Customer Reviews

Dangerously Alice

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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 ^_^

I love this book! It's wonderful! I have only one recommendation: Unless your very mature for age, don't read it until your at least 14. There are some things in there that aren't appropriate for younger kids. Otherwise, it was the best I've ever read! Read it!

An avid fan of the Alice series for over ten years, I was quite blown away by this latest installment of the series. Though the tone of the books has gradually been changing to reflect the reality of growing up, the change of tone in this book is especially noticeable. Here Alice is moodier, more serious, and more confused than in previous books. Naylor, as always, does an excellent job of making you feel as though you are inside Alice's mind. Throughout the book the tone is very personal and you experience everything right along with her. There are places in the book where the tone is conflicted or fickle and you experience her confusion and frustration and places where it is frank or nervous and you feel her embarassment. The situations she finds herself in are also heavier and more serious here, resulting in some shocking situations and realizations that I thought had a powerful effect without seeming forced or overblown. One thing that I thought was especially well done was the way she used two of the situations-what Alice witnessed between her father and Sylvia and her later experience with Tony-to provide a sharp contrast; another was the way she developed some of the characters from Alice's old gang to show that they were growing apart. That's not to say it was without its lighter moments; there are a few funny and fun situations and the always highly entertaining exchanges between Alice and Lester, though there didn't seem to be quite as many of them this time. I should note that because of the seriousness of the tone, the very real, frank descriptions and focus on some of the more difficult parts of being a teenager it is not an easy or comfortable read; those looking for something lighter might want to stick with the earlier books.

That being said, there were a few aspects of the book that I disliked. One was the promotion in various places in the book of the modern concept of tolerance (especially in the tension between Aunt Sally and Carol), where all ideas must be considered equal and people are looked at with disapproval or contempt if they think some ideas are better than others or that some ideas are right and others are wrong (as opposed to classical tolerance, where people are considered equal and ideas can be right or wrong, better or worse). I also found the portrayal of Mrs. Shoates, the mother of a girl in Alice's class who objects to a speech class project, to be unfairly one-sided, exaggerated and a little insulting. I have to admit that I did end up feeling somewhat alienated by the book in a way I haven't with previous books, and other more old-fashioned, conservative readers may feel the same way. Also, I found Alice and her friends to be shallow at times, but I know they are supposed to represent normal teenagers and I know it is normal (though not good) at that age to be that way. Otherwise, it was a good read and a powerful new addition to the series.

I've been a diehard Alice fan since I picked up "Alice in Rapture, Sort Of" when I was in elementary school. I've followed Alice's life for the past ten years. Honestly, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor dropped the ball with the last Alice book, Alice on her Way, which read like a long, (boring) diary entry about what she did that summer. Nothing significant happened, and the tone of the novel was not as spirited as the junior high school Alice. But PRN redeems herself with this new book, giving us Alice fans more of an insider look at what it means to be a sixteen-year-old girl (including peer pressure, making bad decisions, and contemplating sexual activity). I noticed that Alice's voice is a bit more confused and muddled, now, but I'm not sure if that's because the author intended it to be that way (teens and their self-identity crises!) or if it's because Naylor is running out of steam.

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!

On my book bag I proudly wear a pin which declares "I Read Banned Books." I now have to get one which says "I Proudly Review Banned Books!"

The ALICE series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has been in the top ten of books which are challenged every year. I bought most of the series for my youngest daughter, who loves them. She loves the realism of the stories and how the feelings that Alice has are just like her own. And I love them because Alice is a normal girl: she may get into trouble, but she learns from her mistakes and so do the readers.

DANGEROUSLY ALICE finds Alice in her junior year of high school. She works on the school newspaper and has a terrible crush on Scott, the editor of the paper. She has also been labeled by the "cool" crowd as MGT, which means Miss Goody-Two-Shoes.

Alice decides that she needs to be a little more reckless and not so boring. She does a few daring stunts, but after she does them she figures out that being boring is not as bad as some people think it is. Liking yourself and doing the right thing is what is important.

I especially like the way that Alice gets along with her relatives. She has a great relationship with her brother and father. She is having trouble getting along with her stepmother though, and the situation is handled realistically and with compromises on both sides.

I love the Alice books and can't wait to read the next one.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

I'm a thirteen-year-old girl, so I know a bit about peer pressure. I've read these Alice books ever since I was in the fourth grade, and I picked up The Agony of Alice. I can't wait for the next book to come.

PRN really made a connection with me. I have a sixteen-year-old sister, so I know a thing or two about fighting. I liked the part about Alice being on the motorcylce, only I wish she may have enjoyed it a little more. I also liked the part when she fights with Sylvia, then the cat pukes on her shoes. It didn't feel staged or boring at all.

I didn't feel that the book was gross. Some teenage girls do things you can't even imagine, so forgive me for saying that making out isn't exactly the worst you could do.

I am an avid bible-reader, and I hope Alice saves herself for marriage. Not that I won't read it if she doesn't. It's just that I hope she does. Anyways, read this and enjoy it, and wait for the next one to come out. If it's anything like this one, then I'm sure it'll be a hit.

I loved this book!

I am 11 and I just finshied reading it. I would recamend it for 13 or 14 year old's though.

This book was not gross. Yes it talks and sex and body parts but this is normal so don't get scared when people say it's gross.

Now about the book....Alice wants to grow up! She has always been that "prfect goody goody" and now she wants to change! She gets in a fight with her step mother, alows a boy to do more then get his hand up her shirt, and goes to a party she is NOT alowed to go to and near death falls! This book is GREAT!

Now 16, Alice McKinley is struggling to balance all the many areas of her life - the endless demands of increasingly difficult school courses, a home life sometimes rife with turmoil with her dad and new stepmom, and a social life where her classmates are taking part in increasingly dangerous activities. Although she has her moments, Alice generally feels she's doing okay.

Then one day, Alice learns that two of her classmates have dubbed her Miss Goody Two-Shoes behind her back. Although part of her knows that Jill and Karen don't really matter, Alice can't help the alarm that the rest of her feels. She wonders if she really *is* too boring and good, and longs to change her image before it's too late.

Yet as Alice also begins to see, people who take part in dangerous behaviors must also pay the consequences from time to time -- and unlike when you're a kid, sometimes the consequences can be irrevocable.

Longtime readers will be glad to keep up with the latest episodes of Alice's life, as well as the lives of other secondary characters, such as Alice's cousin Carol and her older brother Lester, who also make appearances in this book.

Despite being the 22nd book in the Alice series, this book is just as fresh and intriguing as all the others prior. The voice of Alice, as always, rings true to the dilemmas and feelings of a young girl struggling to find her place in a confusing adult world.