Outrageously Alice
Grade 5-8.  Alice is, as always, likable, humorous, and true to life. Now 13 and in the eighth grade, she worries that she is too ordinary. Alice admits she has done embarrassing things, but never anything outrageous, and she decides to do something about it. She dresses up as a showgirl for Halloween, with unhappy results. She starts wearing makeup and goes to school with her hair spiked up and green, even though her father forbade it. Her brother's former girlfriend, Crystal, has asked Alice to be a bridesmaid, and this brings an array of new questions for Alice such as, what kind of bra do you wear with a backless bridesmaid dress? Does Crystal still think about Lester? What if you find out on your wedding night that you don't like sex? When she goes to the lingerie shower for Crystal, she realizes she knows nothing about sex and relationships. Her curiosity and concerns about growing up continue to be what make her so realistic. Even if Alice doesn't realize it, she is maturing. For instance, she knows how to be a good friend to Pamela, whose parents are getting divorced, and she knows what to do when her father falls off of a ladder. Naylor naturally and seamlessly introduces pertinent story lines and characters from the previous books. Another charmer in the long list of stories about this engaging character.?Elisabeth Palmer Abarbanel, Los Angeles Public LibraryCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.