Alice Blog

Patrick & Alice Forever

Hi, I don’t know if you’ve gotten this question or not, but Did Patrick ALWAYS love Alice even at the end of the series when they were in their 60s?

Absolutely.   More than ever.

Would Patrick have cheated on Alice?

Hello! So I just finished reading Now I’ll Tell You Everything and it’s Spectacular!! I was really happy how things ended. My question is, would Patrick ever cheat on Alice if given another chance to? he said he loved her and that “It’s forever, Alice.” and that marrying her was one of the best decisions he ever made, but when he was tempted by Helene,Why was he trying to defend himself and look for justification. He also said that if the circumstances were different and he was put in that situation again, he probably wouldn’t be able to control himself, who tells their wife that? though he did admit that he was talking like an idiot but still, why?

I think it shows just how close they were–that he could tell her all this and be as honest as he was.  And perhaps he realized, sub-consciously, that this works both ways and that she could be tempted too; hearing her say so really brought it home to him.  Also, a couple who is really close can usually tell when the other person is under stress, and if they didn’t talk about it, she might think he was already having an affair.  I believe he did the right thing.

Patrick’s relationship with the enemy

Good evening, Mrs. Naylor! I was hoping you could clear up some things for me. How long did Patrick and penny date? I know they didn’t date long because they got together at the end in Alice Alone and then broke up in the very next book and Alice Alone was the first semester and the beginning of Highschool and the next book was sometime in the second semester right? Also, why did Patrick sometimes call her by Alice’s name? was he not over her? penny also said that she didn’t think patrick really liked her and they were attracted to each other is this true? personally I don’t like penny and neither do my friends. Why didn’t Patrick take penny to the winter snow ball? was he ashamed of breaking up with Alice? and Patrick never really gave a clear reason as to why he and penny broke up so what was the real reason? As the reader i’ve been trying to figure this out but I just can’t. can you please help me?

Oh my goodness, authors have the right to leave some of the story telling to the readers.  It’s all I can do to find time to answer questions on the blog, and I can’t really start looking up plots in the books.   I believe the answers to your questions, though, are that Patrick decided he didn’t care for Penny as much as he had cared for Alice.  Found himself calling Penny by Alice’s name, and didn’t take anybody to the Snow Ball,  trying to understand his feelings himself.  Figured if he just didn’t go at all, he wouldn’t be hurting either girl.

Understanding penny

Hi, I’m rereading the Alice series for the 100th time because it’s so great! My most least favorite character is penny. I just don’t understand her. She literally flirted with Patrick while he was with Alice and sometimes right in front of her! She completely stole him away from Al and broke her heart. Did she even care when she’d see ALice? did she even care at all when she was with Patrick? the worst part was that she wanted to be friends with Alice and act like nothing ever happened, Al is a better person than me because I would’ve never forgiven her nor have been friends with her. How could penny live with herself after knowing she hurt Al so badly? Without any disrespect to you, Mrs. Naylor, I will never like penny but what was her deal because she acted like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

It’s really OK if you don’t like character in a book.  I don’t have time to go back and find where Penny entered the series or what the circumstances were–but I believe she was a new girl to the school and could not have known the particulars of every relationship.  Patrick may have indicated to her that Alice was mad at him for liking her, and Penny just assumed that they were breaking up.  When kids start linking up into couples for the first time, all sorts of dramas go on.  A crush can last a day or a year, and one member of a couple can have a much deeper love for the partner than the partner has for her.   Is seem to remember that Alice and Penny become friends later on.

Was Patrick kind of arrogant?

Hi, I just wanted to ask about Patrick’s character. don’t get me wrong, I love Patrick and I was over joyed when he finally married Alice, but sometimes he seemed arrogant and sometimes a jerk to Al. For some reason, when i read the series, I can’t help but think he seemed a little arrogant like he KNEW he could have any girl and just sometimes left Al out but still wanted to act like nothing was wrong. Couldn’t he see Al loved him? did he care? I will give him his props because he always kept his promises to Alice like when he brought her to prom. He was a jerk because he talked about other girls to her and almost seemed to lead her on sometimes like when he broke up with penny and kissed Alice on the forehead and said she wasn’t you, what’s that about? or when he broke up with Alice to get with penny, did he care a single ounce how she felt? He left Alice twice for another girl, did he care then? I do think that Patrick was a good husband to her and I was glad when he rejected the other woman who tried to seduce him, If Patrick and Al didn’t have a good marriage or didn’t still love each other I don’t think Al would’ve stayed married to him, right? but I’m glad Alice got her happily ever after with Patrick (Her childhood sweetheart) in the end Alice won over all those other girls.

