Your Questions Answered

Thanks for Creating this Community

Question:

I just finished “Now I’ll Tell You Everything” and it made me laugh and cry and I was just completely consumed with nostalgia and happiness for Alice. I’m a senior in high school now and I started reading the Alice series when I was in about 3rd grade–Alice’s patient, honest voice and your consistent writing/release of all the books was such a comfort to me when I was growing up.

Because I have read the last two books in the series when I’m 17 (close to Alice’s age!), and read every book in the series throughout the bulk of my childhood, I feel like I have grown up with Alice. I know you get that a lot but she really does mean so much to me.

One of my favorite things about the Alice series is that I live in the D.C/Maryland/Virginia area as well, and when you mentioned specific areas like Silver Spring or Fairfax or even ARLINGTON, my hometown (On page 30 of your final book when Lester is explaining that Stacy’s family lives in Arlington), I feel like I can relate to Alice even more, as if she’s my good friend or neighbor. It’s crazy to think that you went to Takoma Park for the premiere and I wasn’t able to go 🙁

Basically, thanks so much for creating this community of comfort for my childhood. Book series that have tight-knit characters in them make me feel like I’m part of an alternate reality that’s dependable and loving. I will always remember Alice and all of her crazy adventures.

Phyllis replied:
 
I’m sorry too that we missed meeting each other, but am so glad you grew up with Alice, and can identify so well with the neighborhoods where she lived.
 

I Knew Where the Books Took Place

Question:
 
I am a huge fan of the Alice Books! I started reading the series when I was in third grade. My older cousin was giving away a bunch of books and she gave me the first nine. I have read every single book at least once. I am now a senior in high school and just finished Now I’ll Tell You Everything.
 
The Alice Books have had a huge influence on my life and growing up would not have been the same without them. I could always find something to relate to in the books and sometimes when I had a problem similar to one Alice had, I would go back and read to see what Alice would have done. Something I also found neat was that I live in Maryland and knew where a lot of the books took place. I was really sad when I read the last page of Now I’ll Tell You Everything, knowing that there weren’t going to be anymore Alice adventures. But I will probably continue to go back and reread the books because I love them so much!
 
Thank you for writing such a wonderful series! These books have been an inspiration to many young girls, especially me.
 
Phyllis replied:
 
It must be fun to read books about your city, all the places you know so well.  Thanks so much for writing to me!

A Roller-Coaster of Emotions

Question:

It has taken me a great length of time to think of a worthy enough email to express just how much your series has an effect on me (and I’m one who has an impulsive reply to just about everything). I ordered the final book ahead of time on the Kindle (my, has technology taken over!); to make sure I’d have it on the day it came out, and had waited a few days upon receiving it to read it, which I have to say, surprised me, considering how big of a fan I am of yours (you, or your publisher, so kindly put my comment praising you in “I Like Him, He Likes Her”); why would I wait an additional few days when I’ve been eagerly waiting for your concluding book to come? That answer being: I took the time to really think about how much your series has affected me. I grew up reading Alice. I was privileged enough to have been introduced to the series by my sister, who is also a fan of yours, naturally. It was hard for me to face that fact that you can’t write the series forever; that there would have to be an end at some point, and that point being now. Aside from that, I could easily talk your head off with a countless amount of praises in regards to your series, and your last book that I happened to finish this morning, especially, but I’m sure it’s nothing new to you. I want you to know that I admire you more than I can express in mere words. I have never been able to claim feeling a roller-coaster of emotions like I do when I read your books. That right there means something to me, and so many of your other fans. That you are able to make your readers feel such feelings that they may not even know they had, for characters that are (technically) fictional, but felt so real, as if they’re your own family. I’m getting emotional even typing this to you, but just know that you will always hold a special place in my heart for coming up with such a series that you did. I’m not privileged enough to know you in real life, but I feel close to you when I pick up a book of yours, and for that, I consider myself fortunate. Anyone in your life should know how blessed they are to know you.
 
Phyllis replied:
 
It is very humbling to know that readers feel the same emotions I felt as I wrote the Alice series.  Probably every question I ever wanted to ask someone when I was growing up, and every emotion I felt, I used somehow in the Alice books.  That they resonate so well with other people is truly gratifying.

