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Alice #25
Now I'll Tell You Everything
Alice McKinley is going to college! And everything, from her room to her classes to her friends, is about to change. Stoically, nervously, Alice puts her best foot forward…and steps into the rest of her life.
Just how crazy will her college life get? Will Alice’s dream of becoming a psychologist come true? Are she and her BFFs destined to remain BFFs? And with so many miles between them, will Alice and Patrick stay together…or is there a hot, mysterious stranger in her future? As Alice well knows, life isn’t always so predictable, and there are more than a few curveballs waiting to be thrown her way.
This is it. The grand finale. You’ve loved her, you’ve learned with her, you’ve watched her grow up through twenty-eight books. And now everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Alice McKinley will be revealed!
Just how crazy will her college life get? Will Alice’s dream of becoming a psychologist come true? Are she and her BFFs destined to remain BFFs? And with so many miles between them, will Alice and Patrick stay together…or is there a hot, mysterious stranger in her future? As Alice well knows, life isn’t always so predictable, and there are more than a few curveballs waiting to be thrown her way.
This is it. The grand finale. You’ve loved her, you’ve learned with her, you’ve watched her grow up through twenty-eight books. And now everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Alice McKinley will be revealed!
517 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2013
71 people are currently reading
1478 people want to read
About the author
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
202 books1,038 followersPhyllis 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 268 reviews
November 5, 2013
Phyllis Naylor shouldn't have written this book.
I know she wanted to finish the series and give Alice's legion of fans a look into the rest of Alice's life. But in doing so she has written a book that is not a believable full account of a life, but rather something that reads as if a fan had written it--and a young fan at that.
Alice's voice has rung clearly through all the Alice books. They went at a leisurely pace, often covering no more than a few months or at most a year in Alice's life.
Here, Naylor has encapsulated 40 years of living into one book, and in doing such she rushes from college to graduate school to married life to being 60 and I use the word "rushes" intentionally. Despite the length of the book (over 500 pages) it feels hurried, especially once Alice leaves college.
There is no space for character development. Most of the plot is as predictable, again as if it were written by a fan. Perhaps that will satisfy young fans, but being 50-something myself, having gone through a great deal of what Alice experiences, I know life just isn't like that!
Naylor should have left Alice there, about to enter college and let her fans fill in the rest of the story. I think they'd have done a better job.
I know she wanted to finish the series and give Alice's legion of fans a look into the rest of Alice's life. But in doing so she has written a book that is not a believable full account of a life, but rather something that reads as if a fan had written it--and a young fan at that.
Alice's voice has rung clearly through all the Alice books. They went at a leisurely pace, often covering no more than a few months or at most a year in Alice's life.
Here, Naylor has encapsulated 40 years of living into one book, and in doing such she rushes from college to graduate school to married life to being 60 and I use the word "rushes" intentionally. Despite the length of the book (over 500 pages) it feels hurried, especially once Alice leaves college.
There is no space for character development. Most of the plot is as predictable, again as if it were written by a fan. Perhaps that will satisfy young fans, but being 50-something myself, having gone through a great deal of what Alice experiences, I know life just isn't like that!
Naylor should have left Alice there, about to enter college and let her fans fill in the rest of the story. I think they'd have done a better job.
October 16, 2013
PROLOGUE: This is going to be a long, emotional review. I will not just be reviewing this book, but also reflecting back on the whole series now that it is finally over. And what an ending it was. Some may be daunted or annoyed by the length. I thought about keeping it short, but quickly realized I wouldn't be able to write a "normal" review. All I ask is for you to remember that this ending is an emotional moment for a longtime Alice fan, and I cannot write a review of the 25th (28th if you include the prequels) and final Alice book, NOW I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING, any other way.
I picked up my first Alice book just as seventh grade was ending. I was perusing books in the library and saw the cover of ALICE IN RAPTURE, SORT OF, and was intrigued by both the unusual title and the girl who looked to be about my age wearing a green bathing suit on the cover. I took the book home and quickly devoured it. It was the sort of book the every-day girl could relate to, and I felt a connection to Alice and her friends. I found out many of their thoughts and worries and embarrassments were also many of mine. I discovered this book was part of a series, and that began my love affair with the Alice books. Soon I discovered the Alice website where Phyllis Naylor answered fan emails, both about the books and whatever else readers wanted to talk about--many asking advice on school, relationships, and life. I read the website faithfully and even sent in some emails myself. The next Spring I asked my parents for the newest Alice book as a gift for my good report card instead of the usual $20 cash because I couldn't wait several months for the library to get it. So I became the proud owner of SIMPLY ALICE, the fourteenth Alice book to come out. Only eleven more years to go!
As I've said, the reason why I gave this background information is to explain how emotional this final book is to me. I've spent exactly half my life reading the Alice books. Not just reading, but also waiting for the next book in the series to come out a year later (which I would promptly read in one day), emailing Phyllis occasionally to beg her for an excerpt or hint (hey, I was desperate for some Alice news.) I have been heavily invested in this series, and it was such a big part of my middle school and high school life.
However, in college, I started drifting away from Alice. Life was busy, and when I did read the new Alice book in the Spring, it seemed that Alice was no longer connecting to me--or the average teenager. It seemed like Naylor didn't know what to do with her anymore. I feel bad saying this, but while she captured emotions and friendships between characters well, she seemed out of loop with the language and activities of modern day teen. New technology and places suddenly cropped up and often stuck out like a sore thumb. So did the dialogue between characters--they seemed outdated and some words or phrases were strange to read. For the first time, it really hit me that these books were written by a woman born in a different era and was having some trouble making her series seem "modern." I began to dislike a lot of the story lines and the way certain characters acted, and that made me grow frustrated and angry because I felt like "my" Alice was no longer there. Characters I grew up with were pushed to the sidelines so special storylines could take place (many which were awkward and felt out of place.) I hated how Patrick was never around--as if there was a conspiracy to keep him and Alice away from each other. I wrote a negative review of one of these books that I feel bad about now. My tone was harsh because I felt angry that these books were not the same Alice books I fell in love with (I wish I can take back the harsh tone of the review though; I feel very bad about that.) The last Alice book published before this one was my least favorite and put me in heartbreak. How could this character I loved--this author I loved--let me down? Or maybe it was me? Perhaps Phyllis was worn out from writing these books year after year? After all, it can't be easy writing a series where the character slowly ages for over twenty years!
Nevertheless, I impatiently waited for the final Alice book. I still loved her and her world and was dying to know what will happen, even if I was worried that with the direction the last few books had gone, I wouldn't like this book as much. However, Phyllis told us on her website that she had written the first draft of this book years ago so in case anything happened to her, we'll know what happened to Alice. What a wonderful thing for her to do for her fans! So with the knowledge that Alice's fate has been sealed for a long time, I picked up NOW I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING and read.
REVIEW: The Alice series comes to an end, and this final book is full of what made Alice such a great series: laughter, friendships, mishaps, and trials of life together with touching moments, the emotional and passionate scenes, and the loving camaraderie of friends and family. The book highlights only certain important events in Alice's life: college, her marriage, her career, having children, friends and relatives getting married, raising her children as they get older, special vacations and family moments, health scares, concerns with growing older, relationships, deaths, and finally, opening the time capsule the seventh grade class buried forty seven years ago.
Before reading, I think some people might need to realize that it is impossible for Phyllis to describe every major event like in a regular Alice book. If this book took Alice from 18 until 30, we would certainly have had more time to spend on certain big events in her life. I know one thing I would have loved to read more of is Alice planning her wedding and actually being pregnant (oh, and more detail on the hotel scenes in Chicago :) ). The "old" Alice would have gone in great detail on each subject, but this book still has over thirty years of her life to go, so that just isn't possible. And while I would have loved these extra details and time spent on Alice's younger years, this is Phyllis Naylor's book, and the story is the one she envisioned and wanted to tell. I am happy she is now telling us everything.
I cried when the book ended, realizing this part of my life was now over. This book, even with the difficult task of taking a character from 18 to 60, manages to stay true to itself and who Alice is. The afterword Phyllis wrote was touching; she explains how she came to write the Alice books, and why she writes Alice the way she does. You can see bits of her life in the books (I like to imagine Alice and Patrick's marriage is as strong and loving as the one Phyllis and her husband Rex had for 52 years.) This series will always have a special place in my heart. And if I ever have a daughter, I know I will be sharing this series with her.
