Patrick's parents are moving but i guess it doesn't really matter since he goes to school in Chicago anyway so he'd never be around anyway

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa. This was a really good book. I absolutely adored Daniel Bu Dau. So charming and pretty realistic, sharing some mannerisms of African immigrants that I know. This just seemed a lot more serious. A lot less goofy. Less embarrassing events, more pressing events. Alice has really grown up and gotten mature. She seems like she spends less time with her friends - depends less on them. She's also so nice and understanding to others now. I still remember when Amy always annoyed her, when Alice was embarrassed to be seen with her, or when Alice herself was mean to Amy. She is past all that now, and Amy herself has gone through a lot of character development as well. I know that the author is probably purposely adding every social issue she can think of into her books, but that doesn't make them any less enjoyable. In fact, I loved the topic covered in this one. Neo-Nazis, or people with some of their views, certainly do exist. The portrayal of Curtis Butler was done well. Instead of being a nameless villain, she became someone with a voice - the controversial voice that I certainly disagree with, but a voice with passion and purpose coming from a guy who's been kicked around by his family members. I like how realistic the ending was, with Curtis's future left sort of open. I also loved the increased diversity represented in the character of Kay Yen, who is probably the first relevant side character that is Asian - Chinese, actually, like me. I loved how she talked about her family's culture and how that shaped her upbringing, and how she feels American even though she was born in China and moved when she was young.
Alice's disorganized college visits with Lester were fun to read about. That was the part most similar to the older books - the part at the hotel.
I loved how Alice took a stand by implying about Mr. Granger in the newspaper. Way to go, girl!

[Allison Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Alice. I should have made her one of my Top Ten Tuesday heroines, but unfortunately I overlooked her.

This is Alice's newest book, published in 2010. I actually think that this is the 25th book in the Alice series, which spans her life from elementary school to currently her senior year of high school.

In this particular story, Alice's almost-boyfriend is away at college while she is dealing with the death of a friend (in a previous book), choosing her own college, and using her status as features editor of the school newspaper to investigate some Nazi-action on campus.

Alice in Charge was unique among the series because usually the books focus on a problem or series of problems centered around her closest friends, but this book focuses on a much larger issue of intolerance and hate. The controversial sexual element was still present, which is one reason that I love these books. They deal with tween and teen sexuality realistically- not totally absent such as the Babysitters Club but not stylized and glamorized like in Secret Life of the American Teenager. The Alice books actually advocate for abstinence, not until marriage, but until Alice is in a safe, loving relationship with a degree of serious commitment. In the meantime, she has enough adventurous escapades including a late night hot tub crashing, trying to find somewhere to sleep on a college campus, and a new male friend from Sudan.

As you can tell, I love these books. There are no cons to this book, but it's certainly not 5-stars (like The Hunger Games) on my rating scale. 5 stars- and I recommend this book SERIES to anyone who likes realistic YA literature and anyone who works with middle/high schoolers. I know I'll be giving these books to my daughters (as age-appropriate).

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Alice's first semester of her senior year of high school. She's got a lot on her plate and it seems like everytime she turns around she's picking up another responsibility. Her friends are all still reeling from the unexpected death of their friend Mark, but soon everybody is back into the rush and excitement of school.

A foreign exchange student from Sudan features prominently in the story when he becomes the victim of a racist group of students at school. Alice and her crew who produce The Edge, the student newspaper, cover all the rising tension and manage to open a dialogue on a difficult subject.

Amy, Alice's friend who transferred out of special ed, plays a big role in this book when Alice takes her under her wing and invites her to serve as a roving reporter. Amy really begins to blossom in this role. Later in the book, Amy is also involved in an inappropriate relationship with one of the teachers at school and bravely reports her story to school authorities.

I love the Alice books that dig into issues and explore them from multiple viewpoints as this one does. Her dedication to the newspaper is inspiring and her loyalty and kindness in helping Amy through a difficult situation is admirable.

Many seeds for future plot twists were planted in this volume as Alice learns that Patrick's family is moving to Wisconsin and Lester has finally graduated with a Master degree in philosophy, though it's not clear yet what he will do with it.

