Alice Blog

alice series

Hi Mrs. Naylor! I am contacting you regarding a project for banned books week, and if you want to know the whole truth I don’t agree that your books should have been banned. Personally I found them interesting and of assistance, as I am a teenage girl battling most of the same things Alice did therefore, I would like to thank you! I would very much appreciate if you could get back as soon as possible, have an extraordinary day!

I think it’s important for readers to know that all the titles of books found to have been “banned” at one time or another include books that were requested to be banned; most libraries stand up for authors and support our right to  explore subjects that a parent or teacher might feel inappropriate for readers of a certain age.  Certainly every complaint or suggestion should be given thought and consideration, but most libraries have rules about things they must consider before buying a book–what reviewers have said about it, why it was written, etc.  Many people would be surprised, even shocked, at wonderful titles that they themselves have enjoyed and would not at all consider being banned from a library.

 

 

THANK YOU!

Hello,
I am writing to let you know how grateful I am for the Alice series. I was introduced to the books as a pre-teen when my mom bought me The Agony of Alice, Alice In Lace, and Outrageously Alice at a church rummage sale. I foolishly donated these books in my mid-teenage years. Now as a twenty-eight year old woman I have spent the last few months getting reacquainted with Alice and enjoyed reminiscing and in a sense growing up together. I especially appreciated how you wrote about Alice going to Planned Parenthood as I worked for Planned Parenthood. Your telling of Alice’s appointment there is spot-on of so many patients I have personally encountered who were trying to navigate their sexual health. I cannot begin to thank you enough! Now I’ll Tell You Everything wrapped up the series perfectly! My only question – what became of Amy Sheldon? Thank you once again!
Forever grateful,

I’m so glad that you felt I handled that well.  It’s important for girls to know where to go for help, especially in the climate we live in now.   I wish I had mentioned Amy Sheldon again.  I’d like to think that Alice was able to both shield her enough, and encourage her enough, that Amy had the courage to stand up for herself and find other girls who could see her as a friend.

A question about Alice

 

What if Patrick had broken up with Alice when they were both adults? What if he had told her that he loved her but wanted to be single? What if he would hold her and tell her how much he cared about her but talk about how he wanted to sleep with other women. What if he had told her that he would always love her but could never date her again. What if he told her how attractive and gorgeous she was but that her anxiety was unattractive. What if he told her how no one else understood him like she did and how he wanted to touch her again but did not love her like he used to.

Would she find love with someone else?

Would she be happy again one day?

Or would it always be Patrick

All books begin with “what ifs,” and that’s why the thinking about the plot can sometimes take longer than the actual writing.  Once a book is written, I don’t go back and think about all the other “what ifs” I might have used.  Life is too short for that, and there are still dozens of books I hope to write about other people in other places in other times in other circumstances.

A Huge Part of my Life

I grew up with Alice Mckinley and was two years younger than her when I read Agony of Alice. Reading was my absolute favorite thing to do in my youth. When I first met Alice, I did not realize we would grow up together and I read about her journey throughout middle and high school. We parted ways for awhile as I got older and had less and less time to read. I’m 31 now and am trying to enjoy reading again. I never realized how much older Alice would get- and am so delighted to read about the rest of her life through highschool and on. Thank you for making her a huge part of my life.

I’m so happy that you and Alice connected again.  Enjoy, enjoy!

Possible netflix series?

Would you ever consider an Alice series on Netflix?

It’s being considered.  Many things are.

Thank you/Alice books

I was a librarian serving teens for many years, until I burned out and started a new career. I once posted on Facebook that “a lot of what I know about writing, I learned from Mary Stewart’s “The Crystal Cave”. Today I’m posting “a lot of the rest of what I know about writing, I learned from Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s “Alice” books.

And I have a confession: I haven’t finished them. I stopped short by a book or two because I wasn’t ready for it to be over. But I’m finally coming to terms with it! And so I’m looking forward to reading the last couple of books.

A few years ago it stuck me that I could have written to Mary Stewart up until 2014, but I missed that chance. Now I’m trying to keep track of other favorite authors in order to express my appreciation. And so:

Thank you for a wonderful series of books.

 

It was kind of you to “look me up.”  I can understand your feelings about not wanting the series to end.   It was sad for me when I wrote the last book, and yet a relief to know that I was able to wrap up all the loose ends.  I do hope you will read the last books before others tell you who married whom and how Alice’s life goes on from here.  Enjoy, enjoy!

Love Alice books in my 30s

I wanted to share how much the Alice books have meant to me in my teenage years and into adulthood. I’m in my 30s and enjoy rereading Alice if I’m feeling stressed and want to cheer up. I love the high school books even more now that I’m through that period in my life. I love the way you incorporated food more into the later Alice books and inspired me to try some of the recipes. Of course I have made pineapple upside down cake and it’s always been a hit. During the pandemic especially, I felt the same way Alice did about living so far away from family. I thought of having passion, tenderness, and joy before I got married as well. I hope you’re doing well and thank you for writing such wonderful books.

I so appreciated your email.  I believe it was Lester, wasn’t it, who came up with “passion, tenderness and joy.”   Who would have thought?

Possible netflix series?

Would you ever consider an Alice series on Netflix?

Of course, and a number of people have suggested it.  Making a series for TV is not an easy matter, but I believe it’s under consideration.

A Thank You Note

Dear Mrs. Naylor,
I read my first Alice book at age nine and now, twelve years later, they’re still my comfort books. I go back to them whenever I’m sad, anxious or when I just want to feel comfortable. I guess you could say I feel at home between the pages of your books. I remember, as a child/teen I used to think of Lester as a fully grown up person and now I’m older than he is in the first ten books or so.

A couple of years ago I convinced my mum to read them too and every once in a while, we end up having hour long conversations about the characters and everything that’s happened to Alice and the people around her.

Apart from thanking you for creating such a safe space for me (and so many amazing, lovable, flawed, relatable, wonderful characters), I also wanted to congratulate you for tackling so many tricky issues so well. Today, we’re having much more open conversations about certain subjects such as sexual harassment and mental health but back when the Alice books were released, so many of those subjects were still taboos which makes you a pioneer, I guess. And you didn’t just briefly touch upon those subjects either, you did it in a very sensitive, realistic way. So thank you for doing such an important job!

I wish you all the best and I’m sending you all the love from Austria

I appreciate your letter so much, and am just delighted that your mum enjoys the Alice books too.  There are a number of Alice book clubs, I hear, and some of them include mothers.  I know that some of the topics were quite sensitive, but many I took from newspapers, so I knew such things were happening.  I hope you were able to find all 28 books in Austria!

Teen pregnancy in the series

Hello! I’m a super huge fan of the Alice series and I’ve read the whole series. In the series, 2 of Alice’s friends get pregnant but I was wondering, Why didn’t you ever make Alice pregnant while in high school? Was it because you didn’t want to set a bad example for the young ladies reading the series? Why didn’t she lose her virginity in high school?

I’m not going to go back and try to find out which two girls got pregnant in high school–as I remember it was only Pamela among her Alice’s close friends–I have no idea how many other girls might have become pregnant or lost their virginity in high school.   I just didn’t envision this for Alice.   I guess I wanted the first time to be completely unusual and unexpected for Alice, and I really loved writing it when it came time.