Thank you Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, for giving us a wonderful character and allowing us into her world for twenty plus years. I imagine her life is still busy; she's got to get ready for her trips to the Caribbean and Japan with Patrick, and of course there are those books to write.
Posted originally on Amazon: Now I'll Tell You Everything
I picked up my first Alice book just as seventh grade was ending. I was perusing books in the library and saw the cover of ALICE IN RAPTURE, SORT OF, and was intrigued by both the unusual title and the girl who looked to be about my age wearing a green bathing suit on the cover. I took the book home and quickly devoured it. It was the sort of book the every-day girl could relate to, and I felt a connection to Alice and her friends. I found out many of their thoughts and worries and embarrassments were also many of mine. I discovered this book was part of a series, and that began my love affair with the Alice books. Soon I discovered the Alice website where Phyllis Naylor answered fan emails, both about the books and whatever else readers wanted to talk about--many asking advice on school, relationships, and life. I read the website faithfully and even sent in some emails myself. The next Spring I asked my parents for the newest Alice book as a gift for my good report card instead of the usual $20 cash because I couldn't wait several months for the library to get it. So I became the proud owner of SIMPLY ALICE, the fourteenth Alice book to come out. Only eleven more years to go!
As I've said, the reason why I gave this background information is to explain how emotional this final book is to me. I've spent exactly half my life reading the Alice books. Not just reading, but also waiting for the next book in the series to come out a year later (which I would promptly read in one day), emailing Phyllis occasionally to beg her for an excerpt or hint (hey, I was desperate for some Alice news.) I have been heavily invested in this series, and it was such a big part of my middle school and high school life.
However, in college, I started drifting away from Alice. Life was busy, and when I did read the new Alice book in the Spring, it seemed that Alice was no longer connecting to me--or the average teenager. It seemed like Naylor didn't know what to do with her anymore. I feel bad saying this, but while she captured emotions and friendships between characters well, she seemed out of loop with the language and activities of modern day teen. New technology and places suddenly cropped up and often stuck out like a sore thumb. So did the dialogue between characters--they seemed outdated and some words or phrases were strange to read. For the first time, it really hit me that these books were written by a woman born in a different era and was having some trouble making her series seem "modern." I began to dislike a lot of the story lines and the way certain characters acted, and that made me grow frustrated and angry because I felt like "my" Alice was no longer there. Characters I grew up with were pushed to the sidelines so special storylines could take place (many which were awkward and felt out of place.) I hated how Patrick was never around--as if there was a conspiracy to keep him and Alice away from each other. I wrote a negative review of one of these books that I feel bad about now. My tone was harsh because I felt angry that these books were not the same Alice books I fell in love with (I wish I can take back the harsh tone of the review though; I feel very bad about that.) The last Alice book published before this one was my least favorite and put me in heartbreak. How could this character I loved--this author I loved--let me down? Or maybe it was me? Perhaps Phyllis was worn out from writing these books year after year? After all, it can't be easy writing a series where the character slowly ages for over twenty years!
Nevertheless, I impatiently waited for the final Alice book. I still loved her and her world and was dying to know what will happen, even if I was worried that with the direction the last few books had gone, I wouldn't like this book as much. However, Phyllis told us on her website that she had written the first draft of this book years ago so in case anything happened to her, we'll know what happened to Alice. What a wonderful thing for her to do for her fans! So with the knowledge that Alice's fate has been sealed for a long time, I picked up NOW I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING and read.
REVIEW: The Alice series comes to an end, and this final book is full of what made Alice such a great series: laughter, friendships, mishaps, and trials of life together with touching moments, the emotional and passionate scenes, and the loving camaraderie of friends and family. The book highlights only certain important events in Alice's life: college, her marriage, her career, having children, friends and relatives getting married, raising her children as they get older, special vacations and family moments, health scares, concerns with growing older, relationships, deaths, and finally, opening the time capsule the seventh grade class buried forty seven years ago.
Before reading, I think some people might need to realize that it is impossible for Phyllis to describe every major event like in a regular Alice book. If this book took Alice from 18 until 30, we would certainly have had more time to spend on certain big events in her life. I know one thing I would have loved to read more of is Alice planning her wedding and actually being pregnant (oh, and more detail on the hotel scenes in Chicago :) ). The "old" Alice would have gone in great detail on each subject, but this book still has over thirty years of her life to go, so that just isn't possible. And while I would have loved these extra details and time spent on Alice's younger years, this is Phyllis Naylor's book, and the story is the one she envisioned and wanted to tell. I am happy she is now telling us everything.
I cried when the book ended, realizing this part of my life was now over. This book, even with the difficult task of taking a character from 18 to 60, manages to stay true to itself and who Alice is. The afterword Phyllis wrote was touching; she explains how she came to write the Alice books, and why she writes Alice the way she does. You can see bits of her life in the books (I like to imagine Alice and Patrick's marriage is as strong and loving as the one Phyllis and her husband Rex had for 52 years.) This series will always have a special place in my heart. And if I ever have a daughter, I know I will be sharing this series with her.
Thank you Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, for giving us a wonderful character and allowing us into her world for twenty plus years. I imagine her life is still busy; she's got to get ready for her trips to the Caribbean and Japan with Patrick, and of course there are those books to write.
Posted originally on Amazon: Now I'll Tell You Everything
October 17, 2013
I'm going to admit that I was a teensy bit wary about this final book. The work in the latest books deteriorated a little bit, as it felt like Phyllis Reynolds Naylor grew less and less in touch with the young people of today. I can tell you all about the distinctive moments in the first Alice books, like Denise Whitlock's bullying, the pencil test, the gum in Pamela's hair, Alice's fake wedding in high school and Pamela's fake pregnancy, and it all felt so real to me when I was younger and could identify with Alice's cares and worries... but the recent books were kind of forgettable. I can barely remember anything that happened in the last few that came out, and, let's face it, the last novel Alice on Board was a snooze-fest! And since all the other Alice books focused on Alice's day-to-day life for four months out of the year as she grew older, I was a bit worried about how PRN would mash Alice's life from 18-60 into one book, but today I got my book from Amazon (pre-ordered it months ago!) and I devoured it in 5 hours. I laughed, I cried, I loved.
I've been reading the Alice books since the 5th grade (for me, that was 1995) and loved growing up with Alice. It was a bit weird when I was a little older than Alice -- towards the end, I was already out of high school and college and married, while Alice was still struggling along at 17 -- but this book caught us up and then she overshot me, and had so many more life experiences than I have had.
I've always thought of Alice as a sister, and while growing up, the make-believe characters of Pamela and Liz and Gwen were also personalities that I could see in my best friends too, so knowing how their lives turned out was also wonderful.
It was a little strange how Alice's life would jump a year, two years, three years, in a matter of paragraphs, but honestly, I was happy with the way PRN approached writing this book. Everybody stayed true to their characters that we've known for so long. As far as series go, I'm both sad and happy that the series I've read for the past 18 years has ended. I wouldn't have asked for any other way. And the end? with the time capsule? I wept and wept.
I've been reading the Alice books since the 5th grade (for me, that was 1995) and loved growing up with Alice. It was a bit weird when I was a little older than Alice -- towards the end, I was already out of high school and college and married, while Alice was still struggling along at 17 -- but this book caught us up and then she overshot me, and had so many more life experiences than I have had.
I've always thought of Alice as a sister, and while growing up, the make-believe characters of Pamela and Liz and Gwen were also personalities that I could see in my best friends too, so knowing how their lives turned out was also wonderful.
It was a little strange how Alice's life would jump a year, two years, three years, in a matter of paragraphs, but honestly, I was happy with the way PRN approached writing this book. Everybody stayed true to their characters that we've known for so long. As far as series go, I'm both sad and happy that the series I've read for the past 18 years has ended. I wouldn't have asked for any other way. And the end? with the time capsule? I wept and wept.
November 12, 2013
I grew up with The Agony of Alice and the other early Alice books (I still remember how thrilled I was the day I found Alice in Rapture, Sort Of at Target right when it was released). Then, after the first handful of books, I started becoming more and more disenchanted with Alice. It became a boring, repetitive series.
But reading this book was like taking a punch to the gut - it was unexpected, and kind of painful. And for me, this was a good thing. It reminded me of all the things that I loved about Alice. Alice, as awkward as she could be at times, overall was a good person, and it was nice to see her live happily ever after so to speak. Certain parts of the book really moved me (in particular, an unexpected note that Alice found in a surprising place). It was also great to see nods to virtually every other Alice book written, along with some of the beloved characters we lost along the way.
Honestly, I'm still feeling emotional about this one. Alice, I'm going to miss you. I'll see you again in a few years when I share The Agony of Alice with my daughter.
But reading this book was like taking a punch to the gut - it was unexpected, and kind of painful. And for me, this was a good thing. It reminded me of all the things that I loved about Alice. Alice, as awkward as she could be at times, overall was a good person, and it was nice to see her live happily ever after so to speak. Certain parts of the book really moved me (in particular, an unexpected note that Alice found in a surprising place). It was also great to see nods to virtually every other Alice book written, along with some of the beloved characters we lost along the way.
Honestly, I'm still feeling emotional about this one. Alice, I'm going to miss you. I'll see you again in a few years when I share The Agony of Alice with my daughter.
June 7, 2013
Fair warning upfront: if you aren't already an Alice McKinley fan, this book won't appeal at all. It's a straightforward chronology of what happens to Alice and her friends after high school up until age sixty. Long-time Alice fans will probably know why Naylor chose this age as her cutoff. Always Alice suffers from trying to cover such a wide swath of time - no matter how you slice it, trying to capture this much time in 544 pages is incredibly difficult. I thought Naylor would have done better to cover Alice and co.'s life up to her mid-twenties, and then include the last chapter of the book as an epilogue. It would have eliminated a lot of the fluff and allowed me to spend more time with the characters I've grown to love, like Lester and Pamela, rather than with ones introduced only in this book.
Frankly, although I like the early Alice installments and feel they do a good job of capturing those terribly embarrassing things that happen to us as we navigate adolescence, the series has been deteriorating over time. This was evident in Always Alice; several events in Alice's life that should be a huge deal are glossed over, while others (like vacations) that are of little consequence have entire chapters devoted to them. Still, ultimately Alice is Naylor's creation, and I am glad for her sake that she got to end this series (which she's been writing for almost thirty years) on her own terms, writing about the things she wanted to write about and giving her characters the endings she thought they deserved... even if they weren't always the ones I would have chosen.
Frankly, although I like the early Alice installments and feel they do a good job of capturing those terribly embarrassing things that happen to us as we navigate adolescence, the series has been deteriorating over time. This was evident in Always Alice; several events in Alice's life that should be a huge deal are glossed over, while others (like vacations) that are of little consequence have entire chapters devoted to them. Still, ultimately Alice is Naylor's creation, and I am glad for her sake that she got to end this series (which she's been writing for almost thirty years) on her own terms, writing about the things she wanted to write about and giving her characters the endings she thought they deserved... even if they weren't always the ones I would have chosen.
October 28, 2013
All right. If you were an active fan of this series all along—like, keeping up with the author's website and writing in your suggestions for the series—you may have been less surprised by the last book than I was (maybe). But I was really disappointed by the way this series ended. (Don't worry; no spoilers except the general outline of the book.)
Each of the twenty-seven previous books, including prequels, covered a space of four months. First semester of the school year, second semester, summer. Every time. And I really liked this, because it allowed the detail and pacing that made you really feel like Alice was a person you knew, not just a character; it was like her life was happening in real time.
This book covered forty years. In the first place, the name was confusingly changed because the publisher thought it should be... Just, you know, because. It was over 500 pages long, too, so from the very beginning, the last book was different from every single other book in the series. Then, the pacing made no sense. Where each of the other books had handled one semester at a time, this one had Alice starting college and finishing the year just a few pages later—mid-chapter. Once college ended, time went even faster and more unevenly; three or four years would be skipped in one sentence, followed by several pages describing a conversation or a trip to the doctor's office.
A friend's review said that this felt like reading fanfiction, and now I know exactly what she meant. It wasn't like a real book in the series; it felt more like something an author would throw together ten years after the end of the series to appease fans who'd been begging to know how everything turned out. If I'd gone in with that expectation, I still would have thought the writing was crappy, but at least I wouldn't have been utterly baffled for the first several chapters. And I wish I had known, because my initial confusion really ruined my mood for the rest of the book. At this point, I'm simultaneously glad that the series is over and sad about being glad. I still think the Alice series is one of the best coming-of-age series a kid could read, but its lackluster ending leaves me resigned rather than satisfied.
Each of the twenty-seven previous books, including prequels, covered a space of four months. First semester of the school year, second semester, summer. Every time. And I really liked this, because it allowed the detail and pacing that made you really feel like Alice was a person you knew, not just a character; it was like her life was happening in real time.
This book covered forty years. In the first place, the name was confusingly changed because the publisher thought it should be... Just, you know, because. It was over 500 pages long, too, so from the very beginning, the last book was different from every single other book in the series. Then, the pacing made no sense. Where each of the other books had handled one semester at a time, this one had Alice starting college and finishing the year just a few pages later—mid-chapter. Once college ended, time went even faster and more unevenly; three or four years would be skipped in one sentence, followed by several pages describing a conversation or a trip to the doctor's office.
A friend's review said that this felt like reading fanfiction, and now I know exactly what she meant. It wasn't like a real book in the series; it felt more like something an author would throw together ten years after the end of the series to appease fans who'd been begging to know how everything turned out. If I'd gone in with that expectation, I still would have thought the writing was crappy, but at least I wouldn't have been utterly baffled for the first several chapters. And I wish I had known, because my initial confusion really ruined my mood for the rest of the book. At this point, I'm simultaneously glad that the series is over and sad about being glad. I still think the Alice series is one of the best coming-of-age series a kid could read, but its lackluster ending leaves me resigned rather than satisfied.
November 12, 2013
{Some spoilers!!!!}
Oh Lordy Lordy Lordy. Where to start? The outdated wording? Lackluster characters? Gah what a shame! I've been reading Alice books since I was 12. I loved Alice's tenacity, goofiness, constant slip of the tongue, and curiosity. Her friends were cool too: Pamela was so DRAMA and Elizabeth was so goody, goody but tried hard not to judge her friends, was always a soft hearted good friend. Most important they were their own people. Completely different from Alice. What happened? Does this book basically tell us that when you grow up you're boring? Alice ending up with her middle school crush and becoming what she wanted to be since middle school? BORING. Her college friends had no personalities! Her amazing experiences included going to Washington and selling food at a farmer's market. She got engaged and suddenly just didn't want to be with some dude while in college. just like Lester. boring. There were so many 'almosts' in this book, it lost its realistic edge. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't even make it through this book. It became torturous. I skipped to the end. Clearly written by a woman who has no idea of what the college life is like. She super fast forwarded through Alice's life and that's probably why there was absolutely no substance. It's really sad but I'm glad it's over now. I stuck with this series until the disappointing end.
Oh Lordy Lordy Lordy. Where to start? The outdated wording? Lackluster characters? Gah what a shame! I've been reading Alice books since I was 12. I loved Alice's tenacity, goofiness, constant slip of the tongue, and curiosity. Her friends were cool too: Pamela was so DRAMA and Elizabeth was so goody, goody but tried hard not to judge her friends, was always a soft hearted good friend. Most important they were their own people. Completely different from Alice. What happened? Does this book basically tell us that when you grow up you're boring? Alice ending up with her middle school crush and becoming what she wanted to be since middle school? BORING. Her college friends had no personalities! Her amazing experiences included going to Washington and selling food at a farmer's market. She got engaged and suddenly just didn't want to be with some dude while in college. just like Lester. boring. There were so many 'almosts' in this book, it lost its realistic edge. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't even make it through this book. It became torturous. I skipped to the end. Clearly written by a woman who has no idea of what the college life is like. She super fast forwarded through Alice's life and that's probably why there was absolutely no substance. It's really sad but I'm glad it's over now. I stuck with this series until the disappointing end.
April 24, 2023
This is a reread for me. I finally finished every last Alice book.
This a perfect ending to the series.
