Alice series

The Alice series is a book series written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. There are three prequels to this series. The first one, Starting with Alice, describes Alice in third grade. Alice in Blunderland is Alice in fourth grade. The final prequel, Lovingly Alice, follows Alice through the troubles of fifth grade. The first book (after the prequels) is The Agony of Alice.

The Alice series follows the main character, Alice McKinley, known as "Al" to her father and older brother as she grows up in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her mother died of leukemia when Alice was five. Alice has a hard time at first growing up in an all-male household, but her father and her brother, Lester, prove to be honest and open about almost everything Alice talks about. Alice has very little memory of her mother, often confusing her with her aunt, and seems to bear a striking physical resemblance to her, especially her strawberry-blond hair. Other characters include Alice's three best friends, Pamela, Elizabeth and Gwen, her first serious boyfriend, Patrick, her next boyfriend, Sam, her prudish Aunt Sally (who frequently provides a little comic relief), Lester's many girlfriends, and her seventh grade Language Arts teacher, Miss Summers, whom she tries to get her father to marry (with eventual success). The Alice series broaches many topics, including relationships, dating, sex, friendship, life problems, families, God, and understanding. The books have made the ALA (American Library Association) list of most challenged books for several years, making it to number one on the list in 2003 for their sexual content.^[1]

The Alice prequels

• Starting with Alice (September 1, 2002) - 3rd Grade (Alice tries to deal with being the new girl when she, her dad, and Lester move after the store Alice's father works for transfers him to Takoma Park, Maryland.)
• Alice in Blunderland (September 1, 2003) - 4th Grade (Alice feels as though she can't escape her embarrassment.)
• Lovingly Alice (September 1, 2004) - 5th Grade (Alice thinks that fifth grade is just one big joke.)

The Alice series

• The Agony of Alice (September 1, 1985) - 6th Grade (Alice moves from Takoma Park to Silver Spring and struggles to make friends in her new school. All the while she is dying for beautiful Miss Cole to be her teacher but later realizes it's what's on the inside that counts.)
• Alice in Rapture, Sort of (March 31, 1989) - Summer before 7th Grade (Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth all get boyfriends.)
• Reluctantly Alice (March 30, 1991) - Fall of 7th Grade (Alice tries to survive seventh grade and she deals with Denise Whitlock, the school bully.)
• All but Alice (April 30, 1992) - Winter of 7th Grade Alice deals with the choice of popularity or being herself (The Famous Eight)
• Alice in April (April 30, 1993) - Spring of 7th Grade (Alice tries to become Woman of the House, like Aunt Sally says she is becoming.)
• Alice In-Between (March 1, 1994) - End of 7th Grade (Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth get to take a trip to see Aunt Sally.)
• Alice the Brave (May 1, 1995) - Summer before 8th Grade (Alice is afraid her friends will notice her fear of deep waters.)
• Alice in Lace (March 1, 1996) - Beginning of 8th Grade (Alice and Patrick pretend to be married as part of a school project.)
• Outrageously Alice (May 1, 1997) - Fall of 8th Grade (Alice is tired of the monotony of life and dyes her hair green much to her father's dismay.)
• Achingly Alice (June 1, 1998) - Winter of 8th Grade (Alice has a crush on Sam, the boy in her camera club.)
• Alice on the Outside (June 1, 1999) - Spring of 8th Grade (Alice explores the idea of prejudice.)
• The Grooming of Alice (May 1, 2000) - Summer before 9th Grade (Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth spend the entire summer trying to get perfect bodies for ninth grade.)
• Alice Alone (May 1, 2001) - First semester of 9th Grade (Alice struggles with the idea of being single and the thought that Patrick likes another girl, Penny.)
• Simply Alice (May 1, 2002) - Second semester of 9th Grade (Pamela and Elizabeth feel left out in Alice's life because Alice is always busy with high school stuff.)
• Patiently Alice (May 1, 2003) - Summer before 10th Grade (Alice, Pamela, Elizabeth, and Gwen volunteer to be counselors together at a camp for troubled kids.)
• Including Alice (May 1, 2004) - First semester of 10th Grade (Sylvia and Ben get married. Alice contemplates the value of social customs.)
• Alice on Her Way (June 1, 2005) - Second semester of 10th Grade (Alice struggles with issues of sex, commitment, and responsibility. She also tries to get a driver's license and starts acting friendly with Sam Mayer but then exciting things happen and a life-changing experience happens for Sam Mayer.)
• Alice in the Know (June 1, 2006) - Summer before 11th Grade (Alice gets a part-time job at the mall.)
• Dangerously Alice (May 8, 2007) - First semester of 11th Grade (Alice sheds her "good girl" image by taking risks and becoming sexually involved with an older boy.)
• Almost Alice (June 18, 2008) - Second semester of 11th Grade (Alice and Patrick go to the prom and big changes happen for Pamela)
• Intensely Alice (June 2, 2009) - The summer before 12th grade (A life changing incident brings the whole gang back together after a friend dies.)
• Alice in Charge (June 2010) - First semester of senior year Alice is panicking at her college applications, she encounters a group of neo-Nazis disturbing the peace at her school Also while making friends with the new student Daniel.
• Incredibly Alice (May 2011) - Second semester of senior year
• Alice on Board (May 2012) - The Summer before University. They get a job on a boat
• Always Alice (May 2013) - Chronicles Alice from ages from 18 to 60

Characters

• Alice Kathleen McKinley is the protagonist and narrator of the series. She is an intelligent and open-minded girl. Her mother died of leukemia when Alice was four (or five; she can never remember). Alice often feels as though she doesn't know how to "be a woman" because of this. She has reddish blond hair and green eyes. Alice is a reporter for the school newspaper 'The Edge' in high school. Alice wants to be a psychiatrist, psychologist, or school counselor as mentioned in several books. The summer before college shes going to be working on a boat with her friends Elizabeth, Pamela, and Gwen.

