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Summary
Summary
Growing up--and slimming down--is the tricky proposition in this repackaged installment of the beloved Alice series.
The summer before ninth grade is all about getting it right--from head to toe. Alice and her friends want to start high school feeling like they always imagined a true high schooler feels: confident, capable, and pretty. But a little too much time standing in front of a mirror in their bathing suits makes Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth feel the exact opposite of ready for high school. They have two-and-half months to transform themselves--but when Elizabeth starts taking the weight-loss plan too seriously, Alice worries that growing up (and slimming down) isn't all it's cracked up to be.
As Alice stumbles her way through the minefield of early adolescence, there are plenty of bumps, giggles, and surprises along the way. Every girl should grow up with Alice, and with this irresistible new look, a whole new generation will want to.
Author Notes
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana on January 4, 1933. She received a bachelor's degree from American University in 1963. Her first children's book, The Galloping Goat and Other Stories, was published in 1965. She has written more than 135 children and young adult books including Witch's Sister, The Witch Returns, The Bodies in the Bessledorf Hotel, A String of Chances, The Keeper, Walker's Crossing, Bernie Magruder and the Bats in the Belfry, Please Do Feed the Bears, and The Agony of Alice, which was the first book in the Alice series. She has received several awards including the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Night Cry and the Newberry Award for Shiloh.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana on January 4, 1933. She received a bachelor's degree from American University in 1963. Her first children's book, The Galloping Goat and Other Stories, was published in 1965. She has written more than 135 children and young adult books including Witch's Sister, The Witch Returns, The Bodies in the Bessledorf Hotel, A String of Chances, The Keeper, Walker's Crossing, Bernie Magruder and the Bats in the Belfry, Please Do Feed the Bears, and The Agony of Alice, which was the first book in the Alice series. She has received several awards including the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Night Cry and the Newberry Award for Shiloh.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (8)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-Alice and her friends are determined to make the summer before high school the best one of their lives. Their main goal is to make their bodies perfect. However, as the summer goes on, the girls find out they have a lot of growing to do-and most of it is internal, not external. Pamela learns how to live with her father now that her mother has left the family. Elizabeth obsesses over her weight, and Alice tries to help her friends, as well as deal with the death of her former teacher, Mrs. Plotkin, and with her sexual feelings toward her boyfriend, Patrick. Naylor has created an engaging story with strong, three-dimensional characters. The issues the girls face are common among adolescents, and as they learn from their experiences, so will readers. The author includes candid information on topics such as sex, physical development in adolescence, and eating disorders in a way that makes it completely accessible to readers. Alice is a likable protagonist; fans of the series will enjoy this latest installment and newcomers will want to go back and read about her previous adventures.-Dina Sherman, Brooklyn Children's Museum, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Young Adult) Determined to get rid of saddlebag thighs and thick waists before high school, Alice and her two best friends, Pamela and Elizabeth, embark on a diet and exercise program (""No ice cream, no chips, and jogging three miles with ankles weights? This was a summer?""). But the summer between eighth and ninth grades turns out to be about more than lost pounds and gained muscle tone. Alice assures her father he can trust her when he goes away for two weeks in August-all the while anticipating what it will be like to be left unsupervised with her boyfriend, Patrick. A moral dilemma brings Alice's divided loyalties to friends and family to a head, earning her a week of being grounded and her father's disappointment. The three friends take part in an eye-opening seminar for girls on grooming, nutrition, and their bodies; learning, in particular, about the what and where of female genitalia (""'It's not wrong, it's not silly, it's not sinful to want to know more about yourself,' said the nurse. 