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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Alice McKinley hardly remembers her mother, she died when Alice was 4. However, there is one thing Alice does know - she'd have a lot less embarrassing moments if her mom was alive. All Alice wants is to not be so awkward. As she packs up to move, every single embarrassing moment of her life flashes before her eyes. She wishes that everyone who ever witnessed her embarrassment would just disappear. Unfortunately, life doesn't work like that.
When Alice starts her new school, she realizes that one of the teachers, Miss Cole, is the perfect match for her Dad! If Miss Cole was her new mom, Alice wouldn't make stupid mistakes and embarrass herself. But life doesn't work that way, and Alice gets the one teacher she doesn't want: Mrs. Plotkin. However, throughout the year, Alice learns more from Mrs. Plotkin than she ever thought she could. Could Alice's agony finally end?
I must say, I absolutely adored this book! I'm not 100% positive I didn't love it solely due to nostalgia from the movie, but I found Alice so relatable. I really wish I had found this book when I was younger because I definitely embarrassed myself all the time. Alice in Agony shows readers the everybody thinks they embarrass themselves on a regular basis. It also teaches readers that no one is actually paying attention.
I cannot imagine why Naylor's book was banned... In fact, the entire series was banned, which blows my mind! As I read, I looked for reasons as to why, but all I could come up with is that Alice mentions getting her period. If we ban books for mentioning natural body functions that nearly half of youth will face, we are going down a slippery slope. This book is a little outdated, but I would still recommend it!
When Alice starts her new school, she realizes that one of the teachers, Miss Cole, is the perfect match for her Dad! If Miss Cole was her new mom, Alice wouldn't make stupid mistakes and embarrass herself. But life doesn't work that way, and Alice gets the one teacher she doesn't want: Mrs. Plotkin. However, throughout the year, Alice learns more from Mrs. Plotkin than she ever thought she could. Could Alice's agony finally end?
I must say, I absolutely adored this book! I'm not 100% positive I didn't love it solely due to nostalgia from the movie, but I found Alice so relatable. I really wish I had found this book when I was younger because I definitely embarrassed myself all the time. Alice in Agony shows readers the everybody thinks they embarrass themselves on a regular basis. It also teaches readers that no one is actually paying attention.
I cannot imagine why Naylor's book was banned... In fact, the entire series was banned, which blows my mind! As I read, I looked for reasons as to why, but all I could come up with is that Alice mentions getting her period. If we ban books for mentioning natural body functions that nearly half of youth will face, we are going down a slippery slope. This book is a little outdated, but I would still recommend it!
Alice is beginning sixth grade at a new school. The only person she knows there is Elizabeth, the seemingly perfect girl living across the street. Alice decides that living with a father and an older brother (her mother died when she was young) has left her with a gaping hole on how a young woman should be. The first day of school, Alice learns about the sixth grade teachers. She sees young, beautiful, cool Miss Cole and her opposite, frumpy, old Mrs. Plotkin. Alice is determined that Miss Cole will become her feminine mentor but through the school years learns that there is more to what makes a person good and honorable than meets the eye.
Middle school
Middle school
I started reading this series shortly after I moved cross country in the summer of 2006. As a sixth grader, my progress in life mirrored Alice. Essentially, we grew up together as we started our periods and fell in love with drummers around similar times. The Alice series is my favorite book series of all time and I can't wait to share these treasures with my daughter if I ever have one.
the first written in the alice mckinley series. i stumbled on it our public library when i was 11 or so, and i've been reading the books every since.
I loved reading this book when I was 10 or 11 years old. A good coming of age book for younger girls. :)
In the world of children's literature (and in recent years also YA), one name is mentioned above all others: Alice. To be specific, Alice McKinley--the intrepid heroine of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's long running children's/YA series.
"The Agony of Alice" is the debut novel of this series, originally published in 1985 and now out in a variety of reprints with myriad versions of cover art. Personally, I'd be more willing to consider Naylor's prequel novel "Starting With Alice" (from 2002) to be the actual beginning of this series, but having read both either seems appropriate as an introduction to Alice's world.
When this story begins, Alice is preparing to move with her father and older brother, NAME. As the family packs up, Alice remembers all of the embarrassing things she did in the years leading up to the move and also wishes that, just maybe, some people like Donald Sheavers and the milk man might disappear or suddenly develop amnesia to save Alice some of her embarrassment.
