Including Alice

Rating:
Summary: Nice Alice addition
Review: Alice McKinely, who I've grown to love from book one just like a gal pal, is going through various changes. Some, she thinks, are for the best. Others, she believes, are for the worst. She also sees that these changes she's anticipated, the good ones - like Dad and Sylvia's wedding - also have their downside.

But how can Lester's moving out be anything positive? He wants his own apartment and has no reason not to leave home - Alice's begging for him to stay evidently won't suffice here - he's a grown man and it's time for him to stop mooching off Mr. McKinely. Alice can't imagine home without Lester in it. And as I've read the series, growing fonder and fonder with each book, I've gotten to know and love Lester's endearing quirks. His non-morning personality. His ways of teasing his baby sister. His "Ye gads!!!"

Alice can imagine the beautiful Sylvia Summers as her mama, despite the fact that she might not call her such. After all, she has been motherless since the age of 5. But Sylvia's arrival in the McKinely household is proving harder than it once seemed. Alice is no longer the only woman in the house - now Mr. McKinely pays more attention to his new bride than his own daughter. Having Sylvia in the house makes Alice feel the urge to be super-careful about petty things. It also makes her often feel oh-so awkward. Could Sylvia's moving in be a mistake?

On a different note, will things between Patrick and Alice heat up again, being he's through with Penny? They were acting awfully cozy at the wedding reception. Or will they remain mere friends? Either way, it's been clarified that Alice is no longer hurting over Patrick's dumping her. Or is she? Could it be why she's acting so cruelly to Penny, as revenge for the rather bitter breakup? She's the only lunch table member who didn't get a wedding invite, that's for sure.

Naylor's umpteenth venture into Alice's realistic world of friends, family, and hardships will have you drawn in till the end, just like all the other books in the series, though it has quite a bit less luster. Still, putting that aside, it is rather enjoyable. Perhaps if I didn't have the previous series efforts to compare it to, it wouldn't seem as bland.

Am I getting too old for Alice? Absolutely.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Alice addition
Review: Alice McKinely, who I've grown to love from book one just like a gal pal, is going through various changes. Some, she thinks, are for the best. Others, she believes, are for the worst. She also sees that these changes she's anticipated, the good ones - like Dad and Sylvia's wedding - also have their downside.

But how can Lester's moving out be anything positive? He wants his own apartment and has no reason not to leave home - Alice's begging for him to stay evidently won't suffice here - he's a grown man and it's time for him to stop mooching off Mr. McKinely. Alice can't imagine home without Lester in it. And as I've read the series, growing fonder and fonder with each book, I've gotten to know and love Lester's endearing quirks. His non-morning personality. His ways of teasing his baby sister. His "Ye gads!!!"

Alice can imagine the beautiful Sylvia Summers as her mama, despite the fact that she might not call her such. After all, she has been motherless since the age of 5. But Sylvia's arrival in the McKinely household is proving harder than it once seemed. Alice is no longer the only woman in the house - now Mr. McKinely pays more attention to his new bride than his own daughter. Having Sylvia in the house makes Alice feel the urge to be super-careful about petty things. It also makes her often feel oh-so awkward. Could Sylvia's moving in be a mistake?

On a different note, will things between Patrick and Alice heat up again, being he's through with Penny? They were acting awfully cozy at the wedding reception. Or will they remain mere friends? Either way, it's been clarified that Alice is no longer hurting over Patrick's dumping her. Or is she? Could it be why she's acting so cruelly to Penny, as revenge for the rather bitter breakup? She's the only lunch table member who didn't get a wedding invite, that's for sure.

Naylor's umpteenth venture into Alice's realistic world of friends, family, and hardships will have you drawn in till the end, just like all the other books in the series, though it has quite a bit less luster. Still, putting that aside, it is rather enjoyable. Perhaps if I didn't have the previous series efforts to compare it to, it wouldn't seem as bland.