Recommended for teens grades 9 and up.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I needed something breezy to entertain me during hours upon hours of nursing, and I adored the Alice books when I was in middle school so I grabbed this off the shelf at the library. Big mistake--as the Alice empire has expanded to twenty-something books, they've become less entertaining and way more public-service-announcement-y, including testimonials on the back cover from tweens waxing un-poetically about "how gr8 ur writing is!" to Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and awkward shout-outs to way too many hot-button issues. Perhaps I'm too old for this kind of thing, and I also noticed Alice's voice is more self-aware (and hence less hilariously seventh-grade) as her character has entered high school. Give me Ramona Quimby any day.

[Talia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice is starting her senior year of high school and is a bit overwhelmed with everything: picking a college, being the features editor of the school paper, keeping her relationship with Patrick alive, and trying to maintain a life.

This book was fine, but I’m getting a little tired of the “Afterschool Special”/”Social Problem of the Month” feel that these books have started to take. That being said, I liked the subplot of “Slow Amy” better than the White Pride subplot. Hmm, does this mean that the next book will be the last? What will happen with Alice and Patrick? (wink wink, nudge nudge)

[Melody Loomis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published in 2010, but wow, the subject matter of this book is still very relevant and perhaps even more so today. In this book, Alice has to deal with the rise of hate groups at her school. She also has an encounter with a slimy substitute teacher, and Amy makes more of an appearance. Oh, and there’s also college touring. That’s a disorganized mess! But she makes it through all this, barely though!

[Ashley Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warning: molestation, sexual assault


This book tackles some serious issues and they are issues I personally have experience worth, unfortunately. I didn’t feel “triggered” but it did make me remember how I felt when I was a young child and that happened to me.

Anyway, I am excited to continue to make my way through this series! 3 to go!

[Dana (six strings and a sailboat) Carlisle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty disappointing, considering how relateable and lovable the previous books were, this one had no spark and kinda drooped for me.

[Christiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dudes, I love Alice as much as the next person, but why hasn't Ben pulled her out of this school? It's like a tragedy farm (and neo nazis too? Yeesh)!

[Fierymermaidbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this book! my all time favorite series!

[Grace Messi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I call this one “I’m still reading it because I’m so close to the end but ugh.” There is a funny scene here or there, but I often struggle to connect to characters and plotlines. I think a lot of these issues should be handled in a better way and it remains pretty obvious that PRN is an older woman writing from the perspective of a teenager in a generation that she never lived through, so the slang and jokes are always a bit off-kilter.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book from a Free Little Library having no idea that it is part of a large series. It was no problem at all as I could understand what was happening. While it was pleasant to read, it often strayed off of the plot that was described on the back of the book. There were issues in the book that were presented a bit like an After School Special. This book did not inspire me to read the rest of the books in this series.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up to read because it is on a banned book list. I was not aware that it is one in a series of many about Alice. No wonder it starts and ends like a story in the middle of something. I see no reason what so ever for this book to be banned, but I also can't recommend it either. There is just not enough of a storyline to be interesting.

[Chandni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought quite a few of the plot points in this book were ridiculous, but I understand what Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was trying to show. The reality of racism is alive and well, but it was done in an overly dramatic way. I did like Alice visiting colleges though.

[Kathrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the structure of this book really weird, some aspects are drawn out over 4 chapters, whereas others merely seem like a footnote also I did not like some decision that Alice made as they go against her character.

[sari · Rating 3 out of 5]

ngl this one was weird

[Readingraynbow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't as good as Incredibly Alice

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

What’s funny is how this book is from 2011 but tackles subjects one wouldn’t think would still be going on in 2020.

[Suzanne Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how Alice tames a certain savage breast... I def. see her as a competent shrink, not just an ordinary guidance counselor or journalist. Daniel and Amy's character both serve to illustrate the concept of 'outsider' but they're not just cardboard icons. I love the dress exchange in acknowledgement of the bad economy.

I don't like how Alice gets in over her head and actually lies to Dad & Sylvia and then messes up the visit to the college in NC. I'm sure Naylor is just letting her readers know that it's ok to make mistakes, but still.