Will pass Alice books on to my children….

I first read one of your books, Shiloh, for a book report when I was in the fifth grade. Later on I remember seeing the Alice books everywhere when I would go to the bookstore, and there seemed to be so many that I just didn’t know where to start! At the time I was about ten or so, and it did not occur to me to buy one, so I didn’t.  When I was in the ninth grade I distinctly remember my English teacher taking our class down to the library where she said we had to choose a free reading book to check out by the end of the class period. We had to choose a book from the Teen/YA section. I had no idea what to choose. When my teacher called out that we had five minutes left to choose a book I randomly grabbed a book off the shelf on a whim. That book was Alice In The Know. I started reading it and was so interested in Alice’s life, especially her relationship between her dad and her brother. When I got to the chapter titled ‘The-New-Girl-Who-Came-To-Learn-About-Sex’ I turned the page so quickly I nearly got a paper cut! I was embarrassed by the title and felt like I was reading something I wasn’t supposed to. But I continued reading because I was so intrigued by the way Alice so openly discussed sex with her family, something that my parents never did with me. It was very refreshing to be reading a book so different from any other book I had read. For some reason, after reading Alice In The Know, I did not pursue any more Alice books. However, I recently picked up the newly released copy of Alice’s freshman year books, and realized I have been missing out by not following this series. I now own all of Alice’s sophomore year books, as well as her junior year books in addition to the freshman books.  I wanted to tell you that I do not always agree with some of the things you write about, but that I will continue to buy your books for one reason: I find myself mulling them over long after I’ve finished them. That, to me is the sign of a good book, one that makes the reader think and sticks with them for years to come.I am an aspiring author, and I hope to one day give my readers stories that they will be thinking about long after they have finished reading, just as you have done with the Alice books. I am sure that you know how much your books mean to people like me. I am now eighteen and in college, and plan to save all of my Alice books to pass on to my children some day. Thank you so much for writing such great books!

Phyllis replied:

I love reading letters from people who have rediscovered Alice after many years.  I’ve sent your email on to my editor, and know she’ll love reading it too.