Children's Literature
- Janis Flint-Ferguson
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
School Library Journal
Gr 8–10—Alice's final year of high school is neatly sliced in half with this segment covering fall semester's joys and challenges. The difficulty of returning to school after her friend Mike's death in a car accident is tempered with the excitement of being features editor on the school newspaper. The loneliness caused by Patrick attending college in Chicago has counterpoints such as daring to skinny-dip in a stranger's hot tub on Halloween and getting to know a Sudanese refugee from school who asks her to the Snow Ball. Alice has to handle some difficult issues—like anonymous racist notes left around the school and a substitute teacher who sexually crosses the line with some students—all while trying to decide where to apply to college and whether she would be better off close to home or spreading her wings. Girls who have followed the series will definitely want to graduate with Alice, but this entry may not inspire new readers. Its teens and their dialogue seem rather undifferentiated and somewhat bland in comparison to more dynamic and realistic YA novels. That said, Alice is a wonderful role model, and Naylor is unafraid to tackle subjects such as birth control and sexuality, in a tame and approachable fashion. Parents, friends, and even the conflicts themselves are almost too perfect, but idealized "normal" teen life might be appreciated by readers looking for something old school to contrast with sometimes all-too-gritty real life.—Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA
