An Alice Fan Club

Question:

Thank you so much for Alice. I just finished reading Now I’ll Tell You Everything and I’m so emotional right now. My mom borrowed one of the earliest Alice books for me when I was 10 and after reading that, I went straight out and borrowed all the rest of the books that were published at that time. Since then (I’m 20 years old now!), my little sister and I have been eagerly awaiting the publication of a new Alice book each year. We even started Alice fan clubs in our schools and as soon as Now I’ll Tell You Everything was announced, I texted the band of girls in the fan club and we squealed and sighed over it.

It’s definitely bittersweet to let Alice go – but I know I’m gonna start again from Starting With Alice (which hadn’t been published when I started becoming obsessed with the series and made me a bit purist at the age of 12, rejecting the idea of a prequel! Haha!) and read the entire series again! I read most of it in anticipation of the last book, and it’s incredible to see how much I’ve changed! I used to always side with Alice but reading the first few books, I realize I’m agreeing more with Lester which I guess is a sign that I’m maturing?! It’s so cool that I can track my growth through their difference in viewpoints!

I wrote to you a lot from the time I was 11 till the year I turned 14 and I’m SO grateful for all the times you replied. You were the voice of reason, and almost like another maternal figure to me and for that, I thank you. You helped me through a lot of that period, not just through the Alice books but the advice you personally gave me. I felt so special and starstruck every time you replied. You are an incredible person.

Thank you for the gift of Alice and for the gift of love you have for your readers. I really appreciate it, and I’m sure all your other readers do too.

I do have one question from the last book, if that’s okay. What happened to Mark’s time capsule letter?

Phyllis replied:

You sharp-eyed readers caught things that I should have discovered.  I hadn’t really thought about what would happen to the letter Mark had put in the time capsule, but I’m sure Alice and her friends saw to it that it was delivered to his parents, painful as that might be.  It was also something they would treasure.

Thank you so much for your email.  I loved reading about your early Alice fan mail club, and that your little sister was a fan too!