This a perfect ending to the series.
April 11, 2013
Having always loved Alice as a kid, I was so excited to read how her life turned out. Parts of her story were a little long and a little eye roll inducing, but it was sweet overall. The ending especially was perfect how everything came full circle and it made me nostalgic for the girl I was when I first read Alice. However, I did find myself frequently thinking that Naylor seemed a bit out of touch with aspects of Alice's life (particularly the college years), but when the included endnote by Naylor explained she had been writing the Alice books for 23 years and this was written when she was 80 I was taken aback. Naylor's dedication to her fans is obvious and we're lucky to have known Alice for as long as she let us. Naylor as an author is timeless, Alice is timeless, and it's a series I'd recommend over and over again.
December 26, 2023
when naylor titled this final alice book “now i’ll tell you everything,” she really meant that. while the rest of the alice books cover a few months of her life per book, this one covers her life from her freshman year of college to age 60 in a span of just over 500 pages, which is absolutely insane to me. as a person who was used to the way the past alice books were spaced out, this one was a LOT to take in and i found myself being unable to keep up at times. for some chapters, multiple years passed within a single chapter. when i was starting this book, i was under the impression that the entirety of this book was going to cover alice’s freshman year of college ONLY, but boy was i wrong. i wish i would’ve known this beforehand, so future readers, beware and be prepared! that is the main reason why i rated this book 4 stars. other than that, i was very happy with this book bc we got to see much of alice’s future life (married life, her career, her children…) and that was something i really wanted to see. i just wish it was spaced out in maybe five books or so instead of it all being jam-packed into a single book. sure, this book felt super rushed, but i laughed, cried, and smiled like crazy just like any other alice book. alice is the best friend i never had and she is such a comfort character for me. i am going to miss her immensely, that’s for sure! love you forever and always, alice! thank you for being relatable and most importantly, you.
March 26, 2015
Before I embark on this admittedly negative review I have to mention that this series really meant a lot to me while I was growing up. I really appreciate the author's commitment to her fans and its evident that this book was written with the now mostly adult readers in mind. That being said, I was dubious of this book when I heard a few years ago that it would take Alice from 18-60 in one book and I think I was correct to have been suspicious. I was really rooting for the final book to be awesome but I was pretty disappointed in it.
The book rushed through everything and it read like a summary. This book didn't have the same meandering feel that the other books did and it seemed like the author was trying to rush through it to get as many details out that she could. There were so many momentous occasions that were completely glossed over. For example, There were also tons of all too convenient plot points that were a bit annoying. Everybody was successful in some way or another and they all seemed to be following a stereotypical life achievement track. There were a few sadnesses along the way but even those were cliches. Not to mention the weirdly old fashioned terminology for things; the author uses the word "hassock" twice.
Another problem I had was that the other characters everyone grew to love didn't have as much of a role in this book. I suppose as Alice ages and she and her friends and family move away and live their own lives they wouldn't spend as much time together. However, they played such a central role in the series that its really odd for them to suddenly be on the back burner to only appear once in awhile.
That brings me to my final point, Alice just doesn't make sense as an adult past the age of 24. In my opinion, this series should have ended when Alice graduated college. Alice in college makes perfect sense since college is really similar to high school and fits within the usual Alice story lines. It was weird to have Alice in her 40s and talking about aging and her desirability to her husband when I am used to her being 17 and fretting about her virginity. It seems that the author tried to answer too many questions and it kind of cheapened the entire thing.
The book rushed through everything and it read like a summary. This book didn't have the same meandering feel that the other books did and it seemed like the author was trying to rush through it to get as many details out that she could. There were so many momentous occasions that were completely glossed over. For example, There were also tons of all too convenient plot points that were a bit annoying. Everybody was successful in some way or another and they all seemed to be following a stereotypical life achievement track. There were a few sadnesses along the way but even those were cliches. Not to mention the weirdly old fashioned terminology for things; the author uses the word "hassock" twice.
Another problem I had was that the other characters everyone grew to love didn't have as much of a role in this book. I suppose as Alice ages and she and her friends and family move away and live their own lives they wouldn't spend as much time together. However, they played such a central role in the series that its really odd for them to suddenly be on the back burner to only appear once in awhile.
That brings me to my final point, Alice just doesn't make sense as an adult past the age of 24. In my opinion, this series should have ended when Alice graduated college. Alice in college makes perfect sense since college is really similar to high school and fits within the usual Alice story lines. It was weird to have Alice in her 40s and talking about aging and her desirability to her husband when I am used to her being 17 and fretting about her virginity. It seems that the author tried to answer too many questions and it kind of cheapened the entire thing.
October 17, 2013
I am super duper emotional about this series being over right now. One day in middle school I went to the public library and borrowed The Agony of Alice. Since then this series has not only been a part of my childhood but a constant in my life. So I will admit that when I was about to start reading this book, I teared up.
Now I'll Tell You Everything, was not a perfect ending to this series. Yet it succeeded my expectations. I was not a huge fan of the last few recent Alice books, especially Alice on Board. So I was worried about how Phyllis Reynolds Naylor would do with this book. I ended up loving it. That's not to say I didn't have a few issues. I would have loved to learn more about some of the characters introduced, especially Stacy, Moe and Charlie. And I would have loved to know what happened with some of the friendships Alice formed. My biggest issue was how two big issues were (somewhat) brushed over, .
With that being said, there was a lot I loved. Alice's life journeys, along those of her family and best friends, certainly felt realistic. I enjoyed the fact that PNR did not give these characters an easy life, they certainly had their struggles. The flow of this story was excellent. I enjoyed the transitions of Alice's life from one age to another. The character development was fantastic as well. PNR did an excellent job staying true to her characters. I didn't feel like Alice, Patrick, Elizabeth, Pamela, Ben, Sylvia, Lester and co. were completely different characters by the end. I didn't feel like they reverted either. These characters managed to grow but still essentially be the same characters. Which made me happy.
This book managed to make me smile, laugh and want to tear my heart out in grief at varying times. This series and its characters will be seriously missed. And honestly, I couldn't have wished for a better ending.
4.5/5 stars
Now I'll Tell You Everything, was not a perfect ending to this series. Yet it succeeded my expectations. I was not a huge fan of the last few recent Alice books, especially Alice on Board. So I was worried about how Phyllis Reynolds Naylor would do with this book. I ended up loving it. That's not to say I didn't have a few issues. I would have loved to learn more about some of the characters introduced, especially Stacy, Moe and Charlie. And I would have loved to know what happened with some of the friendships Alice formed. My biggest issue was how two big issues were (somewhat) brushed over, .
With that being said, there was a lot I loved. Alice's life journeys, along those of her family and best friends, certainly felt realistic. I enjoyed the fact that PNR did not give these characters an easy life, they certainly had their struggles. The flow of this story was excellent. I enjoyed the transitions of Alice's life from one age to another. The character development was fantastic as well. PNR did an excellent job staying true to her characters. I didn't feel like Alice, Patrick, Elizabeth, Pamela, Ben, Sylvia, Lester and co. were completely different characters by the end. I didn't feel like they reverted either. These characters managed to grow but still essentially be the same characters. Which made me happy.
This book managed to make me smile, laugh and want to tear my heart out in grief at varying times. This series and its characters will be seriously missed. And honestly, I couldn't have wished for a better ending.
4.5/5 stars
September 25, 2013
I was really conflicted about this book- on the one hand, there are some things Phyllis Naylor did beautifully. The last few scenes in particular were very sweet and nostalgia-inducing. On the whole, though, I was kind of disappointed- the 3 stars are really more of a 2.5. As the synopsis indicates, this book really does tell you everything you wanted to know about Alice McKinley, from age 18 all the way to 60. As a result, the story feels incredibly rushed at times- the novel covers Alice's first two years in college in a mere 78 pages- and it feels like information is thrown at the reader purely for its own sake. Characters enter and exit the plot so quickly that it's difficult to keep track of who's who, and there really isn't time to develop any of the secondary characters or give the smaller story arcs any depth. Some events in Alice's life that should have been important are glossed over almost entirely, while trivial events are given an entire chapter () Also, as a 16-year-old girl, I found Naylor's attempts at correctness to be incredibly frustrating and out of line with the characters. For instance, whenever the characters are talking about sex, they always refer to it as "lovemaking." I realize this is a popular euphemism among the older set, but that's not how teenagers and twenty-somethings talk. Throughout the book, it seemed Alice always had to make the right decision to set an example for the impressionable teenage girl reading the book.
