Dangerously Alice (Mass Market Paperback)

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Author)
Key Phrases: homecoming dance, Dangerously Alice, Aunt Sally, Snow Ball (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Mistakes and quarrels, big and small, drive the plot in the twenty-second novel in the popular Alice series about coming-of-age now. In high school, Alice, 16, is preparing for the PSATs, but what really worries her is that some members of the mean, popular crowd have labeled her Miss Goody Two-Shoes. Are they right? That may be why she risks going home with hot Tony, who, condom ready, tries to go all the way. Is he just adding her to his long list? And anxious to escape that dull, good-girl image, she is sorry to find herself acting mean toward slow, needy student Amy. At home what makes Alice feel really bad is her shameful invasion of privacy when she inadvertently eavesdrops on Dad and her stepmom having sex. The dialogue is right-on, and whether it is the risk of irresponsible teen driving or the farce of her older brother's mix-up with his girlfriend, teens will love the funny, honest, nonmessagey drama on the edge. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
Alice has always tried to be a decent person. She gets good grades, comes home on time, and has never really given her dad and her stepmom any reason to worry. But now that junior year of high school has started, Alice is a little sick of people assuming she's a goody-goody, so she decides to start shaking things up. First there are the dates with Tony, a cute senior who's a lot more experienced than Alice. Then the fights with her stepmom about the new cat, the car, and everything else start. But when Alice sneaks off to a party that her parents don't know about and a near-tragedy follows, she starts to realize every choice has a consequence, and danger rarely leads to good ones.

Funny, realistic, and always provocative, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor does it again, proving that she understands what real girls think and feel, with this twenty-second book in the beloved Alice series.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Reprint edition (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689870957
• ISBN-13: 978-0689870958
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #469,445 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alice Again, June 26, 2007

By	kaduzy (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dangerously Alice (Hardcover)

In the latest installment of Naylor's Alice series, Alice finally goes into the "teen rebel" mode that every adolescent experiences in one way or another. This book finds her riding a motorcycle with a stranger (and without a helmet!) during school hours, going the furthest sexually that she's ever gone with a boy, and having her first real fight with her stepmother, Sylvia.

Usually, Naylor really hits the mark when it comes to putting herself into the head of a teenaged girl -- however, I believe that in this book, she's hit her first major stumble. For one thing, Alice is far more self-aware than any teen I've ever known. During her fight with Sylvia, she realizes how unreasonable she's being, and she apologizes almost immediately. During the motorcycle ride, she keeps thinking how stupid it is to have accepted the ride, instead of just hanging on and enjoying it. I believe 16-year-old girls are perfectly capable of self-awareness, but I also know from personal experience that extreme selfishness trumps all of that in the teenaged mind. When I was 16, I always thought I was right when I started fights with my mother, and it usually didn't occur to me until long afterward when I made a poor, or dangerous decision. This is the same behavior I've observed in other teens even as I grew older. (I'm 24 now.) It would have been nice to see this kind of self-righteousness in Alice, but it seems that Naylor has put the task of teaching her readers a bunch of heavy-handed lessons ahead of accurately portraying the thoughts and feelings of a teenaged girl. She even stumbles with Alice's vocabulary. I have never known a 16-year-old, no matter how advanced they are academically, to use the word "shall" in casual conversation.

However, I don't think these lessons (which include the dangers of driving under the influence and the importance of having feelings for the person you have sex with for the first time) are so overbearing that they distract from the story. I suspect that most readers will be too young to realize they're being taught something as they read, and I generally agree with most of the points Naylor is making. And then, there's the ending. The final few pages of this book put a gigantic smile on my face, a smile of pure happiness for Alice. It's definitely the best ending to any of the books in this series so far, and it went a long way towards redeeming the book for me.

I know I'm much too old to really be considered part of the core audience for these books. I started reading them when I was the same age as Alice, but I grew up faster than Naylor could write, apparently! :-) Nevertheless, I can't stop myself from taking my annual peek inside this girl's life, just to see how it's treating her. So far, Alice is faring quite well indeed, and I will eagerly anticipate the next book in this series.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one will probably go down as one of the best., May 7, 2007

By	Nia Mia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dangerously Alice (Hardcover)

I just finished the book, and all I can say is "Oh. My. Goodness." I don't want to give away too much, but I will give you bullet points to mull on: Tony and Alice(WHOA), Alice and Sylvia(sad, but about time!), a scene involving Alice hiding in a closet(I was rolling with laughter), and the ending(I jumped up and down on my bed for about a half hour yelling "Yes!" over and over). These are just a few of the things that go on in the book, that made me want to start reading it all over. It's one of the best plots in the series yet. There is not one Alice fan, who is going to want to miss this. It really was worth the wait and the money. You'll be begging Phyllis to come out with the next installment much sooner than expected. I hope everyone has as much fun reading it as I did. I'm not too worried, though. You will ^_^

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly true to life...a great read that is entertaining as well as educational, July 26, 2007

By	Michaele L. (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dangerously Alice (Hardcover)

It would be truly interesting to find out just how Mrs. Naylor manages to get her brain directly into the mind of a teenage girl - truly amazing with outstanding realism. Once again, the next in the Alice series does not disappoint!

It is important to note that this series is "coming of age". With that said, being that the series is written very, very true to life, there are more provocative scenes described but these should be expected. Alice endures the same peer pressures and moral dilemmas that no doubt all teenagers face when growing up these days. This is how the book can be indeed very educational. Alice may have consequences to her decisions but reading about these can further illustrate the necessity of thinking things through before acting. The chapter entitled "The City at Night" and subsequent events should be required reading for any teenager. Probably what is most remarkable about the series is the seemingly little events that are described, the day-to-day vicissitudes Alice faces that upon growing up, women seem to forget. Certainly any woman who reads this can recall similar events in her lifetime and may be even able to look back and laugh at things once thought monumental.

Funny, heartwarming, and true to life, Dangerously Alice will leave the reader aching for the next installment! Great job!