Reluctantly Alice [Hardcover]

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1991 | Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Alice

After her first day in junior high, Alice McKinley says, "I can think of at least seven things about seventh grade that stink". But after a week, Alice has decided that maybe junior high isn't so bad. In fact, maybe she can go a whole year being friends with everyone, teachers and students alike. This is before she has her first run-in with Denise "Mack-Truck" Whitlock.

Alice, who has survived sixth grade and The Summer of the First Boyfriend, soon discovers that it isn't so easy to be Alice the Likeable. Even her best friends get in the way sometimes. And just when she is sure no one has more problems than she does, she is drawn into the ones her twenty-year-old brother and her widowed father are facing, which seem worse. Thinking a favorite teacher may hold the answer to at least one difficulty, Alice ends up with a bigger mess than ever.

She realizes, however, that it is possible to overcome disaster and to find a way out of troubles. Most of all, she discovers, it's good to have a father and a brother who love you and look out for you. In fact, sometimes, having family is almost enough.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Likeable Alice McKinley is back in this honest and funny portrayal of the ups and downs of seventh grade. Having survived her "summer of the first boyfriend," Alice is determined to start off the school year as everyone's friend. But in the first week she discovers seven things that "stink" about seventh grade, and it takes her quite some time to come up with seven good things. Just as the beleaguered heroine seems to be coping well with her various crises she has a run-in with Denise "Mack-Truck" Whitlaw. Meanwhile her domestic problems--concerning her brother's and father's romances--are escalating. Alice is able to resolve her differences with Denise (in typical Alice fashion), but when she attempts to take on the family dilemmas the results are comic and chaotic. Alice's fans will not be disappointed in her latest misadventures, and the news that Naylor intends to take Alice through to her graduation is certainly welcome. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- It's the first day of seventh grade, and Alice can't think of anything good about it except she gets out at 2:30 instead of 3:00. She feels weird, thinks she looks weird, and is not used to being at the bottom rung of the ladder. Then, with her usual style and verve, she decides that things have to get better, and plans to spend the year being Alice the Likable. This is before her run-in with Denise "Mack-Truck" Whitlock, however--and before she discovers the problems her widowed father and 20-year old brother, Lester, are having with the women in their lives. Young adolescents will recognize themselves in Alice and will laugh, cry, and cheer her on as she finds all things are possible. Alice and her surrounding cast of characters are realistic and full of vitality. With cheerful, upbeat writing and positive emphasis, this third book about Alice is sure to be as popular as the previous two. Readers will be reluctant to see it end. --Pamela K. Bomboy, Chesterfield County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (March 30, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068931681X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689316814
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,274,079 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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beware of SGSD..., November 4, 2002

By 

"greengoldfairy" (London, England (but only until August 18th!)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reluctantly Alice (Alice Books) (Paperback)

This is the third book of the Alice McKinley series, and it is here that one can see the characters begin to really take shape. Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth, as fun and orginal a trio (!!) as ever, have taken the big step into the world of junior high, but after only the first day Alice can think of 7 things wrong with 7th grade.

Alice, though, tries to look ahead to brighter times (even if she did manage to perform three embarassing acts on the very first day of school, including sitting on a doughnut -- egads!), and sets the very high goal of going through seventh grade being friends with everyone. Easier said then done, especially when Alice attracts the attention of an 8th grade bully. Things aren't made any worse when Alice, who has never been able to carry a tune, has to be rescued by her older brother on SGSD.

On top of her own problems, Alice also decides to tackle the romantic ones of her father and older brother. Ouch. This, too, turns out to be a lot harder than the 7th grade Alice could believe, but you could be surprised once the Messiah sing-along rolls around...

Yet another good addition to the ever-growing Alice McKinely series. Don't miss out...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXTRAORDINARY BOOK!, February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Reluctantly Alice (Hardcover)

This book is FABULOUS! It is about a girl named Alice Mkinley. Her mother died and she lives with her dad and 20-year old brother, Lester. Alice is entering the 7th grade. She has many problems and many knew things that happen to her throught the book. All of these are events that could happen to any girl. Alice wants to be "Alice the Likeable" when starting junior high, but she just so happen to find a person who doesn't like her: Denise "Mack Truck" Whitlock. Alice has many problems with Denise, but they have to do a report on each other and something happens! Alice also figures out that even friends can get in the way of being likeable. I recommend this book to any girl! This SUPER book is a MUST read!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Book When I was in 3rd Grade..., December 7, 2010

By 

Wells Fargo "Britney" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reluctantly Alice (Alice Books) (Paperback)

I used to read a lot when I was younger, so when I ran out of things to read, I just picked up random books from the library that seemed intriguing and read it. I stumbled upon this book one day and I finished it that very day because I just couldn't stop reading it. I remember it so well because as a 3rd grader, I was always curious about older kids and stuff and I remember reading this and thinking it was so cool! I love the Alice series, and this was what made me read like almost all of the books. Another cute one was Achingly Alice : ). This is seriously the greatest book if you have a child between 3rd grade and 6th grade because it's a fun read : ).