'It's sensible and healthy'""). Making sure she covers all the bases, Naylor addresses issues of body image, self-acceptance, sexuality, relationships, and family without pretense. Self-esteem-boosting nonfiction books for girls are a popular publishing trend these days; the twelve-book Alice series-while increasingly issue-driven-offers a similar message: if you're happy with who you are on the inside, you'll be happy with how you look on the outside. But hearing it from Alice, at this point an old friend, carries more weight than the advice of experts and the testimonial of strangers. k.f. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Alice continues to model safe, commonsensical ways of navigating the foggy shoals of adolescence, as the summer before high school brings crises, comedy, beginnings, endings, and new life skills. Actually, Alice, with a rewarding new job as a candy striper and a boyfriend who turns out to be as good a cook as he is a kisser, has it pretty good. It's those around her--older brother Lester, whose new squeeze is an imperious fashion plate, best buddies Elizabeth and Pamela, the former veering toward anorexia, the latter struggling through a stormy relationship with her father--who provide most of the angst. As usual, though, Alice provides most of the theater, and before this voyage ends she has helped teach Elizabeth how to use a tampon; learned to administer a self-examination ("Well, I said to my privates, Nice to meet you"); rides out the death of her beloved sixth-grade teacher; and hits a crest of joy when her father and junior-high English teacher Sylvia Summers finally--finally!--announce their engagement. Sailing through her 12th "Alice" with nary a sign of series fatigue, Naylor, as usual, masterfully imparts physical, social, and emotional information while bringing readers to tears and laughter. (Fiction. 11-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6^-9. In the "Story behind the Story" about the Alice books [BKL My 1 99], Naylor talks about how she keeps up with the contemporary teen scene. This twelfth book in the series is as relevant, candid, and touching as ever, both funny and reassuring about what it means to be "normal." It's the summer before high school. One of Alice's friends seems headed for anorexia, her older brother has a superficial girlfriend, and another friend, Pamela, is having trouble at home. When Pamela runs away and asks Alice to hide her overnight, Alice must decide if loyalty to her friend comes before being honest with her dad. Alice is a bit too wise and therapeutic (she says she wants to become a psychiatrist), but fans of the series will grab this for the poignant friendship, family, and dating stories, as well as for the facts about their bodies and insights into themselves. In a great climactic episode, the friends attend a "For Girls Only" seminar at the YMCA, where they learn about grooming and nutrition and also about male and female private parts. They gasp and giggle and cover their faces when the nurse tells them to go home and examine themselves with a hand mirror, but, of course, they do what she says. Then Alice tries to tell her father and brother about it. --Hazel Rochman
Horn Book Review
(Young Adult) Determined to get rid of saddlebag thighs and thick waists before high school, Alice and her two best friends, Pamela and Elizabeth, embark on a diet and exercise program (""No ice cream, no chips, and jogging three miles with ankles weights? This was a summer?""). But the summer between eighth and ninth grades turns out to be about more than lost pounds and gained muscle tone. Alice assures her father he can trust her when he goes away for two weeks in August-all the while anticipating what it will be like to be left unsupervised with her boyfriend, Patrick. A moral dilemma brings Alice's divided loyalties to friends and family to a head, earning her a week of being grounded and her father's disappointment. The three friends take part in an eye-opening seminar for girls on grooming, nutrition, and their bodies; learning, in particular, about the what and where of female genitalia (""'It's not wrong, it's not silly, it's not sinful to want to know more about yourself,' said the nurse. 'It's sensible and healthy'""). Making sure she covers all the bases, Naylor addresses issues of body image, self-acceptance, sexuality, relationships, and family without pretense. Self-esteem-boosting nonfiction books for girls are a popular publishing trend these days; the twelve-book Alice series-while increasingly issue-driven-offers a similar message: if you're happy with who you are on the inside, you'll be happy with how you look on the outside. But hearing it from Alice, at this point an old friend, carries more weight than the advice of experts and the testimonial of strangers. k.f. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6^-9. In the "Story behind the Story" about the Alice books [BKL My 1 99], Naylor talks about how she keeps up with the contemporary teen scene. This twelfth book in the series is as relevant, candid, and touching as ever, both funny and reassuring about what it means to be "normal." It's the summer before high school. One of Alice's friends seems headed for anorexia, her older brother has a superficial girlfriend, and another friend, Pamela, is having trouble at home. When Pamela runs away and asks Alice to hide her overnight, Alice must decide if loyalty to her friend comes before being honest with her dad. Alice is a bit too wise and therapeutic (she says she wants to become a psychiatrist), but fans of the series will grab this for the poignant friendship, family, and dating stories, as well as for the facts about their bodies and insights into themselves. In a great climactic episode, the friends attend a "For Girls Only" seminar at the YMCA, where they learn about grooming and nutrition and also about male and female private parts. They gasp and giggle and cover their faces when the nurse tells them to go home and examine themselves with a hand mirror, but, of course, they do what she says. Then Alice tries to tell her father and brother about it. --Hazel Rochman
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-Alice and her friends are determined to make the summer before high school the best one of their lives. Their main goal is to make their bodies perfect. However, as the summer goes on, the girls find out they have a lot of growing to do-and most of it is internal, not external. Pamela learns how to live with her father now that her mother has left the family. Elizabeth obsesses over her weight, and Alice tries to help her friends, as well as deal with the death of her former teacher, Mrs. Plotkin, and with her sexual feelings toward her boyfriend, Patrick. Naylor has created an engaging story with strong, three-dimensional characters. The issues the girls face are common among adolescents, and as they learn from their experiences, so will readers. The author includes candid information on topics such as sex, physical development in adolescence, and eating disorders in a way that makes it completely accessible to readers. Alice is a likable protagonist; fans of the series will enjoy this latest installment and newcomers will want to go back and read about her previous adventures.-Dina Sherman, Brooklyn Children's Museum, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Alice continues to model safe, commonsensical ways of navigating the foggy shoals of adolescence, as the summer before high school brings crises, comedy, beginnings, endings, and new life skills. Actually, Alice, with a rewarding new job as a candy striper and a boyfriend who turns out to be as good a cook as he is a kisser, has it pretty good. It's those around her--older brother Lester, whose new squeeze is an imperious fashion plate, best buddies Elizabeth and Pamela, the former veering toward anorexia, the latter struggling through a stormy relationship with her father--who provide most of the angst. As usual, though, Alice provides most of the theater, and before this voyage ends she has helped teach Elizabeth how to use a tampon; learned to administer a self-examination ("Well, I said to my privates, Nice to meet you"); rides out the death of her beloved sixth-grade teacher; and hits a crest of joy when her father and junior-high English teacher Sylvia Summers finally--finally!--announce their engagement. Sailing through her 12th "Alice" with nary a sign of series fatigue, Naylor, as usual, masterfully imparts physical, social, and emotional information while bringing readers to tears and laughter. (Fiction. 11-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
From Chapter One: The Program "It's going to be one of the most exciting summers of our lives," Pamela used to tell Elizabeth and me whenever we thought about the summer between eighth and ninth grades. "All the stupid things we've ever done will be behind us, and all the wonderful stuff will be waiting to happen." But now, on the first day of vacation, as the three of us stood in our bathing suits in front of the full-length mirror in Elizabeth's bedroom, we realized that the same bodies were going into high school along with us, the same faults, the same personalities, some of the same problems we'd had before. Elizabeth, with her long dark hair and lashes, her gorgeous skin, broke the silence first. "I'm fat! " she said in dismay. "Look at me!" We looked. She was the same beautiful Elizabeth she'd always been, except that her face and arms were slightly rounder, but she was pointing to her thighs, which puffed out just a little below her suit. "Saddlebags! I have saddlebag thighs!" she cried. "My legs look like jodhpurs!" They didn't, of course, but before I could say a word, I heard murmurs on the other side of me coming from Pamela. Pamela is pretty, too, though not as drop-dead beautiful as Elizabeth. She's naturally blond, and wears her hair in a short feather-cut, like Peter Pan. It always seemed to me as though Pamela Jones had the perfect figure, but it didn't seem that way to Pamela. "I have absolutely no definition," she observed. "Huh?" I said. Were these girls nuts? "My arms and legs are like pudding! One part looks the same as the rest." "Pamela, anyone can tell your arm from your leg," I told her. "But you can't tell what's fat and what's muscle!