Alice Blog

Turning Seventeen

Question:

First of all I would like to tell you how appreciative I am that you have kept to the character’s and the Alice series, even as the characters have grown older. Even though I am turning seventeen in the fall, I still love waiting for the next book to come out so that I can read about the realistic problems that you portray; you are one of the few authors that I have read who does not overdramaticize or underplays the effects of these situations.
 
In the latest Alice novel, Intensely Alice, you have definitely kept up with this streak. The ending was…surprisingly, a mix of emotions. Growing up with these characters, I felt sadness along with Alice.  The death was unexpected and it brought out the role that this person had played in the series. A death of a friend was certainly a life changing event that brought Alice and her friends back together.

Phyllis replied:

I’m glad that the book meant so much to you.  And I love knowing that you’re continuing with the Alice series.  She’s exactly your age right now, isn’t she?

Answer

Phyllis replied:

What would I do without my faithful readers?  Thank you so much.  You saved me a lot of time.

Now a 12th Grade Reading Level

Question:

Thank you SO much for writing the Alice books. I am currently on summer vacation but i will be in 7th grade after summer vacation and i started with your books scene i was in 5th grade and right now I’m reading almost Alice. In 5th grade i read like a fourth grader but now i have a 12th grade reading level so would like to thank you for helping with my reading skills and i hope you keep writing Alice books so i could grow up with her and laugh along.

I’m From India

Will There Be More Movies?

From a Guy

Question:

 I love your books!!! They have a lot of suspense, humor, and real life situations.  Well I was wondering, in ”Intensely Alice”  why it was ——-  that you chose to die. It could have been anyone else.
                 Also, If you are adding a new character in the last books, can you try to think of making the characters name ”—-”. That’s my name and I don’t care what personality you give me, I just think it would be cool reading my name and knowing I’m part of the book. I’m sorry it might be too much too ask but it would mean a lot to me.
 I love the best friend trio. Alice, Elizabeth and Pamela are the perfect combination of personalities to make perfect best friends. Elizabeth usually is the one who actually thinks about consequences of things and she is still fun but prefers staying safe. Pamela is the one who suggests
all the crazy things and actually considers them. She is the life of the party!  Alice is curious. Alice’s life is like a rollercoaster and she is lovin’ it at time  and is getting confused at times.

Phyllis replied:

I suppose I could use your name, but what if I killed you off?  No, sorry, but I never use names of people I know, or people who write to me.  It begins to affect how my characters behave, and I’ve got to let them be themselves.  I chose the character I did to have the tragic death because I knew how deeply it would affect the relatives.

Nervous

Opened Up My Questions

Question:

 
I’ve been meaning to write to you for a long time. Every time I’ve put down an Alice book after reading it (I usually need to finish your books in one or two sittings), I feel so compelled to tell you what it meant to me. 
 
I’ve always felt a strange connection to Alice. Although perhaps conceitedly, I see myself a lot in her. In coincidences: I was born in Silver Spring, it sounds like I look like her, I was editor of my school newspaper, and I started writing a story about two girls named “Molly and Faith” before I even read Simply Alice. I also believe I enjoy reading about her experiences not only because they’re written humorously or realistically, but because she acts like me in some cases—the good and the bad. We both worry when we shouldn’t, we try to keep an open mind, we tend to overreact, and we compare ourselves unfairly to our brainiac boyfriends! But I’m still aspiring to be as courageous a heroine as the one you have given me all these years. 
 
And like Alice, I am not sure at all what I believe, religiously speaking. Especially after having lost. Thankfully, I do not share with her the tragedy of losing a mother. But after finishing Intensely Alice minutes ago and sobbing, I realize I feel even more in touch with her. 
 
I can’t say what it feels like to lose a friend. Losing a loved one is different for everyone. But the recurring feelings of grief overwhelmed me as I read your book. You captured it all for me. Too well even. I think I’ve suppressed some of my questions of death, God, and fate but you’ve opened them up again for me. A good friend of mine lost a very good friend of hers in a car accident. I tried to understand her grief while I comforted her but it was hard to feel a loss when he had had no place in my life before. 
 
But a month later, at nearly the same time as —— died, I lost someone I still love today. My family’s small already and to lose my one aunt, the one who brought so much life into our daily lives, was devastating. 
 
The story you’ve created intertwining these teens and their families aren’t just stories. You’ve created a place for your readers we can believe. That’s why it struck me so hard…I honestly never cry after reading a book like I just did. I know you remember what it feels like to be our age, and I also know you know what feels like to grieve. What I don’t learn from my mother, I learn from you. Thank you for not only entertaining me all these years with the Alice books, but being a comfort and guidance. I promise to continue reading this series even when I start college this fall! 
 
Phyllis replied:

I really appreciated your letter.  I still can’t read one of those scenes aloud without tearing up, so the death affected me too.  I’m probably working out some repressed grief in myself for relatives I’ve lost over the years, especially for my sister.  I’m glad you’ll go on reading Alice after you’ve gone to college.  I hear from many college students who say that the Alice books go right along with them and find a place in their dorm rooms.

Is This the End?

Question:

I am in love with your Alice books. I literally just finished “Intensely Alice” this morning. I cried about the death.  I really felt the emotions of Alice and the others.

What is the Right Age?

Question:

i absolutly love all of you alice books!! i just started reading them this year and i have fell in love!! I can read them in a day…max 2days….haha…..i didnt know the books camE in order though so i have been reading them out of oreder, but they still make sense…ive only seen one of the alice moives and it was the first one i think, becuase i only thought there was one…..anyway my question is even though your book sais for ages 9-13 what do u think is the right age to start readin alice books??….PLEASE right back so i can know that u have recieved my email…….YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!

Phyllis replied:

I think that third graders would enjoy “Starting with Alice;” fourth graders, “Alice in Blunderland,” fifth graders, “Lovingly Alice,” and sixth graders “The Agony of Alice,” and “Alice in Rapture ,Sort Of.”  After that, if they read three books a year, in the right order, they and Alice will grow up about the same time together.