All But Alice [Paperback]

Phyllis Reynold Naylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2003 | Series: Alice

Come and meet Alice. Here she is on the brink of being a teenager and discovering that life is just one big embarrassment. Things are not made any easier by the fact that she has no female role model - Alice's mother died when she was four - so there is just her father and older brother - and what could they possibly know about being a girl and growing up? Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's lively, witty style, mixed with poignance and percepton, has captured the essence of adolescent anxieties as we follow Alice through the trials and tribulations of growing up.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- In the winter of seventh grade, lovable, motherless Alice McKinley believes that life's problems require the guidance of a wise and kind female. Lacking that, she decides that all females represent a universal sisterhood, and, lemminglike, joins in the popular activities of her peer group. In addition to writing fan letters to stars and buying earrings weekly, Alice tries to feel sisterly solidarity with the women pursuing her older brother, and wishes her father would marry the attractive teacher he has been dating. Alice thinks she's outgrown Patrick, but is soon bored with handsome Brian's pranks; when loyal Patrick is slated for victimization, Alice must reevaluate her decisions. In the end, intelligence and loyalty triumph over superficiality. Only an author of Naylor's nimble skill could hold these ingredients together in a readable, laughable, and, yes, sensitive story. Alice is the same delightful character from The Agony of Alice (Atheneum, 1985), although, naturally, more mature. Carefully structured, strongly characterized, this book is sure to be the most popular yet of the series. Naylor's light, but deft touch with important thematic concerns is most appealing.
- Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Naylor is a versatile, prolific author whose achievements have just been crowned with a Newbery; her books about Alice (this is the fourth) are many readers' favorites, with good reason: laugh-aloud funny, they also explore real concerns with unusual frankness and compassion. Here, Alice is still in seventh grade, in the throes of bowing to her peers' decrees; suddenly one of the ``beautiful people'' in her class, she hangs around with old friend Pamela and some boys she has the wit to think of as the ``Three Handsome Stooges.'' Earrings are now a big deal: there's a club, and every weekend is devoted to buying and trading; it takes Alice a while to admit to herself that it's all boring, and that she dislikes excluding old friend Elizabeth, who doesn't want pierced ears. Meanwhile, Dad is dating one of her teachers; brother Lester gets serious about an old flame; and Alice ponders the ``Sisterhood'' of all women and discovers that Patrick is still a good friend, more fun than the Stooges. An appealing character with real integrity and memorable humor. Fans can rejoice: Naylor plans to take Alice ``to her eighteenth year.'' (Fiction. 9-13) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Childrens Books (January 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743450485
• ISBN-13: 978-0743450485
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,817,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I guess I've been writing for about as long as I can remember. Telling stories, anyway, if not writing them down. I had my first short story published when I was sixteen, and wrote stories to help put myself through college, planning to become a clinical psychologist. By the time I graduated with a BA degree, however, I decided that writing was really my first love, so I gave up plans for graduate school and began writing full time.

I'm not happy unless I spend some time writing every day. It's as though pressure builds up inside me, and writing even a little helps to release it. On a hard-writing day, I write about six hours. Tending to other writing business, answering mail, and just thinking about a book takes another four hours. I spend from three months to a year on a children's book, depending on how well I know the characters before I begin and how much research I need to do. A novel for adults, because it's longer, takes a year or more. When my work is going well, I wake early in the mornings, hoping it's time to get up. When the writing is hard and the words are flat, I'm not very pleasant to be around.

Getting an idea for a book is the easy part. Keeping other ideas away while I'm working on one story is what's difficult. My books are based on things that have happened to me, things I have heard or read about, all mixed up with imaginings. The best part about writing is the moment a character comes alive on paper, or when a place that existed only in my head becomes real. There are no bands playing at this moment, no audience applauding--a very solitary time, actually--but it's what I like most. I've now had more than 120 books published, and about 2000 short stories, articles and poems.

