Your Questions Answered

It’s Not Fair

I’m Scared to Tell Them

Question:

 

 

i need ur advice on something…well i have a facebook…but my
parents dont know about it (they would kill me if they new) and i am
safe on the internet and stuff…but they still probably wouldnt
understand. i really want to tell them! but im scared if i
do…they’ll make me delete the account..or something! im also scared
if i dont tell them they’ll find out another way, and i’ll be in worse
trouble. but yet i love facebook it has helped me connect with tons of
my friends:)
thanks so much for ur advice.

 

Phyllis replied:

 

Is there anything on your Facebook account that you wouldn’t want them to see?  Something embarrassing or obscene or catty or mean?  If not, why not let them see your account and the responses you get from your friends?  Tell them, and show them, how much it means to you, what you get out of it, and apologize for keeping it secret.  Tell them you value a good relationship with them and want to know you can let them in on  your life. Then  hope for the best.  They may be grateful you shared this with them.  If I was your parent, I would be.

Home-Schooled All My Life

Question:

I’m a big fan of your books~~my favorite character doesn’t exist because I genuinely like them all, and each book teaches me something that I didn’t know before.
Anyways, what I actually want to ask you about is something not related to Alice. See, I’ve been home-schooled all my life and have never really had any friends. And it’s not that I’m anti-social~~I handle myself fine when people talk to me~~it’s just that I’m not what I think is normal social either. I sometimes use a sweeter, or as my brothers call it, more “fake” voice when I talk to other people, and I’m constantly wondering~~if not during the conversation then after it~~if they thought what I said was dorky or stupid or not as witty as I thought it was.
I get lost in big groups… like the other day, I went for a barbeque with my youth group, and I’ve only been a part of it for a couple of months now while everybody else already knows everybody: I didn’t talk to anyone except the one girl I know, and even though she’s nice and everything I couldn’t help feeling bad for myself at the end of the day because she’s not exactly the cool girl of the group either, and so while everybody was kind of hanging out and being social, I was kind of Velcroing myself to her side even though I really wanted to make more friends. I know that it makes me pathetic, not appreciating the company of the one person that hung out with me, but I don’t know….
 I don’t know what to say when people talk to me or how to form a conversation, and I don’t have any friends…I mean, it’s not like I don’t reply when someone’s speaking to me, but afterward I’m always positive that I could have said something a thousand times smarter or more intelligent. Once before I’ve actually gotten quite anxious thinking about such a situation. 
 Of course there are girls I know at church who I’ll talk with, but we’re not like real friends because we only ever see each other at church, and I don’t know how to talk and get to know them well enough to become friends outside of church either. I feel awkward around people… well, not even that, I just feel very awkward that when I’m around people I have no clue what to say. Half of the time when I do speak I’m not audible and people have to ask me to repeat myself…
 I’m going to school this fall and I don’t want to fail miserably at socializing like I did this summer when I went to summer school. People often describe me as quiet or speak for me, e.g. “she meant this”, and I just don’t want to be known as this person when I start real school.
 Any advice would be welcome.

Phyllis replied:

 

One of the advantages of going to school outside the home is that you’re mixing with a lot of people all the time, whether you know them, or like them, or not.  And because you have a lot of interaction with them, sometimes you say silly things, sometimes you say thoughtless things, sometimes you’re funny or clever, but because you have so many chances to say anything at all, the good ones can easily cancel out the silly ones, and you don’t have to worry for a week, before you see that person again, that you may have offended somebody.  You need to take this attitude when you start school:  if you listen carefully to the comments of other kids, you’ll see that they don’t always give intelligent or clever answers either.  A lot of conversation is just “filling the gaps.”  It doesn’t matter.  If you acted shy one day or in one class, so what?  You’ll have many, many chances to demonstrate another part of yourself.  Join any club you possibly can that is centered around something you enjoy.  Doing a project or an activity with others who share your interests is the very best, and easiest, way to make friends.

