bethlyh's review against another edition
5.0
AHHHHHHHH! I think Alice and Patrick might get together again!
herlifewithbooks's review against another edition
5.0
The pencil test! Ah!
Also, Alice's poetry reading made me tear up.
Also, Alice's poetry reading made me tear up.
finesilkflower's review
4.0
If you're reading the Alice books more or less in order but skipping around a little, like I did, don't skip this one. It's not filler like some of them are. This one has a good amount of forward motion on the serieswide arcs, and touches on a lot of serieswide themes (though anviliciously).
Alice feels "in between" childhood and adulthood and she wishes for a mother to help her though. She is "in between" (!) friendship and a relationship with Patrick. Of her friends, Elizabeth is prudish, Pamela is sexy, and Alice is "in between" (!!) The most memorable part of the book is when Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth take a train trip to visit Alice's Aunt Sally, and "in between" (!!!) Chicago and D.C., Pamela poses as an older woman and flirts with a man.
Other events mainly have to do with Alice identifying (consciously, although she does this unconsciously in every book) several mother surrogates, such as Lester's girlfriends and her former teacher Miss Plotkin.
Alice feels "in between" childhood and adulthood and she wishes for a mother to help her though. She is "in between" (!) friendship and a relationship with Patrick. Of her friends, Elizabeth is prudish, Pamela is sexy, and Alice is "in between" (!!) The most memorable part of the book is when Alice, Pamela, and Elizabeth take a train trip to visit Alice's Aunt Sally, and "in between" (!!!) Chicago and D.C., Pamela poses as an older woman and flirts with a man.
Spoiler
She gets scared when he follows her back to her room and the other girls rescue her by calling the porter. She reveals that he touched her breast. This incident will continue to be referred to in every single book thereafter as The Time Pamela Got Felt Up on a Train.Other events mainly have to do with Alice identifying (consciously, although she does this unconsciously in every book) several mother surrogates, such as Lester's girlfriends and her former teacher Miss Plotkin.
happilywilted's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thehodgenator's review against another edition
4.0
Another great Alice read!
This times readers are introduced to teenager Alice - and she brings it in with a bang. She takes a trip to Chicago with her two best friends, and mayhem on the train ensues thanks to Pamela.
But is being thirteen all Alice had hoped for? After all, this is the start to a new part of her life.
The title is perfect because Alice finds herself at a crossroads in this novel. She is coming off of childhood and stepping into adolescence, but is she ready for all that that entails?
Friendships change, people change, and Alice finds herself changing as well - but for the better.
I loved the way this novel ended. As a matter of fact, I just love reading Alice novels. They make me feel good about life, even if that is not the life I lead when I was her age. They always remind me that there is still good in the world.
This times readers are introduced to teenager Alice - and she brings it in with a bang. She takes a trip to Chicago with her two best friends, and mayhem on the train ensues thanks to Pamela.
But is being thirteen all Alice had hoped for? After all, this is the start to a new part of her life.
The title is perfect because Alice finds herself at a crossroads in this novel. She is coming off of childhood and stepping into adolescence, but is she ready for all that that entails?
Friendships change, people change, and Alice finds herself changing as well - but for the better.
I loved the way this novel ended. As a matter of fact, I just love reading Alice novels. They make me feel good about life, even if that is not the life I lead when I was her age. They always remind me that there is still good in the world.
marjen's review against another edition
5.0
Covers the the end of seventh grade and the first half of summer, in which Alice turns thirteen and finds herself in-between child and teen. Definitely one of my favorites in the series
In this one, Alice goes on a grown-up date with her brother, does the pencil test for the first time, and takes a trip to Chicago with Pamela and Elizabeth. This last incident is one of the most memorable in the series. Pamela poses as an older woman on the train and ends up on a date with a creep, only to find herself in way over her head. Alice finds herself in-between plenty of things: between child and teenager, between a friendship and a relationship with Patrick, between sexually prudish Elizabeth and sexually liberal Pamela.
From being in-between so many things, Alice learns that you don't have to be in a hurry to grow up, because its going to happen anyway. You can enjoy whatever life stage you're at without worrying too much about who you'll be later, because things have a way of usually working themselves out.