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "People just want to look at you, Pamela. They don't want to dissect you!" Pamela, however, meant business. "Well, I certainly need to do some toning," she said. "And I want to lose this fat," said Elizabeth. "What do you want to change, Alice?" Friends, I thought. But I just took a good, long look at myself in the mirror and thought about it. I've got the same color hair as my mom had, they tell me -- strawberry blond. Mom died when I was small, and I don't remember much about her, but they say she was tall and liked to sing. I'm more on the short side, and can't even carry a tune. I'm not fat, but I'm not thin. I'm more plain than I am pretty, but I'm not ugly. Miss Average, that's me. "I don't know," I said finally. "What do you guys think I should change?" You should never ask anyone that. You're just begging for worries you never had before. "Well, if you want an honest opinion, your waist is a little thick, Alice," said Elizabeth. One thing about Elizabeth, she's loyal to a fault. You ask her to tell you something, she tells. "And your legs are too straight," said Pamela. "I mean, you don't have to be ashamed of them or anything, but your calves hardly have any curve." "Your breasts could be a little fuller," said Elizabeth. "Of course, they're bigger than mine...." "And your arms have no definition at all," Pamela finished. It's really weird, you know? Five minutes before, I had put on my bathing suit, ready to go over to Mark Stedmeister's pool with the gang, feeling really good about myself and my friends, and suddenly I was disintegrating before my very eyes! I had this new royal blue bathing suit that looked great with my hair, and now nothing looked right. "There's only one solution," said Pamela. "We've got to start an exercise program. We've got exactly two and a half months to get ourselves in shape before school begins. Because how ever you look when you start ninth grade, that's how people will think of you for the next four years." Now that was a sobering thought. I don't know where Pamela comes up with stuff like this, but she's got a cousin in New Jersey who knows all about what they think in New York, so we learn a lot from her. What we don't get from Pamela's cousin, I get from my cousin Carol in Chicago, who's two years older than Lester, my brother, and used to be married to a sailor. I'd never seen Pamela quite so gung ho as she was now. "If we get up at seven each morning for the next ten weeks...," she began. "Seven!" I wailed. "Well, eight, maybe. And we jog for three miles..." "In public?" Elizabeth gasped. We stared. One reason we like Elizabeth is that her whole world sort of spins on a different axis. "I suppose we could jog nine hundred times around your room, if you'd prefer," Pamela said dryly. "But if we spend the next ten weeks jogging every morning with ankle weights, and do push-ups, we might look reasonably good by the time we start high school. And no ice cream. No chips. No Oreos or anything like that." I looked first at Pamela and then at Elizabeth. No ice cream, no chips, and jogging three miles with ankle weights? This was a summer? Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't want anyone to see me sweat," she declared. "If you jog, you're going to sweat, Elizabeth!" Pamela told her. "You have to sweat! You're supposed to sweat! If you don't sweat, the fat will stay right there, and you'll keep those saddlebag thighs forever." I looked at Elizabeth's face and wished Pamela hadn't said that. It's one thing to talk about saddlebags yourself, but something else to hear your friends say it. Copyright © 2000 by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Excerpted from The Grooming of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.From Chapter One: The Program "It's going to be one of the most exciting summers of our lives," Pamela used to tell Elizabeth and me whenever we thought about the summer between eighth and ninth grades. "All the stupid things we've ever done will be behind us, and all the wonderful stuff will be waiting to happen." But now, on the first day of vacation, as the three of us stood in our bathing suits in front of the full-length mirror in Elizabeth's bedroom, we realized that the same bodies were going into high school along with us, the same faults, the same personalities, some of the same