Alice (novel series)

The Alice Series is a book series written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. There are three prequels to this series. The first one, Starting with Alice, describes Alice in third grade. Alice in Blunderland is Alice in fourth grade. The final prequel, Lovingly Alice, follows Alice through the troubles of fifth grade. The first book (after the prequels) is The Agony of Alice.

The Alice series follows the main character, Alice McKinley, known as "Al" to her father and older brother as she grows up in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her mother died of leukemia when Alice was five. Alice has a hard time at first growing up in an all-male household, but her father and her brother, Lester, prove to be honest and open about almost everything Alice talks about. Alice has very little memory of her mother, often confusing her with her aunt, and seems to bear a striking physical resemblance to her, especially her strawberry-blond hair. Other characters include Alice's two best friends, Pamela and Elizabeth, her first serious boyfriend, Patrick, her next boyfriend, Sam, her prudish Aunt Sally (who frequently provides a little comic relief), Lester's many girlfriends, and of course her seventh grade Language Arts teacher, Miss Summers, whom she tries to get her father to marry (with eventual success). The Alice series broaches many topics, including relationships, dating, sex, friendship, life problems, families, God, and understanding. Because of its open and honest portrayal of life, the books have made the ALA (American Library Association) list of most challenged books for several years, making it number one on the list in 2004 for their sexual content.

Alice Movie

A movie version Alice Upside Down has completed production in Saint Louis, MO and is now in the final stages, however no official date has been released. The movie is about Alice starting the sixth grade.

Alyson Stoner as Alice McKinley
Lucas Grabeel as Lester McKinley
Luke Perry as Ben McKinley
Penny Marshall as Mrs. Plotkin
Ashley Drane as Ms. Cole
Boris Kodjoe as Mr. Edgecomb
Parker McKenna Posey as Elizabeth
Bridgit Mendler as Pamela
Dylan McLaughlin as Patrick
Ann Dowd as Aunt Sally

The Alice Prequels

Starting With Alice - 3rd Grade
Alice in Blunderland - 4th Grade (Alice feels as though she can't escape her embarrassment.)
Lovingly Alice - 5th Grade

The Alice series

The Agony of Alice - 6th Grade (Alice moves to Silver Spring and struggles to make friends in her new school.)
Alice in Rapture, Sort of - Summer before 7th Grade (Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth all get boyfriends.)
Reluctantly Alice - Fall of 7th Grade {Alice deals with a bully, Denise Whitlock.}
All but Alice - Winter of 7th Grade
Alice in April - Spring of 7th Grade {Alice tries to become Woman of the House, like Aunt Sally says she is becoming.}
Alice In-Between - End of 7th Grade (Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth get to take a trip to see Aunt Sally.)
Alice the Brave - Summer before 8th Grade (Alice is afraid her friends will notice her fear or deep water.)
Alice in Lace - Beginning of 8th Grade (Alice and Patrick pretend to be married as part of a school project.)
Outrageously Alice - Fall of 8th Grade (Alice is tired of the monotony of life.)
Achingly Alice - Winter of 8th Grade
Alice on the Outside - Spring of 8th Grade (Alice explores the idea of prejudice.)
The Grooming of Alice - Summer before 9th Grade{Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth try to make themselves beautiful for ninth grade}
Alice Alone - First semester of 9th Grade (Alice struggles with the idea of being single.)
Simply Alice - Second semester of 9th Grade {Pamela and Elizabeth feel left out in Alice's life because Alice is always busy with high school stuff}
Patiently Alice - Summer before 10th Grade (Alice, Pamela, Elizabeth, and Gwen volunteer to be counselors together at a camp for troubled kids.)
Including Alice - First semester of 10th Grade (Alice contemplates the value of social customs.)
Alice on Her Way - Second semester of 10th Grade (Alice struggles to get a driver's license.)
Alice in the Know - Summer before 11th Grade (Alice gets a part-time job at the mall.)
Dangerously Alice - First semester of 11th Grade
Almost Alice - Presumably second semester of 11th Grade (Announced by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor in fan mail.)

--

Characters

Alice Kathleen McKinley is the protagonist and narrator of the series. She is an intelligent and open-minded girl. Her mother died of leukemia when Alice was in kindergarten. Alice often feels as though she doesn't know how to "be a woman" because of this; however, she manages to get along fine.

Benjamin McKinley is Alice's father, and usually the perfect person for Alice to turn to for advice. At the beginning of the series he was portrayed as a "shy" kind of person, the kind of dad who was too scared to say the word "bra". Later on the author decides to take a more practical approach to his personality.

Lester McKinley is Alice's brother. There is a nine-year age difference but Alice feels very close to him. Even so, Lester is often too busy to deal with Alice and shies away from most of her questions, or answers them sarcastically. Les is also quite the "ladies man", but he has trouble with commitment. He juggled two girlfriends for the first half of the series.

Elizabeth Price is a devout Catholic with very strong views on how the world should be run. This got her a reputation as a school prude. She loosened up as she got older, though. Eventually, it is revealed that Elizabeth's strictness and shyness about sex was a result of her being molested at a young age by a friend of her parents'. She is one of Alice's three best friends.

Sylvia Summers begins as Alice's 7th grade language arts teacher whom Alice adores. Alice wants to get her dad and Sylvia to go out, so during Christmas time, she gives up her ticket to a Christmas sing-along to Sylvia so Sylvia and her father can get to know each other. Later in the series, Ben and Sylvia get married and Sylvia becomes the step-mother Alice has been wishing for.

External Links

This article about a children's book is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.