Fans of the other books in the Alice series will likely still enjoy this one, but be prepared for a lot of superficial information with little substance. "Now I'll tell you everything" is not an exaggeration.
Fans of the other books in the Alice series will likely still enjoy this one, but be prepared for a lot of superficial information with little substance. "Now I'll tell you everything" is not an exaggeration.
January 6, 2016
I NEVER thought I'd cry over a series ending, but I should've known it would be this one! Oh, Alice - the girl I felt I grew up with, sharing all her happy, heartbreaking, ordinary, and embarrassing experiences, laughing with her, crying with her, cringing with her at all these things that felt like everything and really were not. The girl I felt was simultaneously my best friend and myself! I still remember sitting in my room crying for 15 minutes about Mrs. Plotkin so, so many books ago, and thinking no book would ever make me cry so heartily again... Has it really been 28 books now? Have I really gone through all of her experiences from age 7 to age 60? "Now I'll Tell You Everything" (so aptly named!) proceeds faster and faster, and I loved hearing about how everyone ended up - even the minor characters. I don't know how Naylor always manages to keep things relatable and realistic (for the most part - how I wished some things had gone differently in some of the previous books, especially near her high school years!), even the college experiences, but I am and always will be so thankful to her for it. If there's anything particularly noteworthy about this book or this entire series, it's the way each of these characters become so real to you. You will find bits of yourself or someone you know in almost all of the characters, and you will come to care about them as if you knew them personally... because, in a way, you do. I owe many thanks to the author and to Alice - what a girl, and what a series I'll never forget.
July 3, 2013
Really this book is 2. 5 stars and the .5 is for nostalgic fondness. This book does not lie it does follow Alice from 18-60. Yes I guess that those of us who have "known" Alice for years did want to know how she ended up and with whom. Perhaps though we didn't need quite this much detail. Frankly a lot of the book was just dull. I mean I thought "who cares?" several times.
There are also a thousand little nitpicks I have because I am very familiar with the area that she is writing about. Which is why when Alice mentions that they have to get up super-early to get to Fairfax from Chevy Chase I laughed. Or the difficulties of getting from College Park to Silver Spring. Of course that is one thing that has irritated me consistently throughout the series. I know how close Takoma Park is to Silver Spring. That is not some earth-shattering move.
Yes of course we all know who Alice ends up marrying. That part was really well done. I would have followed her through college or to her wedding and then done the last part of the book as an epilogue.
There are also a thousand little nitpicks I have because I am very familiar with the area that she is writing about. Which is why when Alice mentions that they have to get up super-early to get to Fairfax from Chevy Chase I laughed. Or the difficulties of getting from College Park to Silver Spring. Of course that is one thing that has irritated me consistently throughout the series. I know how close Takoma Park is to Silver Spring. That is not some earth-shattering move.
Yes of course we all know who Alice ends up marrying. That part was really well done. I would have followed her through college or to her wedding and then done the last part of the book as an epilogue.
March 17, 2013
Oh goodness. This book was a hot mess and I was a hot mess reading it. I can't believe this series is over - I have been reading Alice since I was 10.
January 30, 2025
I’m so sad it’s over. 🥺
February 21, 2023
Wow I can’t believe I’ve finally finished this series. I started reading them back when I was 12-ish and have just finished now at 25. All of the characters, especially Alice, felt like real people that I would’ve known in my life and I just grew up with them.
I really enjoyed this last book, it definitely read more like a fan fiction. It was pretty much what I hoped and wanted for all the characters and it started to feel less and less real, but that’s one of the reasons I loved this book so much! I consider Alice on Board to be the real conclusion and this book more like a fan fiction epilogue, but I loved it all the same! I can’t believe I’m finally saying bye to Alice.
I really enjoyed this last book, it definitely read more like a fan fiction. It was pretty much what I hoped and wanted for all the characters and it started to feel less and less real, but that’s one of the reasons I loved this book so much! I consider Alice on Board to be the real conclusion and this book more like a fan fiction epilogue, but I loved it all the same! I can’t believe I’m finally saying bye to Alice.
January 28, 2014
As other reviewers have noted, this is the ultimate send-off for Alice McKinley and the ultimate thank-you to PNR's fans for following her protagonist through 28 books. I honestly don't think it will have the same impact for readers that haven't read the other books, particularly the first half (and in my opinion, the better half) of the series.
I don't remember what grade I was in or how old I was when I first started reading the Alice books, but certain moments definitely stuck with me - Alice forging a beautiful relationship with Mrs. Plotkin, Lester taking Alice to buy jeans, Alice, Liz, and Pamela doing the "pencil test", a classmate's suicide, her first kiss... At some point, I fell off the series. Life happened and I grew up, I suppose.
It wasn't until I heard that the last book "Always Alice" was being released that I remembered all about Alice McKinley. I hadn't even realized that the series had continued, and I wanted to know what had happened to Alice while I hadn't been paying attention. Prior to reading the last book, I read the entire series (minus the prequels) and it was so endearing to see Alice grow up and come into her own. While the later books didn't have the same emotional impact as the earlier ones, I was still fully invested in Alice and wanted to learn how her life would turn out.
I read Always Alice in one sitting, over the course of several hours on a lazy Sunday. I couldn't read fast enough. Most other reviewers have already commented on the pacing and lack of detail, and while I agree, I also understand PNR's challenge: summarizing 40+ years of Alice's life in one book, while the previous books covered only 4 months each. That said, I do wish she had focused more on the original characters and their journeys.
There were many tears shed: But there were also many happy moments:
It was so fascinating to see Alice as a parent and finally understand how difficult it must have been for Ben and Lester to raise her. I love how PNR wove such realistic situations into the book - Many of these situations are ones that I haven't faced yet and it was comforting to see Alice go through them first.
When I finished reading the book, I felt a little empty and definitely sad. I mourned for the end of the series that I had grown up with, the end of my relationship with a fictional character who often seemed so real. But I also felt a great sense of closure and catharsis - that the 11-year-old girl I once knew had turned out all right. I loved the circle back to the Alice's letter to her 60-year-old self and how the book ended, a bit cheesy, but totally perfect.
Thank you PNR for devoting such a huge part of your life to this series and for helping so many girls learn how to accept and love themselves, as Alice did.
I don't remember what grade I was in or how old I was when I first started reading the Alice books, but certain moments definitely stuck with me - Alice forging a beautiful relationship with Mrs. Plotkin, Lester taking Alice to buy jeans, Alice, Liz, and Pamela doing the "pencil test", a classmate's suicide, her first kiss... At some point, I fell off the series. Life happened and I grew up, I suppose.
It wasn't until I heard that the last book "Always Alice" was being released that I remembered all about Alice McKinley. I hadn't even realized that the series had continued, and I wanted to know what had happened to Alice while I hadn't been paying attention. Prior to reading the last book, I read the entire series (minus the prequels) and it was so endearing to see Alice grow up and come into her own. While the later books didn't have the same emotional impact as the earlier ones, I was still fully invested in Alice and wanted to learn how her life would turn out.
I read Always Alice in one sitting, over the course of several hours on a lazy Sunday. I couldn't read fast enough. Most other reviewers have already commented on the pacing and lack of detail, and while I agree, I also understand PNR's challenge: summarizing 40+ years of Alice's life in one book, while the previous books covered only 4 months each. That said, I do wish she had focused more on the original characters and their journeys.
There were many tears shed: But there were also many happy moments:
It was so fascinating to see Alice as a parent and finally understand how difficult it must have been for Ben and Lester to raise her. I love how PNR wove such realistic situations into the book - Many of these situations are ones that I haven't faced yet and it was comforting to see Alice go through them first.
When I finished reading the book, I felt a little empty and definitely sad. I mourned for the end of the series that I had grown up with, the end of my relationship with a fictional character who often seemed so real. But I also felt a great sense of closure and catharsis - that the 11-year-old girl I once knew had turned out all right. I loved the circle back to the Alice's letter to her 60-year-old self and how the book ended, a bit cheesy, but totally perfect.