Didn’t Give a Reason Why

Question:

 

Please help my boyfriend broke up with me and didn’t give me a reason why. He won’t answer my calls, texts, or emails and when I tried going over to talk to him his mom told me he don’t want to see me. We recently went on a trip for my bday with his mom and when we got back he wasn’t the same and then broke up with me 3 days after tellin my family he was going to marry me in december when he was done with college. He won’t even talk to my mom and I talked to one of his friends and was told his mom don’t like me or want us together but she don’t even know me I only met her 4 times out of the 2 1/2 years me and him dated. Im really confused and don’t know what to do please help.

 

 

Phyllis replied:

 

I don’t know why he broke up with you either.  I don’t know what happened, if anything, the day you went out with him and his mom.  What I do know is that it doesn’t help, and probably makes things worse, for you to keep calling and texting and trying to see him.  Perhaps he felt he ought to do something for your birthday, but as soon as it was over, he grew distant, knowing that the break-up was coming.  It’s very sad, that’s certain, and especially when you don’t really know why.  It does sound to me like this relationship is definitely over, but perhaps if you keep your distance and don’t try contacting him in any way, you’ll eventually find out, possibly even from him, what it was all about.  I’m really sorry.

More Alice Movies

Question:

 

 

The Alice books are great. I read ”Starting With Alice”, ”The Agony of Alice”, and ”Alice Alone”. I think they are great! But I always wonder how Lester looks like. I only know he has brown hair. 
  I think there should be more Alice movies. It would be great if there were. 
Keep writing Mrs.Naylor, your books rock! 
 

Phyllis replied:

 

I guess there’s been only one book jacket that suggested how Lester might lo0k–that was the original hardcover edition of “Agony of Alice.”   I’m so glad you’re enjoying the books.  You have a lot more to read.  Try “Alice in Blunderland” and “Lovingly Alice” next.  I don’t know if there will be any more Alice movies or not.

I Passed My Driver’s Test!

Question:

 

I’m 18 years old, I am a huge fan of your books! They helped me a lot through middle school and high school. 

I Still Get Angry at Penny

Question:

I am 23 years old and married, and I have been reading the Alice books since i was 12 years old. I love them!!! I don’t plan on stopping until the end. And i am so happy that Patrick and Alice are back together. When I reed about Penny… I still get angry at her for what she did. i would like to see Lester finaly married. I no he was close once and that he has had a few serious ones.
I love your books. I have read a few others but the Alice series is my favorite. I even saw the Alice movie that case out. I have also read the 2 or 3 that u went back and wrote when Alice was younger and before she lived in silver spings.

Thanks for keeping my childhood alive and for getting me reading all these years.

Phyllis replied:

 

I just love hearing from adults who have grown up with Alice and still keep reading about her.  You must know Alice almost as well as I do by now!

How Much Does it Cost to Publish a Book?

Reluctantly Alice

Phyllis replied:

I’m hoping that someone out there, possibly a bookseller, can find a copy for you.   Have you tried calling used-book stores, or asking one to try to find a copy?

What are her Plans Concerning College?

Question:

I am a rising freshman at the University of Maryland (Go Terps!). I have always been a book reader, and I started reading your Alice books in the fourth grade. Since then, I have bought every book on the day it has come out, and have devoured every one. I’ve grown up with Alice. When my family moved from Massachusetts to big, scary, Maryland in the sixth grade, the only thing that could console me was the fact that Alice lived in Silver Spring. If she was happy in Maryland, that meant that I could be too.
Now, I know you said that you had the last book written, and I may have no place asking this, but I was wondering what your plans for Alice were concerning college? It would be a GREAT pleasure to see her admitted to Maryland. But, it would make it seem like Alice and I were full circle together.
Now, like I said, Alice is your creation, and I would feel horrible suggesting something that you were not comfortable with.
Thank you for your consideration!

Phyllis replied:

 

Big, scary Maryland?  Wow!  But I felt the same way when we moved from Indiana to Illinois when I was entering seventh grade.  The decision about what Alice does after high school graduation has already been decided, but like most things in her future, I’ll keep it secret.