Alice Blog

Alice and sex education

I love these books!

Comment:

I don’t have a question, but I just wanted to say that I’d forgotten how much I loved these books. I used to read them when I was younger, and I learned so much. I think I stopped at the Grooming of Alice. I just got a job in a bookstore and grabbed a random book off a shelf one day and when I read the back, what was it? By sheer coincidence it was Alice! After some thought, I decided to order the books and read them again. I’d forgotten how much I loved them. My favorite character is Elizabeth, and I like Lester and Patrick too. I think he and Alice are perfect together! I just finished reading “Alice on the Outside” and it made me cry! I thought, how does this book manage to make a 23-year-old cry? It was just filled with so much emotion. Wonderful writing. I want to be a writer myself one day and these books are a big inspiration. The way the books aren’t afraid to explore controversial themes makes me want to do the same with my writing. I can’t wait to read more. Thanks for writing these! 🙂

Phyllis replied:

How wonderful that you want to become a writer, and that you rediscovered the  Alice series!  I hope you found the “books in order” list on my website, and are able to read all 28 of them in the right order.  In the very last book, Alice will be twice as old as you are now.  Enjoy your job in the bookstore!

Alice & Patrick

Comment:

Did Alice ever?????
What happened to????
Did her daughter????
I loved the series!!!
Can u please sign a piece of paper or a bookmark and send it to me via email or mail??

Phyllis replied:

Oh, dear.  If I had answered your first three questions…if I’d even printed them… they would be spoilers for all the readers who had not yet read the very last book of the series.  So I can only tell you (1) No  (2)  Forever  (3)  No.   If you will send a bookmark or label to me at 401 Russell  Avenue, Apt. 713, Gaithersburg, MD 20877,  enclsoing a stamped return envelope, with  your own name and address, I’ll be glad to sign them for you.

Do you ever sign book plates?

Comment:

I’m 22 and I’ve been reading Alice since I was 12 years old. It’s my favourite series of all time, as I’m sure you’ve heard from many other girls like me. I was just wondering, do you ever have time to sign book plates if they are mailed to you? I found these beautiful book plates for my Alice collection and was hoping that maybe you would be able to sign one?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and I completely understand if you’re too busy! I just wanted to also take a chance to tell you thank you so much for writing these books, they mean so much to me!

Phyllis replied:

I’m happy to sign book plates or even plain labels that readers can put inside their books, rather than sending me the book plus a mailer.  To send book plates, please place them in an envelope, along with an envelope with your return address and postage, and mail it to me at 401 Russell Ave., Apt. 713, Gaithersburg, MD. 20877.  I’m delighted to know you’re a fan of the Alice collection.

A Series I Can Really Relate to

Comment:

Thank you. Thank you for writing a series I can really relate too. I am an avid reader, but I do not think I have ever read a series I can relate so closely to. While Alice and I may not be the same, I can find myself in her. I’m positive other girls can too. Thank you for being so real about what us teen girls go through. You are my favorite author of all time!

Phyllis replied:

Every writer would love to begin the new year with an email like yours.  So Happy New Year to you and to all the readers who write to me!

Had the Courage…

Comment:

I just wanted to say thank you for writing the Alice books. I read them growing up and I learned so much. The answers to all the questions I was too embarrassed to ask or didn’t even think to ask were in those books. And I’ve started to realize how Alice has shaped me without me even noticing. For example, even when I was younger and before I knew I wasn’t straight, I spoke up for LGBTQ rights and joined clubs for it. And I think I had the courage to do that because a year earlier, I’d read about Alice doing it.

So anyway, thank you for writing those books. They are absolutely amazing for girls to have while growing up. I am 20 now and about to re-read them all. And before I do, I just wanted to let you know how much they helped me and how much of my heart they still have.

Phyllis replied:

What a wonderful message you have for girls everywhere.  Until we really feel comfortable in our own skin, it’s hard to make the right decisions.  I’m so glad that the Alice books were helpful to you.  Thanks for taking the time to write to me.

How do you get your ideas?

Comment:

Hi, I love your Alice series. Someday I want to become an author and my question for you is: How do you come up with the amazing ideas for a book? Also what’s your advice for creating a book? I am sixteen years old and I have big dreams. Thanks and have a wonderful day,
Phyllis replied:

When I first started the series, I didn’t know there would be more than one book.  I just wanted to write about a motherless girl looking for a role model. And after I wrote the first book, so many people wanted to know what happens next with Alice that I agreed to write a series as long as Alice could grow older in each book.  The best books are created around deep feelings in a writer’s heart, and some of Alice’s experiences are things that happened to me or my friends.  Sometimes I suggest this to beginning writers:  Think about the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you, or the angriest you’ve ever been, or the most sad, or scared half out of your wits.  Choose one and write a short paragraph about it.  Then rewrite it, making it happen to someone else.  Change the way it begins, perhaps, or the way it ends.  Turn it over to your imagination and give it wings.  The more you write, the more you will study things around you–the way people talk, or sit, or walk, or react, and the more ideas you will get for stories.

In Love with Alice

Comment:

No question. I just wanted to say that have only read about 5 books from the Alice series and have fell in love with these books. As a girl, these books are relatable and very interesting. Pure works of art. I wish the series never ended.

Phyllis replied:

Well, I wish I could write them forever, but Alice has to grow up like everyone else.  If you read the books in order, you’ll follow her from age 8 to 60, so you still have a lot of reading to do.  I’m glad you’re enjoying them so much.

More movies?

Comment:
Your Alice books are my favorites and I’ve read most of
them two or three times. I want more than practically anything for there to be
more movies; would you like that?

Phyllis replied:

It would be great if there were more Alice movies, but I’m not in charge of that.  “Alice Upside Down” is the only one they’ve done so far, based very loosely on “The Agony of Alice.”

Something Important about Adult Life

Comment:

I have so much to say about the  Alice books.  They have had such a monumental impact on my life.  I realize that I’ve learned something really important about adult life from Alice in the final book:  Her life and decisions are her own.  She doesn’t share every detail of her life with Gwen, Pam, and Liz–or even Abbey and Val, or even Patrick!–anymore.   They’re all still close to her, and she keeps them updated on her life, but when they’re together she doesn’t feel she needs to do a play-by-play of her life since the last time they talked.  They can get together and just be present.  Alice doesn’t feel the need to run her life by anyone anymore, and that’s an idea that gives me hope, anticipation, and assurance for my own future.

Phyllis replied:

Yes, that’s an interesting observation.  As teens, one of the big pleasures of life is sharing every detail of a date with our friends.  “He said…then I said…and he said…and I said….”  It’s a way we confirm our sisterhood.  And part of that–the sisterhood part–follows us into marriage and parenthood, and this is necessary and good to have friends we can share with–but we also begin to  learn to respect boundaries.  Would your husband or boyfriend, for example, be comfortable knowing that you told your friends what he did or said on a certain occasion?  Is your best friend trusting that you won’t tell something she told you in confidence?  Are you telling a neighbor something embarrassing that happened to your child that would embarrass him if he knew?  Can you be comfortable with your own decisions=–wise or foolish–that you make about your choices in life?  It’s all part of the journey….