The Time Capsule

Question:

I just wanted to write to let you know how much your Alice books mean
to me. My best friend Allison introduced me to Alice in Rapture, Sort
Of when I was ten years old, in 1994. After that book, I was hooked
and bought every new book each year it was released. I’m 26 now and
have always looked forward to spring because it means that I get
another installment of Alice. Her books are the only ones I ever
pre-order and I read them in one sitting.

I recently unpacked a bunch of old books from my parents’ house and
re-found all of the Alice books I’d had had when I was in elementary,
middle, and high school. (The ones I bought during college were
already with me.) I decided to re-read a few of Alice’s seventh-grade
adventures and couldn’t help but realize how much your books have
helped to shape my life. Alice truly is one of the best real
characters I’ve ever read and can relate to, and it’s like she’s one
of my best friends, as weird as that may sound. When I re-read those
books, I was transported back to being thirteen, too. I think it’s
amazing that you are able to tap into what it was like being that
young. And now I have to wonder… in the last book, does Alice open
that time capsule in 2040, the same one that Mr. Hensley assigned to
the 7th grade class? Do we find out what happens to Elizabeth, Pamela,
and Patrick?

Thank you so much for everything that you do. Your books mean so much
to me, and if I ever have a daughter I am saving all of my books for
her.

Phyllis replied:

Yes, in the final book, #28,  Alice and the former members of her 7th grade class open the time capsule.  It was not until I got so many letters from readers, asking to have that scene in a book, that I decided to end the series with a book in which Alice goes from 18 to 60.  Thanks so much for writing.