Of course, life doesn't work that way, so instead Alice just has to keep moving forward in her new town as she tries to make new friends, find a new mother (Alice's mother died when she was a young child), and earn a place on the coveted street patrol. Meanwhile, Alice has to decide whether she's growing up properly or backwards, cope with the worst teacher in the entire grade, and figure out how to buy a pair of jeans. Sixth grade is going to be nothing if not exciting for Alice!
This is the kind of book where not many "major" things happen, it's more like opening a window into Alice's life. Happily that works. Alice is likable and entertaining. Naylor does a great job creating an authentic and readable voice in her first person narration. On a more minor note, it's kind of fun to read the early books in the series that are set in the 1980s just to get little touches like the cassette tapes thrown in to make the setting authentic.
When I started "The Agony of Alice" I must admit that the book seemed a bit slow (as slow as such a short book can seem). That might have more to do with my usually reading crazy, action-packed fantasy novels. It might also have to do with my resistance to starting this series. Having done my time with sweeping series--the ones that go on for years and require a continued commitment to follow--I was hesitant to start another. Then I found out that the series would be ending when Alice turned eighteen and realized the end was in sight (Alice was already a high school junior in the latest installment). Plus, the book got more interesting the more I read which made me rethink my initial doubts.
Finally, Alice is a great character. Certainly Alice has her stumbles along the way, but she always gets up and dusts herself off. It's a hard lesson to learn, so it's nice to see a character in a children's book who is already getting the hang of it.
"The Agony of Alice" is the debut novel of this series, originally published in 1985 and now out in a variety of reprints with myriad versions of cover art. Personally, I'd be more willing to consider Naylor's prequel novel "Starting With Alice" (from 2002) to be the actual beginning of this series, but having read both either seems appropriate as an introduction to Alice's world.
When this story begins, Alice is preparing to move with her father and older brother, NAME. As the family packs up, Alice remembers all of the embarrassing things she did in the years leading up to the move and also wishes that, just maybe, some people like Donald Sheavers and the milk man might disappear or suddenly develop amnesia to save Alice some of her embarrassment.
Of course, life doesn't work that way, so instead Alice just has to keep moving forward in her new town as she tries to make new friends, find a new mother (Alice's mother died when she was a young child), and earn a place on the coveted street patrol. Meanwhile, Alice has to decide whether she's growing up properly or backwards, cope with the worst teacher in the entire grade, and figure out how to buy a pair of jeans. Sixth grade is going to be nothing if not exciting for Alice!
This is the kind of book where not many "major" things happen, it's more like opening a window into Alice's life. Happily that works. Alice is likable and entertaining. Naylor does a great job creating an authentic and readable voice in her first person narration. On a more minor note, it's kind of fun to read the early books in the series that are set in the 1980s just to get little touches like the cassette tapes thrown in to make the setting authentic.
When I started "The Agony of Alice" I must admit that the book seemed a bit slow (as slow as such a short book can seem). That might have more to do with my usually reading crazy, action-packed fantasy novels. It might also have to do with my resistance to starting this series. Having done my time with sweeping series--the ones that go on for years and require a continued commitment to follow--I was hesitant to start another. Then I found out that the series would be ending when Alice turned eighteen and realized the end was in sight (Alice was already a high school junior in the latest installment). Plus, the book got more interesting the more I read which made me rethink my initial doubts.
Finally, Alice is a great character. Certainly Alice has her stumbles along the way, but she always gets up and dusts herself off. It's a hard lesson to learn, so it's nice to see a character in a children's book who is already getting the hang of it.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i read this book mostly because i remember LOVING this series as a kid and i wanted to read it now that im older just for old times sake, and i have to say i really liked it! it was really interesting now, as an adult, to read about alice coming into her own after moving and starting a new school and with all the ups and downs that comes with, and also how she learns what it means to not judge a book by its cover and how someones outward appearance does not in any way tell you the kind of person they are.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Death of parent
I read all the Alice books as a kid. Nice little trip down memory lane.
I'm almost twenty-five rereading these books and they are still so heartfelt, relatable, non-condescending and just straight up good middle grade writing. these books were integral to my childhood and rereading them now just gives me warm, fuzzy feelings. Highly recommend, would give to any middle schooler I know.