Customer Reviews

Alice Macleod, Realist At Last (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

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I am an adult who loves teen books.

The Alice MacLeod series is a little gem. I have enjoyed all of them immensely and this latest entry is no exception.

The author has a way of writing Alice in an utterly charming and totally real teen-angst way.

What marks these books from others is that the author intervenes subtle humor that takes off the hard edge from some of the storyline. So, you get the "point" of the story without the downer side of it.

Alice is a typical teenager -slightly out of tune with her reality (typical teen) and you find yourself rooting for her.

Unfortunately, the parents don't play major support roles in these books, but that is a small criticism.

This is a great series for any teen.

I highly recommend them.

There are many reasons this review was posted late and backdated which I won't get into here. Suffice to say I have been meaning to write this review for months but have been putting it off because I knew that once I wrote the review I would have to admit that Alice's adventures were done--no small task let me assure you.

Onward . . .

Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last (2006) is the stunning conclusion to Susan Juby's debut trilogy (preceeded by Alice, I Think and its sequel Miss Smithers). You might recognize Juby's name from the 2009 Edgar Awards where Getting the Girl was a nominee.

This installment opens with the first scene from Alice's screenplay "Of Moose and Men"--a creative work loosely based on her own life. Excerpts of the screenplay are sprinkled throughout the novel. The writing is overwrought, exaggerated, and provides hysterical insight into Alice's psyche throughout the story. In addition to being Alice's latest career of choice, writing her screenplay also helps this sixteen-year-old heroine make sense of the chaos that has become her life.

At the beginning of the story, Alice's boyfriend Goose is moving with his family to Glasgow for an entire year only to go away to university on the other end of Canada when he finally returns. Dealing with this heartbreak is bad enough on its own. Then Alice's mother, a somewhat aggressive environmentalist, is thrown in jail as a result of her activist activities. That leaves Alice, her younger brother, and her father on their own. To say that this development leaves the family less than functional would be a vast understatement.

The one constant in Alice's life seems, ironically, to be Death Lord Bob--her ineffectual therapist from the Teens in Transition (Not Trouble) Center in town. At least until he too is called away leaving Alice with the surly Ms. Deitrich who doesn't seem to understand anything about Alice's life let alone her highly evolved sense of style.

With their matriarch breadwinner in jail Alice and her father find themselves, for the first time, looking for gainful employment. Alice's job search, and eventual employment, throw her into the paths of two brilliant characters: Wallace and Vince. Negotiating these new romantic waters, Alice finds herself caught between two equally charming suitors--one five years her senior, the other considerably her junior. The dilemma is equally difficult for readers who will likely be as attracted tothese guys as Alice herself.

Throughout the series, readers are able to trace Alice's evolution as a character. The girl we meet in this novel is very different from the Alice entering a traditional school (or a beauty pageant) for the first time. She is more mature, and in some ways more responsible and engaged with the world at large. More than that, though, Alice's true depth as a heroine is really apparent in this story as she not only works through but even rises above all of the (screw)balls life throws at her.

Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last doesn't qualify as truly "realistic" fiction because of the humor and general madness that surrounds Alice. But Alice is still an utterly real and engaging character with a quirky sense of humor (and style) that will leave readers smiling.

(I'd recommend reading the entire trilogy in sequence to fully appreciate how awesome it is, but the stories do stand alone fairly well if you happen upon them out of order.)

Susan Juby lives up to all expectations with "Realist at Last". Though it's not quite as hilarious as her first two novels, it is still enjoyable. Alice (the mail character) has decided to be a screen writer now and so throughout the book you get to read her screenplay "Of Moose and Men". In which she overemphasizes the "hardships" she must go through, including the fact that her mother is currently in jail for a "good cause" as Alice's new therapist likes to make sure. Goose has also moved away, sadly for Alice, freeing her up to date other men, all of whom turn out to be older or younger or just not right. But, of course, if you've read "Alice, I think" and "Miss Smithers" you're already hooked and didn't need my review, so, happy reading...