Thank you PNR for devoting such a huge part of your life to this series and for helping so many girls learn how to accept and love themselves, as Alice did.
November 1, 2013
The final Alice McKinley book begins with Alice making her way to college and ends with the reveal of her 7th grade time capsule, opened when she turns 60. What happens in between? Everything.
I was in the 6th grade in 1994 when I first picked up “The Agony of Alice”. I breezed through all 5 books that were written at the time and promptly wrote Phyllis Reynolds Naylor a fan letter (and she wrote back!) I was happy to find someone just like me: Alice, the everygirl. Almost 20 years later (???), I am finishing up the series. “Now I’ll Tell You Everything” lives up to its title, twice as long as the normal Alice book and leaving no stone unturned. This book is a kind of love letter to fans of Alice, the women who have read her while growing up and want to see what happens to her, Patrick, Pamela, and Elizabeth. Honestly, unless you’ve read at least a few of the other books, this one will be lost on you. Who is this girl, and why do I care about the rote never-endingness of her life??? Well, unless you’ve been an Alice fan, I don’t think you will. BUT, it’s still a YA book, not adult, and there are telltale signs: sex is mostly called “lovemaking” and is demonstrated in a careful, ‘I’ve thought this life decision through’ manner. Sometimes, Alice seems a little TOO much of a good decision maker. Adults make plenty of mistakes, and I thought Alice was a little of a goody-goody. Yes, there are problems with the book, some details are given much more love than others, and the timeline storytelling gets old after a point, but this book is riding high on nostalgia. For me, anyway. Goodbye, Alice. It’s been a ride!
I was in the 6th grade in 1994 when I first picked up “The Agony of Alice”. I breezed through all 5 books that were written at the time and promptly wrote Phyllis Reynolds Naylor a fan letter (and she wrote back!) I was happy to find someone just like me: Alice, the everygirl. Almost 20 years later (???), I am finishing up the series. “Now I’ll Tell You Everything” lives up to its title, twice as long as the normal Alice book and leaving no stone unturned. This book is a kind of love letter to fans of Alice, the women who have read her while growing up and want to see what happens to her, Patrick, Pamela, and Elizabeth. Honestly, unless you’ve read at least a few of the other books, this one will be lost on you. Who is this girl, and why do I care about the rote never-endingness of her life??? Well, unless you’ve been an Alice fan, I don’t think you will. BUT, it’s still a YA book, not adult, and there are telltale signs: sex is mostly called “lovemaking” and is demonstrated in a careful, ‘I’ve thought this life decision through’ manner. Sometimes, Alice seems a little TOO much of a good decision maker. Adults make plenty of mistakes, and I thought Alice was a little of a goody-goody. Yes, there are problems with the book, some details are given much more love than others, and the timeline storytelling gets old after a point, but this book is riding high on nostalgia. For me, anyway. Goodbye, Alice. It’s been a ride!
July 11, 2014
I'm biased. I don't necessarily think that Now I'll Tell You Everything, the final book in the Alice McKinley series, was a five star book. But I've grown up with Alice, and even though this last book was by no means a strong entry to the series (or even all that surprising, to be honest), it was still a fantastic sendoff. And I will buy the book when it is actually released, because I can't have an incomplete collection! ;)
A little more on my thoughts:
Thank you, Ms Naylor, for sharing Alice's life with us, and for everything you invested into the series. ♥
A little more on my thoughts:
Thank you, Ms Naylor, for sharing Alice's life with us, and for everything you invested into the series. ♥
March 21, 2016
4.5/5 Full Review On http://thegraduatedbookworm.blogspot.ca/
This last book in the Alice series I would have to say is the best by far! There were some things that just caught you off guard and made you feel pure happiness, excitement, sadness, loss, love, and joy. Alice had gone through so many different aspects of her life, and it really shows at the end of this book with the reveal of the time capsule.
Overall I think that this book and series altogether represents a girl who has lived a life with multiple ups and downs, and has found a way to be happy with everything she has and so much more.
This last book in the Alice series I would have to say is the best by far! There were some things that just caught you off guard and made you feel pure happiness, excitement, sadness, loss, love, and joy. Alice had gone through so many different aspects of her life, and it really shows at the end of this book with the reveal of the time capsule.
Overall I think that this book and series altogether represents a girl who has lived a life with multiple ups and downs, and has found a way to be happy with everything she has and so much more.
November 21, 2013
The book itself isn't up to the standards we were all used to in the era of Alice Alone, but is far, far better than the previous 4 or 5 books. As almost everyone else has said, she fast-forwarded way too fast once Alice graduated from college, and I was so sad about the deaths of certain characters, but the ending was impeccable. I cried through the last chapter and the afterward because I'm so sad that this series is over. It was time for Alice to go, but I grew up with these characters and will always love them as they were in middle and high school.
February 16, 2021
February 2021 re-read.
Exact same feelings on the re-read. Such a good conclusion to this series.
March 2018
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this final book about Alice. I was afraid it would feel too rushed, covering such a time span. On the contrary, it was just right. It read like a series of vignettes, dipping in and out of Alice's life as she aged from college girl to contented senior. It was great to find out what happened to everyone, who stayed close and and how Alice, her friends, and her family "ended up."
Exact same feelings on the re-read. Such a good conclusion to this series.
March 2018
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this final book about Alice. I was afraid it would feel too rushed, covering such a time span. On the contrary, it was just right. It read like a series of vignettes, dipping in and out of Alice's life as she aged from college girl to contented senior. It was great to find out what happened to everyone, who stayed close and and how Alice, her friends, and her family "ended up."
January 26, 2026
After drying my tears because the realization that the Alice series is over forever, I couldn’t wait to write my review of the final book. I was not expecting the book to continue all the way into her 60th year, first of all! I figured the book would only be though college, maybe a little while after. I loved reading about her entire life and all the adventures as a mother, and eventually a grandmother. Alice, thank you for everything you’ve taught me. And Phyllis, thank you for creating such a wonderfully relatable book.
May 14, 2014
Spoilers!
Well, my wallet is happy I have reached the end of the Alice journey, but I am not. I have to say, Alice is one of the reasons I no longer start reading series, because they can drag your money for 28 books, as this series did. But unlike all the supernatural and sci-fi books out there now only existing for the next plot twist, Alice was a rare bird indeed. Alice is the Lizzie McGuire of the YA fiction world: a girl you want to keep rooting for and following, even though she is surprisingly ordinary. At times I found Alice too Plain Jane. But after reading NITYE I realized that I would have never wanted Alice to be anything but true to herself. And neither did Naylor. So Alice was Alice: the Brave, the Dangerous, the Outrageous, the Intense... the Wonderful.
When I first heard of the last book, I imagined it would follow the previous format of the other books (fall, spring, summer), only it would have an epilogue about Alice at age 60. Never did I imagine we would see Alice in her 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s too! I just thought we'd hear about her at college, skip to 60, and that would be the end of it. But as rushed as people say this book is, can you imagine if she would have gone from 20 to 60 with no warning?! I thought this book was perfectly paced. Chapters do skip years at a time, but the whole book felt very natural and organic to me. Naylor succeeds in doing her best to follow previous threads mentioned earlier in the book. Yes, this book could have been many, many more books, but, honestly, it was sweeter to read about surprise after surprise rather than sit through twenty-eight more Alice books, eventually getting tired of them all. Twenty-seven books later, it still feels like Alice ended at the right time with this one.
The big question, of course, is Alice and Patrick. Do they end up together? Well, yes. And you know from my previous reviews that I was never particularly gunning for them (pinning down Patrick is like trying to "harness the sea," after all). I changed my mind with this book. When Alice was reunited with Patrick after all his travels in the chapter "Unbelievable," I realized that she couldn't have been with anyone else. We only met Dave in this book, and, admittedly, it would have been super weird if she had married someone who wasn't in the rest of the series. But when Alice and Patrick met back up and finally made love, I saw so much of me and my fiancé in Alice and Patrick that everything suddenly made sense. Truthfully, I never thought Patrick was loyal enough for Alice (I hate cheaters, and I never got over his thing with Penny back in Alice Alone). I thought they were mismatched in a lot of ways, the chief one being that Alice was never going to stray far from home, and she didn't, while Patrick was always all over the world. But this convinced me of all the reasons why they make sense. And I can go back and read all the previous books with a newfound appreciation for them as a couple.