problems we'd had before. Elizabeth, with her long dark hair and lashes, her gorgeous skin, broke the silence first. "I'm fat! " she said in dismay. "Look at me!" We looked. She was the same beautiful Elizabeth she'd always been, except that her face and arms were slightly rounder, but she was pointing to her thighs, which puffed out just a little below her suit. "Saddlebags! I have saddlebag thighs!" she cried. "My legs look like jodhpurs!" They didn't, of course, but before I could say a word, I heard murmurs on the other side of me coming from Pamela. Pamela is pretty, too, though not as drop-dead beautiful as Elizabeth. She's naturally blond, and wears her hair in a short feather-cut, like Peter Pan. It always seemed to me as though Pamela Jones had the perfect figure, but it didn't seem that way to Pamela. "I have absolutely no definition," she observed. "Huh?" I said. Were these girls nuts? "My arms and legs are like pudding! One part looks the same as the rest." "Pamela, anyone can tell your arm from your leg," I told her. "But you can't tell what's fat and what's muscle!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "People just want to look at you, Pamela. They don't want to dissect you!" Pamela, however, meant business. "Well, I certainly need to do some toning," she said. "And I want to lose this fat," said Elizabeth. "What do you want to change, Alice?" Friends, I thought. But I just took a good, long look at myself in the mirror and thought about it. I've got the same color hair as my mom had, they tell me -- strawberry blond. Mom died when I was small, and I don't remember much about her, but they say she was tall and liked to sing. I'm more on the short side, and can't even carry a tune. I'm not fat, but I'm not thin. I'm more plain than I am pretty, but I'm not ugly. Miss Average, that's me. "I don't know," I said finally. "What do you guys think I should change?" You should never ask anyone that. You're just begging for worries you never had before. "Well, if you want an honest opinion, your waist is a little thick, Alice," said Elizabeth. One thing about Elizabeth, she's loyal to a fault. You ask her to tell you something, she tells. "And your legs are too straight," said Pamela. "I mean, you don't have to be ashamed of them or anything, but your calves hardly have any curve." "Your breasts could be a little fuller," said Elizabeth. "Of course, they're bigger than mine...." "And your arms have no definition at all," Pamela finished. It's really weird, you know? Five minutes before, I had put on my bathing suit, ready to go over to Mark Stedmeister's pool with the gang, feeling really good about myself and my friends, and suddenly I was disintegrating before my very eyes! I had this new royal blue bathing suit that looked great with my hair, and now nothing looked right. "There's only one solution," said Pamela. "We've got to start an exercise program. We've got exactly two and a half months to get ourselves in shape before school begins. Because how ever you look when you start ninth grade, that's how people will think of you for the next four years." Now that was a sobering thought. I don't know where Pamela comes up with stuff like this, but she's got a cousin in New Jersey who knows all about what they think in New York, so we learn a lot from her. What we don't get from Pamela's cousin, I get from my cousin Carol in Chicago, who's two years older than Lester, my brother, and used to be married to a sailor. I'd never seen Pamela quite so gung ho as she was now. "If we get up at seven each morning for the next ten weeks...," she began. "Seven!" I wailed. "Well, eight, maybe. And we jog for three miles..." "In public?" Elizabeth gasped. We stared. One reason we like Elizabeth is that her whole world sort of spins on a different axis. "I suppose we could jog nine hundred times around your room, if you'd prefer," Pamela said dryly. "But if we spend the next ten weeks jogging every morning with ankle weights, and do push-ups, we might look reasonably good by the time we start high school. And no ice cream. No chips. No Oreos or anything like that." I looked first at Pamela and then at Elizabeth. No ice cream, no chips, and jogging three miles with ankle weights? This was a summer? Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't want anyone to see me sweat," she declared. "If you jog, you're going to sweat, Elizabeth!" Pamela told her. "You have to sweat! You're supposed to sweat! If you don't sweat, the fat will stay right there, and you'll keep those saddlebag thighs forever." I looked at Elizabeth's face and wished Pamela hadn't said that. It's one thing to talk about saddlebags yourself, but something else to hear your friends say it. Copyright © 2000 by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Excerpted from The Grooming of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
