Alice in Charge
Grade 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, GACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.