Achingly Alice (Paperback)

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Author), Kam Mak (Illustrator) "One of my teachers, Mr. Everett, used to tell us, "Be a person who makes things happen; don't just let life happen to you..." (more)
Key Phrases: gold whistle, exchange teacher, Miss Summers, Aunt Sally, New Year's Eve (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Gr. 6^-8. At a time of bleak realism in YA fiction, it's great to also have a book that makes you laugh out loud about a young teenager's struggle to grow up. Not that the issues aren't serious. In eighth grade now, Alice grapples with lies, loss, loyalty, and sexual awakening, even as she worries about what to wear to the school Valentine's Day dance. She is still obsessed with getting her widowed father to marry her gorgeous ex-teacher. Like her readers, Alice wants to talk to someone about her body and her sexuality. Does everyone masturbate? What is it like to have a pelvic exam? (Deliberately outrageous, she tells her father and brother at the dinner table about the three things that the doctor says can cause wetness "down there.") Is it all right to feel "wet and tingly" when her boyfriend Patrick kisses her? As always, the adults in her life are nearly all sympathetic, gentle, and funny. Her older brother, Lester, has the best lines, both wry and wise. When he tells her that she will get through a tough time--whether it's a bad hair day or the loss of someone she loves--she knows he is right. This tenth book in a great series reads more like a stop along the way than a complete novel, but Alice's fans will love it and wait for the next one. Hazel Rochman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews
Readers who have, with Alice, been waiting impatiently for her widowed father and favorite teacher, Miss Summers, to pick a date will have to wait some more; the Alice series (Outrageously Alice, 1997, etc.) continues to feature comic twists, comfortably familiar characters who still have surprises to reveal, and a plot that includes some serious issues. As she tries to decide whether to stick with boyfriend Patrick or play the field, Alice accompanies Elizabeth on her first visit to a gynecologist and gets an earful afterward, goes from the high of having Miss Summers over for Christmas to the low of hearing that she spent New Year's Eve with another man, ruminates about topics as diverse as masturbation and careers, participates in a class project designed to analyze deceptive TV commercials, and struggles to cope with Miss Summers's devastating announcement that she'll be spending the next year in England as part of a teacher exchange. Naylor continues to usher Alice, and readers, toward adolescence with this well-knit, frequently hilarious story, cemented with buckets full of information, reassurance, and common sense. (Fiction. 10-13) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689805950
• ISBN-13: 978-0689805950
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,232,085 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 10 in The Alice Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best One Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, September 27, 2005

A Kid's Review

When I got it i couldn't stop reading it! Its was soo good but really short! I think Alice and Patrick make the perfect couple but too bad they break up. (In a different one) I really reccomend this book but not to people under 10. (It gets a little too sexual at one point) This one really is the BEST ONE EVER!!!! :)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Achingly Alice, February 8, 2005

By	Book Worm - See all my reviews

Over all, Achingly Alice was a really good book. Alice is trying to figure out how Mrs. Summers can love Mr. Sorringer and her dad at the same time, while she herself can't decide between Patrick (her boyfriend) and the cutie in her camera class, Sam. It's easy to relate to this book because it's set in present times in Silver Springs. Alice finally decides to wait it out and see what happens in the end when something suprising happens to Miss Summers. I would reccomend this book to girls ages twelve and up because of some of the things that happen to Alice and her friends. They are in eighth grade, so that is probably a good age to read this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting!, August 4, 2003

By	"ruffledrain" (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

I probably related the most to Alice in this book because of her sexual discovery and I think most girls will, too. Alice comes right out and says the stuff young girls are thinking and curious about and a lot of them are answered. If you are up tight and scared about bodily things, read this! If you're questioning where to draw the line with boys, read this! If you're wondering if you really are a womanly creature, read this! It made me feel a lot better and it probably will for you, too!

Blessed be!