This is one of the shorter books in the series (I think about 190 pages), but it has way less filler than the others. Naylor takes quick pace and moves along from event to event succinctly.
Observations:
This is also the book of Pamela's hair transformation. After having hair "so long she can sit on it" for the first five books, the infamous Gum Incident leaves her with the more mature feathery cut she has for the remainder of the books.
Great character development for Pamela and Alice here. Pamela has always prided herself on acting older than she is, and now she gets to see some of the consequences of growing up too fast. Elizabeth, however, remains the same.
There's also a nice scene with Mrs. Plotkin, Alice's sixth grade teacher and mother-substitute.
Alice also gets to do some grown-up things for the first time, which delights her. Most memorably, she goes on a 'date' with her brother Lester, which involves a fancy dinner, play and dancing. She and Lester end up running into Crystal Hawkins whose stuck on a disastrous date and rescuing her.
This is also the book where Alice accidentally starts crying while reading a poem in her seventh-grade class and learns that you can embarrass yourself, and things will still work out alright.
In this one, Alice goes on a grown-up date with her brother, does the pencil test for the first time, and takes a trip to Chicago with Pamela and Elizabeth. This last incident is one of the most memorable in the series. Pamela poses as an older woman on the train and ends up on a date with a creep, only to find herself in way over her head. Alice finds herself in-between plenty of things: between child and teenager, between a friendship and a relationship with Patrick, between sexually prudish Elizabeth and sexually liberal Pamela.
From being in-between so many things, Alice learns that you don't have to be in a hurry to grow up, because its going to happen anyway. You can enjoy whatever life stage you're at without worrying too much about who you'll be later, because things have a way of usually working themselves out.
This is one of the shorter books in the series (I think about 190 pages), but it has way less filler than the others. Naylor takes quick pace and moves along from event to event succinctly.
Observations:
This is also the book of Pamela's hair transformation. After having hair "so long she can sit on it" for the first five books, the infamous Gum Incident leaves her with the more mature feathery cut she has for the remainder of the books.
Great character development for Pamela and Alice here. Pamela has always prided herself on acting older than she is, and now she gets to see some of the consequences of growing up too fast. Elizabeth, however, remains the same.
There's also a nice scene with Mrs. Plotkin, Alice's sixth grade teacher and mother-substitute.
Alice also gets to do some grown-up things for the first time, which delights her. Most memorably, she goes on a 'date' with her brother Lester, which involves a fancy dinner, play and dancing. She and Lester end up running into Crystal Hawkins whose stuck on a disastrous date and rescuing her.
This is also the book where Alice accidentally starts crying while reading a poem in her seventh-grade class and learns that you can embarrass yourself, and things will still work out alright.
knobbyknees's review
4.0
Alice turns thirteen, has a grown-up date with her brother, and visits Chicago with her two best friends.
Book takes place: The end of 7th grade and summer between 7th and 8th grades.
Alice's life lessons: ...
Best Alice moment(s): Saving Crystal from the Octopus; Pamela and the gum disaster; the pencil test; Amtrak; Patrick's hermit crab.
Book takes place: The end of 7th grade and summer between 7th and 8th grades.
Alice's life lessons: ...
Best Alice moment(s): Saving Crystal from the Octopus; Pamela and the gum disaster; the pencil test; Amtrak; Patrick's hermit crab.
aoutrance's review
3.0
The Alice books were one of my main source of information about puberty and growing up in a fun, non-clinical manner. There was no internet to be had when I was a preteen and the very idea of speaking to my mother about this sort of thing filled me with horror (still does, to be honest!) To my mother's credit, I think she may have known this, because she was always very understanding of my need for knowledge and did not protest my urging for weekly library trips.
I mostly remember this particular Alice book as one that actually explained the "pencil test", because I had it all sorts of confused in my head prior to reading it. Come to find out, doing this test with your friends around at a sleepover is quite like worrying about quicksand as a child: it's a lot less prevalent than you were led to believe.
I mostly remember this particular Alice book as one that actually explained the "pencil test", because I had it all sorts of confused in my head prior to reading it. Come to find out, doing this test with your friends around at a sleepover is quite like worrying about quicksand as a child: it's a lot less prevalent than you were led to believe.
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