The Agony of Alice

Comment:

I just finished re-reading The Agony of Alice a few minutes ago. I’m 25 years old and currently live in Silver Spring, so it really was a joy to revisit one of my favorite books from middle school while living in its setting!

I can’t really describe how much a character like Alice means to me. Like so many others, I see so much of my eleven-year-old self in her – she makes a brilliant “everygirl.” Also like Alice, I had an elementary school teacher who saw a gift of words in me and encouraged my writing. I still very much enjoy it to this day!

I guess I wanted to say thank you for creating such a wonderful voice in Alice McKinley. May every girl dying of embarrassment on the daily during their pre-teen years do so with as much humor and grace as Alice. Cheers!

Phyllis replied:

Yes, I can imagine that living in the same city as Alice makes everything that happens to her that much more intimate.  I guess that writing the book helped me get over some of the embarrassing things that happened to me growing up.  (The Tarzan episode, for example).  I’m sure you know that there are 28 books in the Alice series, taking her from 8 years old in Starting with Alice to Now I’ll Tell You Everything.)   Thanks so much for taking time to email me.