I live in Bethesda, Maryland, with my husband, Rex, a speech pathologist, who's the first person to read my manuscripts when they're finished. Our sons, Jeff and Michael, are grown now, but along with their wives and children, we often enjoy vacations together in the mountains or at the ocean. When I'm not writing, I like to hike, swim, play the piano and attend the theater.

I'm lucky to have my family, because they have contributed a great deal to my books. But I'm also lucky to have the troop of noisy, chattering characters who travel with me inside my head. As long as they are poking, prodding, demanding a place in a book, I have things to do and stories to tell.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the other Alice books..., December 28, 2006

By 

Joanna Mechlinski (CT, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All But Alice (Paperback)

It's the winter of Alice's seventh grade year, and all she wants is to fit in. She joins an "Earring Club," but soon finds it rather monotonous to spend so much time shopping for and talking about mere jewelry. She also joins the All-Stars Fan Club, because all the popular kids are, and ends up writing fan mail to a rock star she doesn't even like.

Obviously, Alice's actions and reactions are typical of any junior high girl. The fact that she's always felt ostracized by the death of her mother when she was a preschooler only compounds Alice's need to fit in. However, Naylor has demonstrated her talent for taking simple concepts and making them into interesting, funny storylines in the other "Alice" books; this one just isn't up to par. Still, readers who enjoy the series will certainly want to read this book, simply for more Alice stories.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is about fitting in with certain peers*, January 23, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: All But Alice (Hardcover)

All but Alice was a great book to read. It is about when Alice wants a bulletin board, her ears pierced, and even joins two clubs-The Earring Club and the All-Stars Fan Club. She works at the Melody Inn for three hours and wants to be part of the "in" crowd at school.
Alice may act different in this book out of the other books, but I know how that feels. You act different when you are in a different and a snobbier club and then realize of how idiotic you were to people who didn't pick on you at all.
It is not like Alice picks on anyone in this novel, but it was cruel of her to embarrass her friend Elizabeth like that. One of the Three Handsome Stooges likes and picks on Alice a lot. Alice feels different and one of the Popular and the Beautiful people at her school.
But the truth is, Alice gets so sick of Brian (one of the 3 Stooges) picking on her. Even in one of the chapters, he puts her face in the snow for fun like it is funny. And on Valentine's Day, her ex-boyfriend Patrick comes over and gives her a big box of chocolates.
Alice didn't realize that she had to share them with him for some weird reason. So Lester tells her that and she reinvites him over.
Lester has a Woman Situation again! Loretta Jenkins (who works at his dad's store) likes him! Lester just wants to take a break from dating and concentrate on homework. Or, in other words, L-I-F-E. Meaning a "non-female-dating-crisis" life.
And turns out that Alice's dad goes out with her 7th-grade Language Arts teacher Miss Summers. Again. And he gives her a Vivaldi cassette. AND, turns out that Alice becomes herself again, kisses Patrick again (because he threw up on the bus and Brian told Alice to make fun of him when he comes back but she comes to the rescue and they talk and then kiss on the bus. Yep. Just like that!), and quits the Earring Club (I think) and the All-Stars Fan CLub.
The letter Alice wrote to a famous rock-star was very funny. Even though it was a joke, the person in charge of it mailed it to the star!
This was a good book for peoples out there who have trouble fitting in with the right people. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is a great author and knows how to describe a junior-high girl's life today.
So if you're bored, then I suggest reading All But Alice.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars All but Alice, January 18, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: All But Alice (Hardcover)

This book was pretty good, it didn't really have much of a climax, but it was a good book. The characters were well written, and she described the setting well. but what I liked was that even though this is from a series, you didn't have to read the ones before it to know what she was talking about. And if you have read the books before it, she isn't so repeatative that it gets boring.

In this book I didn't really have a favorite part. The entire book was really good - and it doesn't take forever to read.

Two story elements that Phyllis is great at, is how you preceive the characters. You can really see throughout the story how Alice's ideas and thoughts mature and differ from the beginning. She is also really good and letting you know what the theme of the book is. You don't have to think about it for three days to figure it out.