Alice Alone

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

ISBN 10: 0613733525 ISBN 13: 9780613733526

Publisher: Tandem Library, 2002

Synopsis

Breaking up is hard to do

Alice is starting high school, and everything is new. But it's the new girl, Penny, who's making ninth grade a real challenge for Alice. Penny is tiny and perky and a real flirt, and she seems to be focusing her attention Patrick. Even worse, Patrick seems to be enjoying it.

Alice and Patrick have been a couple so long Alice can't imagine life without him. Suddenly she feels lost and unattractive and scared -- not quite whole. How can Alice get back her confidence in herself, when she's not even sure who she is?

About this title

Review

The first day of ninth grade is looming, and Alice is anxious. "When I think of all the embarrassing things I'll probably do, all the humiliating stuff just waiting to happen..." she laments to her big brother Lester. Luckily, Alice has the undying love of her perfect boyfriend, Patrick--or does she? There's a perky new girl in town, and Patrick doesn't seem to mind her attentions at all. Plus, with all the activities of high school, such as reporting on the newspaper, homework, friends--not to mention Alice's weekend job, her concerns over her father's love life, and her friend Elizabeth's shocking revelation--Alice may not be spending as much time as she'd like with her beau.

In the thirteenth title of her popular Alice series (The Grooming of Alice, Alice on the Outside, and Alice in April, etc.), Phyllis Reynolds Naylor deals sensitively and humorously with the painful blow just about every teenager receives sooner or later: the first heartbreak. Multiple side stories thicken the plot, as when kindhearted but misguided Alice invites three female ex-cons to Thanksgiving dinner... and neglects to tell her dad and brother. Alice is, as always, funny, strong, and yet vulnerable; adolescent readers will definitely relate to her as her self-confidence rises and falls with every passing day. (Ages 12 to 15) --Emilie Coulter

About the Author

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has written more than 135 books, including the Newbery Award–winning Shiloh. She lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland. To hear from Phyllis and find out more about what’s in store for Alice, visit AliceMcKinley.com.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tandem Library
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0613733525
• ISBN 13: 9780613733526
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 229