Am I getting too old for Alice? Absolutely.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasing Prediction
Review: Before I got the book, I already knew that this book would
be as excellent as the other alice series. I have been reading alice series since 7th grade, and boy I loved it. I already know that alice's adventures would be getting better and better since Ms. Naylor always write something to please the audience and my advice to you is to buy the book now because the book is worth every penny when you read it.
(Caution: Once you started reading the book you can't stop!)
-hehe... Naylorfan 4ever- ellie
Patrick+Alice they rock! (well.. most of the series)

Rating:
Summary: Really Excited/A Little Dissapointed
Review: I'm a HUGE Alice fan, and when this book came out- I was really excited! But when I read it... I was only a little dissapointed. Nothing REALLY REALLY exciting happened, besides Alice's father getting married. But I'm always going to love the Alice series no matter how bad they are (but this one wasn't bad.) But I do warn you, if you haven't read any of these books before, I suggest you read a different one from the series, to get a taste of what her really good work is, because as much as this book is good, it's not one of the best.

Rating:
Summary: Another great addition to the series!
Review: I've been a dedicated fan of the Alice series for over four years now, and I'm finally older than Alice - but I know I'll always love reading about her. Including Alice is a great addition to the series, and probably the most-eagerly-awaited of them all, because guess what? Alice's dad is getting married!

The "wedding chapters" were so much fun to read, especially while listening to the free CD of classical wedding music that's included with the book. Obviously, there are a lot of changes for 15-year-old Alice, including getting used to having a stepmom, Lester living in an apartment of his own, and new developments in her relationships with friends.

I really enjoyed this book, because it included many familiar characters, realistic and humorous situations, and was very easy to relate to. Alice is definitely growing up, and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is the best at making this series work!

Rating:
Summary: Not a disappointment
Review: I've been a faithful Alice fan for years, and have read most of the books several times. I was, however, a touch disappointed with the last book, "Patiently Alice." I was a little worried when I began "Including Alice," fearing it would also disappoint. No worries-it doesn't. "Including Alice" seems right back in the groove of the familiar Alice books. A little more sex talk than there used to be (but not nearly as bad as in "Patiently Alice"), but it redeems itself with some of the tradmark humor between Alice and Lester. If you were disappointed by "Patiently Alice," have no fear about this one-it's good. We finally get to experience the wedding of a lifetime, and the free CD is an added bonus. I would highly recommend this installment, along with the rest of the series.

Rating:
Summary: Keeps getting better.
Review: I've been reading the Alice series since 4th grade. Now, going into my third year of college, I'm as big a fan as I ever was. I've grown up with these books. Alice is such a great character. She - along her friends, family, and experiences - is so believable, so real, that I feel like she really exists somewhere (perhaps inside Naylor, I suspect).

Including Alice continues the story of Alice McKinley. Now she is preparing for the wedding of her father to Sylvia Summers. The book follows her through the wedding, and the adjustments she has to make afterwards - like living in a female-dominated household after so many years of living with her dad and Lester. The other storylines in the book piece it together and make for added entertainment and laughs. But I don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave it at that.

In my eyes, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is one of the best writers of young adult fiction, and I will continue to read the Alice series until their end. At that point I will just pass them on to the next generation of young girls in my family, and then the next... and the next...

You get the picture.

Now just read the books already. :)

Rating:
Summary: Keeps getting better.
Review: I've been reading the Alice series since 4th grade. Now, going into my third year of college, I'm as big a fan as I ever was. I've grown up with these books. Alice is such a great character. She - along her friends, family, and experiences - is so believable, so real, that I feel like she really exists somewhere (perhaps inside Naylor, I suspect).

Including Alice continues the story of Alice McKinley. Now she is preparing for the wedding of her father to Sylvia Summers. The book follows her through the wedding, and the adjustments she has to make afterwards - like living in a female-dominated household after so many years of living with her dad and Lester. The other storylines in the book piece it together and make for added entertainment and laughs. But I don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave it at that.

In my eyes, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is one of the best writers of young adult fiction, and I will continue to read the Alice series until their end. At that point I will just pass them on to the next generation of young girls in my family, and then the next... and the next...

You get the picture.

Now just read the books already. :)

Rating:
Summary: AAHHH!
Review: This book is AWSOME!!! I love the music in the back, I've waited for this sooo long!!!!!!