Hard to Let Go

Question:

I remember when I first picked up an Alice book. I was ten years old and wandering through the library when I came across a book that looked interesting. I checked out a few of the books, brought them home, and quickly became engrossed in the series. To my surprise, my older sister had read some of the books when she was my age so it gave us something to bond over. Now, as a junior in high school, I have grown to appreciate the series as a symbol of my own growth as a person. Alice and I grew up together and the series will always be a part of my childhood.

I read the final book today, and I’ll admit, I cried. It’s difficult for me to let go of the characters that I’ve grown to love for years and years. But it was wonderful to see Alice mature into an admirable woman. I enjoyed seeing her interact with her own children. At the same time though, I felt like their wasn’t enough book to cover her life. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been spoiled with books covering shorter periods in her life, but I missed the slower pace. Did you ever consider writing separate books to cover each year in college? I think that it would have been great to delve into her college life with more detail. But still, Now I’ll Tell You Everything was an amazing book and I especially loved the last chapter. You brought us right back to the start and I love it when authors do that. I would like to thank you for bringing Alice into my life. She’s such a core part of the past six years that I cannot imagine a life without your books. Thank you for putting your pen to paper and thank you for creating her all those years ago. It’s been a wonderful ride and I know I will be giving these books to my own daughter one day.

Phyllis replied:
 
I know that the last book covers a lot of ground, but I felt it was time to end the series.  If I had written a book for each year of her college, I’d probably get letters from young mothers asking why I didn’t spend a whole book writing about  Alice as a young mother, or career women, wanting a whole book just about her career, and I felt it best to let the final book show the highlights of her adult life.

The Girl Who Wasn’t Afraid to Talk about Anything

Question:

I very rarely write to authors of my favorite books, prefering to admire their creativity from afar. But after finishing Now I’ll Tell You Everything, I needed to send a thank you note, even if it never gets read. Thank you so much for Alice. When I started reading, I was an crazy lil nine year old, who was always torn between making and performing crazy skits and curling up in the public library and reading for hours. I’m now almost eighteen, busy applying to college. Alice was always my role model, the girl who wasn’t afraid to talk about anything, and who said what I was always thinking. I loved growing up alongside her, and every Yom Kippur (when no technology was allowed), I would revisit my anthologies of Alice and read the afternoon away. Now that i’m almost grown, watching Alice make her way through life gave me comfort (in a strange way), and reassured me that life will work out. Thank you for creating such a vibrant, passionate and unique character. She is a role model for teenage girls everywhere.
Thank you so much

Phyllis replied:

Perhaps the Alice series was my way of bringing up subjects that no one talked about when I was growing up.  I loved knowing that Alice said what you were thinking.  Thanks so much for your email.

The Reassuring Message

Question:

I am turning 21 in a couple of months, but started reading the Alice series when I was eleven and had just moved to Silver Spring from another state. I was feeling lonely and awkward because I didn’t know anyone and was about to start middle school, but the Alice series helped me realize that I wasn’t alone in feeling a little confused and lost. When I got older, I stopped reading the series, but I will definitely read the last one–I have to know what happens to all of those characters I loved and who got me through some rough times.

The stories you told, stories that were at times hilarious, touching, and embarrassing, made the Alice series one of my favorites. The stories that meant the most to me were the ones that I couldn’t really find in other places, like the stories about abuse, homosexuality, and anorexia. I think most of all, what was so great about this series was the reassuring message that in spite of it all, I would be okay.

Thank you for some wonderful books, and for caring so much about all of us young women who really needed some empathy and understanding.

Phyllis replied:
 
I’m glad the books were so helpful to you.   Happy reading!

The Perfect Ending

Question:

24 years old, graduated from college with an English degree, working in a library, and married for a year, I feel as if I officially became an adult today when I finished Now I’ll Tell You Everything. I read and read for as long as I could last night, until 4am, after getting a late start. I had to keep reading until I was sure Alice married Patrick. Then I went to sleep content, but still woke up early today, eager to see what else was in store for Alice.