It’s believed that boys mature later than girls, and I think that accounts for Patrick–new to being a boyfriend–didn’t see anything wrong with having two girlfriends.  It’s possible for two people to feel that they love each other , but one may be more uncertain about marriage than the other.  Patrick felt he wanted to be sure when he married that he was doing the right thing, and if he didn’t feel certain about Alice, then he should have broken up with her and dated other women.  As it turned out, he thought of her a lot when he was oversees and came to the conclusion that she was the one   I’m glad you liked the ending.

Patricia Marie

Hi there! I just wanted to say that I LOVED when Alice and Patrick reunited and Patrick FINALLY asked Alice to marry him, my first question is did you always know that Alice and Patrick would get married and grow old together after being childhood sweethearts? But my main question is Did you ever think of writing a book from the point of view of Patricia and kind of showing their lives after that? I loved how you ended the Alice series, I cry of nostalgia, joy because it’s a happy ending and sadness because it feels like I’m saying goodbye to a very special friend. I was an only child and kind of shy so everyday i’d go to the library and Alice felt like a real friend. Btw I’m 7 months pregnant and I’m naming my twin daughters Alice and Phyllis! 🙂

Wow! You really are a fan!  No, I’m not going to write about Patricia….I want to leave the Alice series just the way they are.  I get so many requests to do a series on Pamela or Elizabeth or Gwen .  I don’t  think readers realize that it took me 28 years to write the 28 books of the Alice series   Of course I was writing other books too, but it takes a lot out of me to do that much, and I’m very happy that readers seem to like reading about Alice and her life.  Good luck to you and your twins!

What’s the Difference between “falling in love” and “loving someone?’

Hi there! I wanted ask you out of curiosity and the fact that I really don’t know, what is the difference between falling for someone and being in love or loving someone? You write a lot about that in your books so I just wanted to know. Like, when Patrick broke up with Alice because he fell for Amanda and Alice said she thinks he fell for the snake penny. Also, we know Alice always loved Patrick and she even admitted it, but was Alice Patrick’s first real love? By the way, if you have any new books coming out it will be my pleasure to read them!! 🙂

You think I’m an expert on love?  I think that Lester says it best in one of the Alice books–that the three elements in real love–he’s talking about romantic love, not motherly love–are passion, tenderness and joy.  “Falling in love” is the sensation of being very attracted to someone and interested in getting to know that person better.  And real love can certainly start that way.  Almost has to, because no matter how attracted you are, you still have much to learn about each other.  Finally, I think, if your love for each other is genuine, you have the feeling that you really want to spend your life with that person and can’t imagine life without him or her.  Also, that you feel you can talk about almost anything with them.

Reading the Alice books out of order

I am a media specialist in a 7-8 middle school. Right now we have all of the Alice series beginning with The Agony of Alice. I have a few of the omnibus sets as well as the individual titles in those sets. I am starting something new called “Graffiti Books.” The students will be able to write notes in the books as they read them with each new reader writing notes in a new color. I’d like to include some of the Alice duplicates, like random titles from 15-24. Will a student enjoy starting with any of these titles as a first Alice book? I hope this makes sense (It does in my head!)

It’s difficult to answer because you’re numbering doesn’t include the very first three Alice books, Starting With Alice, Alice in Blunderland, and Lovingly Alice–which is fine, because those are Alice in grade school.  But beginning numbering at the Agony of Alice, these would take you through Alice in high school, so these include an unwanted pregnancy and other sexual situations.  As far as I’m concerned, I would let my own children read these if they were in middle school, but I don’t know your community.  As a general rule, the earlier a student begins reading the Alice books, the better, because the student can follow along as Alice involves herself in more and more complicated relationships and situations, and the reader will  see the growth and sophistication as the girls and their group of friends get older and face more serious problems.  If the books are arranged in order in the library or numbered, you might point out that Alice is entering 7th grade in Reluctantly Alice, and enters high school  in Alice Alone.

I love Alice books

Okay. So first things first, I L-O-V-E your Alice books. They are the best books on the planet. My favorite one Is… ALL OF THEM. I have always loved reading and writing, I am writing a book completely inspired by your Alice books. I have read them all. Oh and I am 11. THANK YOU for Alice, she is amazing and her creator (you) are amazing too. I don’t even think of her as a character, she is my friend. Thank you for her!

I’m glad you like them so much, and that you are writing your own book.  When I was writing the Alice series, I saw her as my friend too.  But much of the time I thought of her as myself.

Alice on Audiobook?

I just wanted to know if the Alice books were on any audiobooks, especially Now I’ll Tell You Everything.

None that I know of.  Sorry.