The other big question (for me, anyway), was when Alice would lose her damn virginity. I believe it was at 19 or 20 to Dave, her first fiancé. The chapter gives it away ("The First Time"). It was so nice that sex finally became normal for everyone in this book. Yeah, Liz waits till marriage. I was pretty bummed that we never hear about her first time with her husband, Moe, as Liz is the last one left a virgin. Then all of a sudden she has kids and it's like bam! Hard to picture that Liz was ever a virgin.
So much happened in this book (duh) that I obviously cannot cover everything. But here is the quick scoop on how everyone's lives turned out:
Lester: Lester marries Stacy, a woman introduced in this book. She is his opposite, as most couples in this series are. They remain childless until Stacy is 41 and Les is 47 when they have triplets (!!). Stacy and Les make a really cute couple, and they made me think a lot of Sylvia and Ben, Alice's dad. Les marries very early on in the book, but it feels natural that it was Stacy and not some old girlfriend from way back. They move to West Virginia and settle there.
Pamela: Pamela never has children, and she doesn't marry until she's sixty! But that felt true to her character. Pamela was always the most unconventional one. She ends up working in advertising, and she keeps up her usual hijinks throughout the book.
Elizabeth: Liz meets her future husband on their (Alice, Pamela, Liz) promised road trip to California. I was excited to see that something from the last book, Alice on Board, was actually carried out. Gwen doesn't go because she's in med school. Liz's husband is Moe, or Moses. Again, it feels very true to Liz's character that she gets a guy who is so sweet and treats her right. Sadly, Liz miscarries their first child, and I was pissed it happened to wonderful Liz who wanted a child so much. But she eventually has two girls (I believe).
Sylvia and Ben: There isn't much of them in this book because Alice is finally off on her own and making her own way in the world. However, Naylor fills us in on everybody's happenings every few chapters. Ben lives a long life and dies at 88 right before bypass surgery. Seeing Alice's grief at losing her father was one of the saddest moments of the series. But she has a wonderful chat with Sylvia afterwards.
Gwen: Gwen marries a man named Charlie and has children. She makes it through med school but switches from pediatrics to gynecology. Aside from missing the road trip to California, Gwen is usually around when everyone meets up to catch up.
Aunt Sally, Uncle Milt, and Carol: There is actually a huge lack of Aunt Sally in this book, which was shocking. She doesn't treat Alice like a kid in the few times they are mentioned, which was kinda nice, but also kind of weird. Aunt Sally dies before Uncle Milt, though they both pass before the end of the book.
Lori and Leslie: Alice finds out towards the end that they are married and running a bed and breakfast in Haynes, Idaho.
We don't hear anymore about Marilyn or Lester's other exes. The rest of the gang is summed up during the opening of the time capsule at the end of the book (I shed massive tears).
But who could forget Alice?! The reason we are here. I will sum up her adventures:
Her college years and later years with her family are the best and were the most fun to read about. They were the most poignant and wonderful. I'm glad we got to experience Alice in college, which lasts about the first 200 pages. Alice meets a serious boyfriend (and later fiancé) Dave in college and loses her virginity to him. But when she realizes that all they do is sleep, have sex, and a few other things, Alice realizes that he is not the future husband she wants, and that she is not happy with him. She breaks off the engagement. Her memorable college experiences include her first roommate having sex on her bed and almost getting raped by a guy. I was really surprised by the latter. Alice goes to grad school for her counseling degree, but that's pretty much glossed over. She's with Patrick from the chapter "Unbelievable" on (he breaks up with her during college while he's in the Peace Corps). He proposes to her offhand in Ocean City and says they will marry when Alice finishes grad school. Alice is happy with the proposal, and it feels right. She gets married at 23 (!!). Alice was not the first of her friends to lose her virginity, but she is the first to have a child (because Pam miscarried in high school and Liz has a miscarriage after marrying Moe). Her first child with Patrick is Patricia Marie, named after her mother. Alice has Patty at 26, the same age I am now. I'm still not remotely ready for a kid but, again, being traditional and following a traditional timeline felt true to Alice's character. (Go to college, get married, buy a house, have kids, etc.). Alice does end up a middle school guidance counselor as she always wanted, and we get to see some of her interactions with the students, though I wish there were more. Not long after Patricia Alice gives birth to her second and last child, Tyler. As I said, once Alice has her family and the kids grow up, her life becomes so sweet and it is precious to read about. The best moments of the book are when Alice tells Patricia Marie about her own adventures as a kid. It connects us with the earlier books while reminding us what a wonderful life Alice has had. Alice has experienced tragedy before but not firsthand until this book. She gets breast cancer towards the end. She pulls through and it all seems like not a big deal, but I suspect it was. Alice never does tame Patrick, but she does have a wonderful life of travel. They visit Ireland for their honeymoon, and they go snorkeling in St. John for their 25th wedding anniversary. Alice, Patrick, and the kids move to Barcelona for two years. They later take a trip to London over spring break. It was hard to keep up with all the places they went! But I was so happy, because I always feared Alice would continue to stay too close to home (they settle in Chevy Chase, Maryland). This is why she needed Patrick: to end up as the adventurous, wonderful woman she becomes. Patricia marries a guy named Zack that Patrick and Alice don't approve of, but then Alice realizes that she doesn't want her daughter to be a carbon copy of herself. Patty and Zack have a son named Lyle. We don't see Tyler marry, but he does have a longtime girlfriend at the end of the book.
The book ends with a slight twist: it was Alice writing these books all along! The only problem? She starts with Starting with Alice, and in reality Agony of Alice came first. So, if Alice really was writing these, she didn't have to write them chronologically either, because Starting With Alice didn't come along until much later. The book was great until that... it felt very fanfiction-y and "for the fans," much like the epilogue to the last Harry Potter (even J.K. Rowling wishes Harry and Hermione were together now). Besides, it was weird for Naylor to break the fourth wall and suddenly have Alice as the author of these books... this was the first one where she wrote it (as far as I know) with that intent. You can feel that that might be the outcome of this book, but you can't feel it in the others. So it doesn't feel authentic for that reason.
Other than that gripe (and all endings suck these days, honestly), this book was fantastic. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. And there is a surprise... I finished this book after midnight, meaning I ended the series on May 14th, which hardcore fans will know is Alice's birthday. I seriously did not plan it that way, but as I was skimming The Alice Bible I realized that May 14th was, in fact, today. Speaking of the Alice Bible, it's helpful to check out before starting NITYE. It's available on the Alice McKinley website at alicemckinley.com under Just the Facts. It is such a beautiful thing that I ended this series on Alice's birthday. What a perfect ending to all of my memories with these books. You will live on, Alice... Alice Forever and Always.
Well, my wallet is happy I have reached the end of the Alice journey, but I am not. I have to say, Alice is one of the reasons I no longer start reading series, because they can drag your money for 28 books, as this series did. But unlike all the supernatural and sci-fi books out there now only existing for the next plot twist, Alice was a rare bird indeed. Alice is the Lizzie McGuire of the YA fiction world: a girl you want to keep rooting for and following, even though she is surprisingly ordinary. At times I found Alice too Plain Jane. But after reading NITYE I realized that I would have never wanted Alice to be anything but true to herself. And neither did Naylor. So Alice was Alice: the Brave, the Dangerous, the Outrageous, the Intense... the Wonderful.
When I first heard of the last book, I imagined it would follow the previous format of the other books (fall, spring, summer), only it would have an epilogue about Alice at age 60. Never did I imagine we would see Alice in her 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s too! I just thought we'd hear about her at college, skip to 60, and that would be the end of it. But as rushed as people say this book is, can you imagine if she would have gone from 20 to 60 with no warning?! I thought this book was perfectly paced. Chapters do skip years at a time, but the whole book felt very natural and organic to me. Naylor succeeds in doing her best to follow previous threads mentioned earlier in the book. Yes, this book could have been many, many more books, but, honestly, it was sweeter to read about surprise after surprise rather than sit through twenty-eight more Alice books, eventually getting tired of them all. Twenty-seven books later, it still feels like Alice ended at the right time with this one.
