Alice in Charge »

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor includes many of her own growing-up experiences in the Alice books. She writes for both children and adults and is the author of more than one hundred and thirty-five books, including the Alice series, which Entertainment Weekly has called "tender" and "wonderful." In 1992 her novel Shiloh won the Newbery Medal. She lives with her husband, Rex, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and is the mother of two sons, both grown and married. Visit Phyllis online at alicemckinley.wordpress.com

At last, it's Alice in Charge--of her life, of her future...but, is it too much?

Children's Literature

The "Alice" series has been a popular one and this book continues the story of Alice McKinley as she moves into her senior year of high school. Alice, now the features editor of the school paper, uncovers a neo-Nazi group operating quietly at her suburban high school. Daniel Bul Dau, a classmate studying in the United States from Sudan, dances at homecoming with many of the students, and later, someone slips into his locker a card with a neo-Nazi symbol. Just who is responsible requires some time to track down. On a more personal level, Alice has not completed her college applications. Given the concerns her parents seem to have about finances, she is hesitant to step out and go away to college. Alice enlists her older brother Les to take her on a weekend tour of three schools. The trip gets off to a rocky start, but she finds that she is not alone in her fears about fitting into campus life. Alice also is missing her boyfriend Patrick, who is away at college. When she learns that his parents are going to be moving after Christmas, she has one more trial to face. Readers don't have to be familiar with the series to appreciate the issues that confront Alice, issues that she doesn't always handle appropriately. This is a realistic portrayal of a senior year. There is skinny dipping and a passionate encounter that also make for a realistic look at teenage sexuality as these young people move closer to adulthood. Reviewer: Janis Flint-Ferguson