• Benjamin McKinley is Alice's father, and usually the perfect person for Alice to turn to for advice. At the beginning of the series he was portrayed as a "shy" kind of person. He is torn by the death of his late wife, but manages to find confidence to date again later on and marries Sylvia Summers, Alice's 7th Grade English teacher in Including Alice.

• Lester McKinley is Alice's brother. There is a seven-year age difference but Alice feels very close to him. Even so, Lester is often too busy to deal with Alice and shies away from most of her questions, or answers them sarcastically. During most of the series, he is studying philosophy, graduating with his master's degree in Alice in Charge. Lester has a number of girlfriends. He juggled two girlfriends (Crystal Harkins and Marilyn Rawley) for the first half of the series.

• Elizabeth Price is a devout Catholic who is very uncomfortable knowing that boys know she sweats, digests, and other things. She has strong opinions about sex, and is quite philosophical. Alice, Gwen, and Pamela are always understanding of her feelings. She loosens up as she gets older, though. Her friends describe her as beautiful because of her long dark hair and thick eyelashes. She is one of Alice's three best friends. She is said to have started liking one of their friends Keeno.

• Pamela Jones is an outgoing blond whom Alice met in 6th grade. She bounces between two boys (Brian Brewster and Mark Steidmeister) for several books. Later she gets involved with a boy named Tim. She sometimes says things about adulthood and sex that can shock Elizabeth. She has the most difficult home life due to her parents' messy separation and divorce. She is insightful when it comes to boys. In Almost Alice, she gets pregnant, but soon miscarries. Her and her boyfriend break up because of that. She is one of Alice's three best friends.

• Gwen Wheeler is a smart, talented girl in Alice's group of friends. She meets Alice and her friends in 8th grade. She is one of Alice's best friends and tutored Alice in algebra. She wants to become a doctor, and she is African American, which causes her to be singled out on occasion. She often has good ideas and opinions, and works well with children. She cannot go to Pamela's house because Pamela's father is racist.

• Sylvia Summers begins as Alice's 7th grade language arts teacher whom Alice adores. Alice wants her dad and Sylvia to date, so she invites Sylvia to a Christmas choral performance at a local church with her father without her father's knowledge. Later in the series, Ben and Sylvia get married and Sylvia becomes the stepmother Alice has been wishing for.

• Patrick Long is Alice's boyfriend but is now in college. They were together during 6th grade but Alice ended that because she missed the "friend Patrick" and thought she needed more of it than the "boyfriend Patrick". They eventually got back together. Then they broke up again at the beginning of high school because a girl named Penny in their grade was flirting with him and he didn't try to stop her. His relationship with Penny didn't last more than a few months, while his with Alice lasted more than two years. Patrick asked her to go to the prom with him and they continue their relationship after he goes away to college and also while he will be away in Spain for a year.

• Aunt Sally is Alice's deceased mother's sister. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Milt. Alice sometimes mistakes her memories of her mother with memories of Aunt Sally. Aunt Sally is very good at giving advice to Alice, but sometimes with personal questions Alice asks Aunt Sally's daughter, Carol instead.

• Sam Mayer is one of Alice's serious boyfriends who she met in 8th grade. He is the photographer for the school newspaper. Alice broke up with him after a few months of dating because she felt mollycoddled.

• Marilyn Rawley was one of Lester's serious girlfriends. She has long brown hair and plays the guitar. She gets married to a man named Jack in Alice on Her Way. She begins working at the Melody Inn in Alice in Lace. In The Grooming of Alice, she is hired as the assistant manager in Mr. McKinley's music store. In "Incredibly Alice" she gives birth to her and Jack's first child, a daughter named Summer Hope.

• Amy Sheldon tries to become friends with Alice and her friends, but the friends reject her because of her strange personality. In Alice in Charge, Alice encourages Amy to become a roving reporter for the school newspapers. She may have Asperger Syndrome.

• Rosalind is Alice's best friend in Takoma Park. In later years, she and Alice reunite and email each other often. First Seen In Starting with Alice and also in the prequels, Starting with Alice, and Lovingly Alice.

• Mrs. Plotkin is Alice's 6th grade teacher who helps her learn that it's what on the inside that counts. To Alice, she is like a grandmother. Mrs. Plotkin has made several trips to the hospital because of heart problems, of which she died of.

References

1. ^ "Alice series tops ALA's 2003 list of most challenged books". American Library Association. 2004-02-14. http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pr2004/prfeb2004/aliceseriestopsalas.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-15. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Letters to Author
• Alice Mckinley Official Website
• Alice Upside Down at the Internet Movie Database
• Alice Official Movie Website
• Author's page at Pulse Blogfest