Born in a Foreign Country

Question:

First of all, I want to say I truly enjoy all of your Alice novels.
Through the happiness and sorrows, picking up an Alice book just
brightens my day or gives me company when I am bored.  Though I cannot
say I can relate to every situation Alice encounters in life, I can
relate to at least one in each novel.  I find myself laughing with
Alice and her friends constantly.  The series has helped guide me
through numerous high school dramas and daily life issues, making me a
more confident and outspoken person.

I finished Alice in Charge in one day.  I thought this installment
was, by far, the best out of all.  One of my favorite moments was when
Amy stood up for herself.  I was particularly shocked when coming
across the multiple episodes with Bob White and Alice’s locker.  Like
Kay, I was also born in a foreign country, but I also immigrated to
the States at a very young age.  Therefore, the events that unraveled
in the novel made me relate to both her and Daniel.  Like Kay’s
parents, I come from a conservative family, but I have assimilated to
the more liberal views after living here for over 15 years.  However,
I still feel lost once in a while, like when it comes to things like
dating and dances, much like Daniel.  Since my parents were born are
brought up in India, and I am the oldest sibling, everything is an
experimental run for me.  I hope I will be able to advise and guide my
little sister through her own high school experiences.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you very much for providing such a
realistic book series to be able to read!  I cannot wait to read the
last three novels in the series.  Though I will be quite upset when
the series ends, I will be glad to have all of Alice’s adventures and
experiences with me to guide me through my senior year of high school,
college, grad school, and the rest of my life.

Phyllis replied:

It’s wonderful to hear how different readers relate to the Alice books.  We know that even though cultures are different, people all over the world feel the same emotions–sadness and anger and jealousy and embarrassment.  Thank you so much for writing to me!