In the third Alice novel, the overdramatic Canadian teenager deals with a long-distance relationship, attempts to write a screenplay, works a series of odd jobs - oh, yes, and an incarcerated parent.

As with the previous Alice novels, this is a comedy, so the issue is still treated lightly and with love: Her peace-loving mother gets arrested for protesting, and her absence shakes up the already off-kilter MacLeod household, as Alice's long-time-slacker father has to get a job. Shock and horror. Meanwhile, Alice manages to both assume and avoid additional responsibilities at home and at work.

Alice's screenplay, Of Moose and Men, starts off the book. It is a work-in-progress which, more often than not, is an extension of Alice's daydreams and worries. Her overdramatic writing makes for a fun story-within-a-story, and the final scene of the script also serves as an ending to the book. This outing will amuse teen readers, especially those who enjoyed Alice, I Think and Miss Smithers.

I related completely with Alice MacLeod in Susan Juby's first book "Alice, I think". Alice makes me laugh up a storm, something I miss in teen novels these days. The second novel "Miss Smithers" was also funny but the plot seemed a bit forced and not too interesting. Still, it went by fast and I enjoyed it.

The third "Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last" is more of a romance. I missed the fact that Alice's boyfriend Goose has left the picture, but he is replaced by an equally lovable boy named Vince. Except Vince isn't exactly a boy, and he questions whether he is too old to be dating Alice.

Alice's confusion over love and sex lead this novel with funny subplots about a prison-ridden mother, an unemployed father, and Alice's task to become a famous writer. Alice's writing is the best in this novel. In the second novel she wrote her own newspaper, but in "Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last" she heads out to write a script, which reads so utterly ridiculous, it's hilarious.

A great read for the romantic, the one who loves to laugh, and anyone and everyone that wants to find a great friend in Alice.

"Alice Macleod, Realist at Last," Susan Juby's latest novel, continues
the adventures of Alice Macleod, a self-proclaimed outcast who was home
schooled for ten years before attending a public school. This is the third
installment in a highly successful series which also includes the
books "Alice, I Think" and "Miss Smithers."

The book begins during the summer before seventeen-year-old Alice's
senior year and her world seems to be falling apart. Her mother has been
jailed for protesting the building of a toxic plant. Her boyfriend has
recently moved to Scotland with his parents. Her empathetic counselor Bob
has been temporarily replaced by the detached Ms. Deitrich. To top it all
off the family's home-based candle making business has been snuffed out
leaving Alice and her father in need of some fast employment.

And that's just the start of Alice's troubles.

This engaging story is told in the first person through pieces of
Alice's diary and snippets of her tentatively titled screenplay "Of Moose
and Men" where she has cast herself in the lead. The narrative devices
skillfully convey Alice's unique outlook on life, but it might take several
pages for new readers to warm up to her voice. Her sense of humor is quirky
and often times quite dark. Alice's previous exploits are occasionally
alluded to during the course of this novel, but reading the first two books
ins't mandatory in order to thoroughly enjoy this one.

Alice is the kind of character that readers will find charming.
Potentially sensitive topics (such as Alice's mother's incarceration) are
dealt with in a non-offensive and light-hearted manner. However, the book
contains sexual content that may not be suitable for younger readers.

This is a funny and entertaining book for ages twelve and up.
[...]

The third, but I hope not the last, in a very funny series, Susan Juby's ALICE MACLEOD, REALIST AT LAST, concentrates on boys and men, as Alice in an endearingly oddball way juggles the hazards of dating. She's obsessed with two things, sex (having some) and screen-writing (she plans to be a younger, more attractive, and female Quentin Tarantino).

This set would be a terrific gift for an adolescent girl who worries about not fitting in.

I think this is the last book in the series. This book was fun to read. Alice's outlook on her own life was really funny. I like her because she's a quirky character and very unique. In this book it's mostly about her finding love and learning about it.