I read The Agony of Alice in my 6th grade reading class. I was 11 years old, and my teacher was both my Miss Cole and my Mrs. Plotkin. Beautiful and exciting, but also kind and smart. Alice became my best friend immediately. We wrote diaries in class, pretending to be Alice. An entry for every chapter and I still have mine on a shelf in my old bedroom. My teacher and I grew close and she gave me dozens of books to read throughout the years, always racing to see who could finish the new Alice book first. She became my godmother and both Alice McKinley and Anne of Green Gables are our favorite characters.

Sure, I grew up with Harry Potter too, and I was quite sad when that ended. And I even liked the Twilight series (though I was pretty much the ONLY English major in college who did) But there’s something really special about Alice. She’s just like me. There’s no magic, no paranormal romance, she’s just an average girl who is so easy to relate to. Have you noticed that there just aren’t that many books like that anymore? I have waited for, and dreaded, the final book for 13 years now. It was very difficult for me to read the last chapter. I am far too sentimental. As soon as I read the chapter title, I began to cry and had to keep wiping my eyes as I finished the book. The tears only became stronger when Alice’s dad passed away. But the way the book ended…with Alice sitting down to write her very own books…it was just perfect! I came downstairs crying and both my husband and my mother hugged me and said they were so sorry it had a sad ending. I had to explain that it had the perfect ending! I was just feeling so bittersweet!

(I did notice one continuity blooper, I think. Uncle Milt and Aunt Sally couldn’t attend Lester’s wedding because Milt wasn’t feeling well. But for Christmas, the books says Alice gave Sally a framed picture of Sally, Milt, and Carol taken at Les’s wedding. I’m sure I’m not the first one to point it out, but just in case!)

Ever since I was young, I have checked your website frequently in hopes that you would do a book signing around Houston, Tx. I still hold out hope that you will someday. I’m not much of a talker in real life, only on paper, but I would so love to meet you, shake your hand, and maybe snap a picture with my favorite author someday. I can’t tell you what a joy and comfort Alice has been to me all these years. I know I’m well past the 7th grade like Alice’s class when they made the time capsule, but I’ve decided to sit and write myself a letter, to be opened when I’m 60, and tuck it in my copy of Now I’ll Tell You Everything for safekeeping. Alice will still be my old pal then, I am sure of it.

Thank you so much. From the bottom of my heart.

Phyllis replied:
 
I can tell that the Alice books have meant a great deal to you, and this makes them all worthwhile to me.

I’m just delighted that you felt the last book had the perfect ending, and am so grateful you shared this with me.  No, not a single person caught that blooper so far, and not only I, but my editor and copy-editor didn’t catch it either!

Happy but not Idealistic

Question:

I just finished reading Now I’ll Tell You Everything, and I cried for about an hour, starting towards the end of the book (a mixture of sad and happy tears). I wanted to send you an e-mail to thank you for the Alice series. I starting reading the books when I was about 11, and I am now 23 and feel like I have grown up with Alice. The series and the characters are so real and dear in my heart that I feel like Alice, Elizabeth, Pamela, Gwen, Patrick, ect. are my old friends. Especially as a middle schooler, I learned so much about growing up from Alice’s experiences, and from her discussions with Lester and her father. My love for the characters has keeps me motivated to stay up-to-date with the new books throughout all of these years, even in recent years when I felt that I had mostly outgrown them. That is why Now I’ll Tell You Everything was the perfect conclusion to this series— it allowed all of your long-time fans to glimpse so far into the future of all of these characters that we love, and it was beautiful. It was great to witness Alice go through college and her early 20s, which was all very relatable to me, and then to read on as she aged way past me. It was actually a truly surreal reading experience, to have her age so rapidly over the course of one book, which I read in two days. Reading about her later years was fascinating and I absolutely adored the descriptions of her family life—I can only hope to have something similar in my future. I love that her marriage was happy but not idealistic. I am sure that as I get older, I will be able to look back at this book and relate more strongly to these later life passages than I can at this point, just as I related so strongly to the earlier books when I was in middle school and high school. I truly believe that your series is a great thing for any young woman to read. I still have several of the books, and I definitely plan to keep them in the hopes that I can share the series with my daughter(s) in the future (if I end up having a daughter). Thank you again, for all of the time that you have dedicated towards these wonderful characters and stories! I know that they will stay in my heart.

