How do you know about teens?

Question:

Mrs. Naylor I wanted to give my condolences.I  am deeply sorry for the loss of your husband. Well on to a better note I absolutely  LOVE the Alice series I think it is a perfect reflection on teenage girls lives. I’m a sophomore in high school and I have been reading the Alice books since 4th grade starting with the prequels. Its interesting to think that in 4th grade I checked out the book from the library then I began buying them now I read them on my tablet….strange how life changes. My siblings think I’m crazy that I could ever be so attached to a series. I consider Alice one of my dearest friends because I have grown up reading her. I have cried rolled over on the floor with laughter and I will really miss her once Always Alice comes out. I was wondering how do you know so much about what teenage girls go through and are thinking …I know you were once a teenager however you are much older now (just stating the facts lol). I’m so annoyed  that some people are offended about the amount of sexual material. I think it perfectly portrays how we think we want to know these things. This is what girls my age are thinking about. Dont we have the right to? Why not get it from an age appropriate book that we love.  Also what’s the scoop on Always Alice. Can you PLEASE GIVE THE READERS 1 HINT PLLLLEEEEAAASE. ( : If you can something about her and Patrick but I will take anything. I want to say thank you for the Alice series it has brought me and I’m sure other readers through thick and thin thanks.  

 Phyllis replied:

I guess I have an unusually good memory of how I felt at almost every age of my life.  I didn’t have the same life situation as Alice, since my own mother lived to be 90, and I had an older sister and younger brother.  But imagination filled in the rest. As for Always Alice, I’m still revising that manuscript and it is going to be much longer than most of the Alice books.  The publisher is going to bring it out in fall of next year, to give all of us–me, the editor, the marketing people–all of us–time to do a really good job, we hope.