The big question, of course, is Alice and Patrick. Do they end up together? Well, yes. And you know from my previous reviews that I was never particularly gunning for them (pinning down Patrick is like trying to "harness the sea," after all). I changed my mind with this book. When Alice was reunited with Patrick after all his travels in the chapter "Unbelievable," I realized that she couldn't have been with anyone else. We only met Dave in this book, and, admittedly, it would have been super weird if she had married someone who wasn't in the rest of the series. But when Alice and Patrick met back up and finally made love, I saw so much of me and my fiancé in Alice and Patrick that everything suddenly made sense. Truthfully, I never thought Patrick was loyal enough for Alice (I hate cheaters, and I never got over his thing with Penny back in Alice Alone). I thought they were mismatched in a lot of ways, the chief one being that Alice was never going to stray far from home, and she didn't, while Patrick was always all over the world. But this convinced me of all the reasons why they make sense. And I can go back and read all the previous books with a newfound appreciation for them as a couple.
The other big question (for me, anyway), was when Alice would lose her damn virginity. I believe it was at 19 or 20 to Dave, her first fiancé. The chapter gives it away ("The First Time"). It was so nice that sex finally became normal for everyone in this book. Yeah, Liz waits till marriage. I was pretty bummed that we never hear about her first time with her husband, Moe, as Liz is the last one left a virgin. Then all of a sudden she has kids and it's like bam! Hard to picture that Liz was ever a virgin.
So much happened in this book (duh) that I obviously cannot cover everything. But here is the quick scoop on how everyone's lives turned out:
Lester: Lester marries Stacy, a woman introduced in this book. She is his opposite, as most couples in this series are. They remain childless until Stacy is 41 and Les is 47 when they have triplets (!!). Stacy and Les make a really cute couple, and they made me think a lot of Sylvia and Ben, Alice's dad. Les marries very early on in the book, but it feels natural that it was Stacy and not some old girlfriend from way back. They move to West Virginia and settle there.
Pamela: Pamela never has children, and she doesn't marry until she's sixty! But that felt true to her character. Pamela was always the most unconventional one. She ends up working in advertising, and she keeps up her usual hijinks throughout the book.
Elizabeth: Liz meets her future husband on their (Alice, Pamela, Liz) promised road trip to California. I was excited to see that something from the last book, Alice on Board, was actually carried out. Gwen doesn't go because she's in med school. Liz's husband is Moe, or Moses. Again, it feels very true to Liz's character that she gets a guy who is so sweet and treats her right. Sadly, Liz miscarries their first child, and I was pissed it happened to wonderful Liz who wanted a child so much. But she eventually has two girls (I believe).
Sylvia and Ben: There isn't much of them in this book because Alice is finally off on her own and making her own way in the world. However, Naylor fills us in on everybody's happenings every few chapters. Ben lives a long life and dies at 88 right before bypass surgery. Seeing Alice's grief at losing her father was one of the saddest moments of the series. But she has a wonderful chat with Sylvia afterwards.
Gwen: Gwen marries a man named Charlie and has children. She makes it through med school but switches from pediatrics to gynecology. Aside from missing the road trip to California, Gwen is usually around when everyone meets up to catch up.
Aunt Sally, Uncle Milt, and Carol: There is actually a huge lack of Aunt Sally in this book, which was shocking. She doesn't treat Alice like a kid in the few times they are mentioned, which was kinda nice, but also kind of weird. Aunt Sally dies before Uncle Milt, though they both pass before the end of the book.
Lori and Leslie: Alice finds out towards the end that they are married and running a bed and breakfast in Haynes, Idaho.
We don't hear anymore about Marilyn or Lester's other exes. The rest of the gang is summed up during the opening of the time capsule at the end of the book (I shed massive tears).
But who could forget Alice?! The reason we are here. I will sum up her adventures:
Her college years and later years with her family are the best and were the most fun to read about. They were the most poignant and wonderful. I'm glad we got to experience Alice in college, which lasts about the first 200 pages. Alice meets a serious boyfriend (and later fiancé) Dave in college and loses her virginity to him. But when she realizes that all they do is sleep, have sex, and a few other things, Alice realizes that he is not the future husband she wants, and that she is not happy with him. She breaks off the engagement. Her memorable college experiences include her first roommate having sex on her bed and almost getting raped by a guy. I was really surprised by the latter. Alice goes to grad school for her counseling degree, but that's pretty much glossed over. She's with Patrick from the chapter "Unbelievable" on (he breaks up with her during college while he's in the Peace Corps). He proposes to her offhand in Ocean City and says they will marry when Alice finishes grad school. Alice is happy with the proposal, and it feels right. She gets married at 23 (!!). Alice was not the first of her friends to lose her virginity, but she is the first to have a child (because Pam miscarried in high school and Liz has a miscarriage after marrying Moe). Her first child with Patrick is Patricia Marie, named after her mother. Alice has Patty at 26, the same age I am now. I'm still not remotely ready for a kid but, again, being traditional and following a traditional timeline felt true to Alice's character. (Go to college, get married, buy a house, have kids, etc.). Alice does end up a middle school guidance counselor as she always wanted, and we get to see some of her interactions with the students, though I wish there were more. Not long after Patricia Alice gives birth to her second and last child, Tyler. As I said, once Alice has her family and the kids grow up, her life becomes so sweet and it is precious to read about. The best moments of the book are when Alice tells Patricia Marie about her own adventures as a kid. It connects us with the earlier books while reminding us what a wonderful life Alice has had. Alice has experienced tragedy before but not firsthand until this book. She gets breast cancer towards the end. She pulls through and it all seems like not a big deal, but I suspect it was. Alice never does tame Patrick, but she does have a wonderful life of travel. They visit Ireland for their honeymoon, and they go snorkeling in St. John for their 25th wedding anniversary. Alice, Patrick, and the kids move to Barcelona for two years. They later take a trip to London over spring break. It was hard to keep up with all the places they went! But I was so happy, because I always feared Alice would continue to stay too close to home (they settle in Chevy Chase, Maryland). This is why she needed Patrick: to end up as the adventurous, wonderful woman she becomes. Patricia marries a guy named Zack that Patrick and Alice don't approve of, but then Alice realizes that she doesn't want her daughter to be a carbon copy of herself. Patty and Zack have a son named Lyle. We don't see Tyler marry, but he does have a longtime girlfriend at the end of the book.
The book ends with a slight twist: it was Alice writing these books all along! The only problem? She starts with Starting with Alice, and in reality Agony of Alice came first. So, if Alice really was writing these, she didn't have to write them chronologically either, because Starting With Alice didn't come along until much later. The book was great until that... it felt very fanfiction-y and "for the fans," much like the epilogue to the last Harry Potter (even J.K. Rowling wishes Harry and Hermione were together now). Besides, it was weird for Naylor to break the fourth wall and suddenly have Alice as the author of these books... this was the first one where she wrote it (as far as I know) with that intent. You can feel that that might be the outcome of this book, but you can't feel it in the others. So it doesn't feel authentic for that reason.
Other than that gripe (and all endings suck these days, honestly), this book was fantastic. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. And there is a surprise... I finished this book after midnight, meaning I ended the series on May 14th, which hardcore fans will know is Alice's birthday. I seriously did not plan it that way, but as I was skimming The Alice Bible I realized that May 14th was, in fact, today. Speaking of the Alice Bible, it's helpful to check out before starting NITYE. It's available on the Alice McKinley website at alicemckinley.com under Just the Facts. It is such a beautiful thing that I ended this series on Alice's birthday. What a perfect ending to all of my memories with these books. You will live on, Alice... Alice Forever and Always.
August 17, 2024
Actually, in the span of the last month I read all 25 books in this series and enjoyed them immensely, but I will never put them on Goodreads because the target audience is 12-year-olds. This book actually made me cry when I was done.
April 11, 2024
I used to read this series growing up, and I was reminded of it the other day b/c I really feel like I grew up with Alice. It's so weird re-reading it when I'm not 13 anymore, so nostalgic
June 7, 2017
loved this for sentimental reasons
May 13, 2025
I remember reading these books in middle school in the mid-90’s. When I decided to finish the series earlier this year it was like stepping back in time. I thought this was a great finale for Alice and it’s nice to see where she and her friends all ended up.
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