On a side note, I noticed from your website that you were in my area on your book tour a few days ago and I wanted so badly to come and meet you, but unfortunately I am very busy with grad school at the moment and had clinicals that evening! I hope to have another opportunity in the future.

Phyllis replied:

I’m sorry that we missed each other.  Thanks so much for your email.  I think it’s quite probable that as you go through some of the events that Alice experienced, you may want to touch base with her again, just to compare.  That’s what old friends do.

Great Things Must Come to an End

Question:
 
I was just writing to tell you how much I have enjoyed reading the Alice series growing up over the years. I just finished Now I’ll Tell You Everything moments ago and I had to write to you to not only congratulate you on your final book but also to thank you for writing them. They helped me so much growing up and I always anxiously awaited for the newest books to come out. I’m very pleased with the final book on how you concluded the series. You couldn’t have ended it better than the way you did! And I’m not going to lie when I say that as much as I laughed out loud to the book I also cried like a baby when it came down to the final chapter. But like they say all great things must come to an end. I know you’re probably very busy with your tour right now which I wish I could come to and meet you but I’m afraid I’m just to far away. So with that I’ll say this you are and will always be my favorite author because of your style and for this series that has touched more people than I can imagine. Thank you again for writing these books and making them so alive that I sometimes forget that the characters aren’t real. Good luck with whatever you have planned next, take care, and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my email! And just one more thing, I hope to one day be able to purchase all 28 books in one big bundle. If that ever becomes available please let me know!

Phyllis replied:
 
My editor says that the publisher is considering a way to offer all the Alice books in one big bundle, as you say.  I try to forward comments like these to the editor, but it might help if the publisher heard from fans, all asking for a way to purchase the 28 books without having to place separate orders for them.  I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but send them to “Caitlyn Dlouhy, Atheneum, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

Dreams Do Come True

Question:

You probably don’t remember me but I wrote to you about 5 years ago when my crohns disease was flaring badly and you where ever so kind to me and wrote back to me so first of all I’d like to say thank you for that! Your letters where a real treasure to me when I was in a bad place. I remember writing how I was sad and worried that my illness would prevent me from doing all the things I wanted to do.

Well I got my miracle ‘cure’ shortly after my emails to you. I now am a normal, healthy person 95% of the time on the basis that I go into hospital and have an infusion of drugs every 6 weeks. As for worrying about not being able to do the normal things a teenager would do – I like to think that I do all that and then some! I am writing this email from my dorm room and am currently studying for a degree in law, I’ve been in a relationship for 3 years and engaged for 4 months and I’m a member of the equestrian club at the Uni. I am also saving to hopefully go travelling next year. Dreams do come true! 🙂

The new Alice book came to me on Tuesday – which happened to be my 20th birthday and I think it may be one of the best presents I’ve ever had. I finished it today and I’m so happy with how Alice turned out! Although it is quite strange as usually when I’m reading through the books Alice and I are of similar age and with this one she has sped on decades ahead. Some of the stuff I’m still trying to sink in – Lester – who fainted when Alice had her ears pierced now has triplets?! and Alice is a mum of two?! A grandmother at that! Crazy.

I think the Alice books have had more of an impact on me that I had initially thought – it was only reading the last book that I realized it was because of the Alice books that when I go to hospital I think about how maternity wards are the only happy wards on the hospital, and I think that when I got engaged and the ring got stuck I remembered how if you can get it in (or on, as the case may be) then you can get it off. When it came to looking at University’s last year I thought about Alice turning up to the wrong campus.

I know that they are fictional characters but I found myself wondering earlier – what happened to Molly? Or Amy Sheldon?

Phyllis replied:
 
I hope you don’t mind that I published your very personal letter (you didn’t ask me not to), though I omitted your name and where you live.  But I think you will be an inspiration to people suffering from a major or chronic illness, who worry that they may never live a normal life.  I’m so happy to hear that you’ve adapted to whatever it takes to keep you active, and that you have so many good things going for you.  Yes, I do remember your letter, and I’m delighted that you took the time to tell me about your life.  As for Molly?  Complete remission of her leukemia.  Amy Sheldon?  Doing well…stayed on the newspaper staff after Alice graduated, and later got a job she enjoys in the mail room of a large corporation.  Best of luck to you!