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heathercottledillon's review against another edition
3.0
As I mentioned in my review of "Alice in April," an earlier book in this series, I love the characters in these books, particularly Alice's family. This story provides good doses of both humor and tough stuff, as do the rest of the Alice books that I've read. I didn't think this one was quite as funny as "Alice in April," though, and it seemed sort of repetitive: Alice still wants Miss Summers and her dad to get together and they still are moving too slowly for her. I would have liked to see more new stuff coming into play in "Achingly Alice."
kricketa's review against another edition
4.0
book 10. in which miss summers decides to spend a year teaching in england, and alice freaks out. she also begins to feel hot & bothered about patrick, but surprises herself by feeling attracted to another dude.
stephann_4's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-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
3.0
finesilkflower's review against another edition
2.0
Alice goes too far trying to engineer a happy ending for her dad and Miss Summers, but she gains some sympathy for Miss Summers' torn-between-two-lovers drama as she gets to know Sam from Camera Club while still dating Patrick. (Christmas through spring, eighth grade)
Random Observations:
* I'm calling it: this is the book when Alice officially becomes a boring stick-in-the-mud. She complains like a crotchety old woman about watching the ball drop at New Years, yet turns down an unsupervised party because "I'm not ready for those kinds of parties yet." No kid has ever believed she's "not ready for" any adult milestone, except maybe the odd goody-two-shoes, socially backward nerd who only ever speaks to adults, which I guess Alice is!
* The storyline where Elizabeth is scared to have her first pelvic exam at first seems intended to reassure girls that it's not that bad, and I think this is a totally worthy goal; I remember being scared of the gynecologist when I was that age. But this portrayal only makes it worse! It plays on girls' fears without reassuring them. The exam itself remains mysterious, since it's not witnessed by a POV character, only related later by the most melodramatic and puritanical character in the series. She's mortified by the procedure, reinforcing the idea--or introducing it, if a girl didn't already feel that way--that having your vagina examined by a doctor is, and should be, shameful and terrifying.
* I think this is the first book which begins the annoying narrative feature of having Alice list unconnected things in her life without going into any of them or explaining the connection. Like, "Things are up in the air with Dad and Miss Summers; Marilyn is working at the Melody Inn; I'm getting to know Sam; and Elizabeth has a new baby brother." Just pick a topic. There are a few amusing scenes and incidents, but much of the book is summary and could easily be cut. Unfortunately, this will be a recurring theme as the series progresses.
Random Observations:
* I'm calling it: this is the book when Alice officially becomes a boring stick-in-the-mud. She complains like a crotchety old woman about watching the ball drop at New Years, yet turns down an unsupervised party because "I'm not ready for those kinds of parties yet." No kid has ever believed she's "not ready for" any adult milestone, except maybe the odd goody-two-shoes, socially backward nerd who only ever speaks to adults, which I guess Alice is!
* The storyline where Elizabeth is scared to have her first pelvic exam at first seems intended to reassure girls that it's not that bad, and I think this is a totally worthy goal; I remember being scared of the gynecologist when I was that age. But this portrayal only makes it worse! It plays on girls' fears without reassuring them. The exam itself remains mysterious, since it's not witnessed by a POV character, only related later by the most melodramatic and puritanical character in the series. She's mortified by the procedure, reinforcing the idea--or introducing it, if a girl didn't already feel that way--that having your vagina examined by a doctor is, and should be, shameful and terrifying.
* I think this is the first book which begins the annoying narrative feature of having Alice list unconnected things in her life without going into any of them or explaining the connection. Like, "Things are up in the air with Dad and Miss Summers; Marilyn is working at the Melody Inn; I'm getting to know Sam; and Elizabeth has a new baby brother." Just pick a topic. There are a few amusing scenes and incidents, but much of the book is summary and could easily be cut. Unfortunately, this will be a recurring theme as the series progresses.
happilywilted's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
marjen's review against another edition
3.0
The winter of Alice's eighth grade year poses a whole new set of challenges and excitements.
As the title suggests, Alice finds herself aching in a multitude of ways. She desperately wants her dad and favorite teacher, Miss Summers, to tie the knot, but Miss Summers is torn between Alice's dad and an old flame (who just happens to be the middle school vice principal, Mr. Sorringer).
While Alice is at first angry at Miss Summers, she soon finds herself feeling a little more sympathy when Alice herself is unsure about wanting to stay with her boyfriend Patrick when she finds herself attracted to a different guy in her Camera Club. She struggles between her attachment to Patrick while wanting to maintain her independence and explore other options.
I generally think the Alice books are pretty feminist in nature, but there are definitely some moments that make me shake my head. Alice's obsession with her dad marrying Miss Summers is particularly out of control in this book -- she goes as far as to lie to Miss Summers about seeing Mr. Sorringer out with another woman, which blows up in her face later. She also fantasizes that Miss Summers should quit her job teaching in order to become a wife to Ben and a mother to Alice, as if these two are mutually exclusive. Part of this is Alice's desperation to have a 'normal' family again (Alice's mom was a homemaker), but this underlying message of traditional gender roles bothers me.
I'm pretty exited that Miss Summers has decided to move to England for a year, for my sake as well as her's. Alice seriously needed to stop obsessing over her dad's love life, and I'm sick of reading about it.
Not one of the strongest books in the series, but it moves the plot along at a decent page and clears the way for brighter installments ahead.
As the title suggests, Alice finds herself aching in a multitude of ways. She desperately wants her dad and favorite teacher, Miss Summers, to tie the knot, but Miss Summers is torn between Alice's dad and an old flame (who just happens to be the middle school vice principal, Mr. Sorringer).
While Alice is at first angry at Miss Summers, she soon finds herself feeling a little more sympathy when Alice herself is unsure about wanting to stay with her boyfriend Patrick when she finds herself attracted to a different guy in her Camera Club. She struggles between her attachment to Patrick while wanting to maintain her independence and explore other options.
I generally think the Alice books are pretty feminist in nature, but there are definitely some moments that make me shake my head. Alice's obsession with her dad marrying Miss Summers is particularly out of control in this book -- she goes as far as to lie to Miss Summers about seeing Mr. Sorringer out with another woman, which blows up in her face later. She also fantasizes that Miss Summers should quit her job teaching in order to become a wife to Ben and a mother to Alice, as if these two are mutually exclusive. Part of this is Alice's desperation to have a 'normal' family again (Alice's mom was a homemaker), but this underlying message of traditional gender roles bothers me.
I'm pretty exited that Miss Summers has decided to move to England for a year, for my sake as well as her's. Alice seriously needed to stop obsessing over her dad's love life, and I'm sick of reading about it.
Not one of the strongest books in the series, but it moves the plot along at a decent page and clears the way for brighter installments ahead.
jessicaboi's review against another edition
5.0
I just spent 30 mins of my workday I didn't have trying to remember what this book series was. Finally. Inhaled them when I was younger. The best.