Getting Older Than Alice

Question:

Thank you so much for your Alice series. I’ve written a few times–this is the first time in a while–and wanted to share a few thoughts about this upcoming Alice book. I’ve been reading the series for a really long time and have always looked up to Alice as a role model and friend. Being younger than her throughout the series (except when I reread them!), it was fun to compare what she was doing to my current situation. Anyway, this upcoming book will be the last one where Alice is older than me. I’m just finishing up Junior year, and by the time the subsequent book comes out, I will be graduating high school while Alice will be in the winter of her senior year! Although I know I will still love reading about Alice’s life, it will be strange going through things without Alice’s leadership. Even though she is a fictional character, it is always helpful to know that someone has been through what I’m going through and has excelled. Thanks, as always, for your books. They’ve been a staple in my childhood :).

Phyllis replied:

It’s hard, I know, when suddenly you are older than the person who has always been older than you! As readers have discovered, three years of Alice’s life equal only one of yours. In Alice in Charge, the book coming out this June, she is starting her senior year of high school–from September through December. In the book I’m writing now, Incredibly Alice, it takes her from January through early June, and she graduates from high school. It was good to hear that you have learned a lot from Alice, but I’ve learned a lot from my readers, and you’ve helped me write the series.

Posted on: April 1, 2010