Dangerously Alice, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds (2007). Dangerously Alice. NY: Atheneum. 294 pages.
Okay, okay, I know: at this point in time, 19 books (22 if you count the “prequels”) into Naylor’s “Alice” series, people are starting to talk about formula. And, yeah, I have to admit that the books to have certain formulaic elements (thank God Naylor finally got rid of the summary beginning involving Alice’s mistaking her aunt for her mother!); however, I’m still a fan of the series. Maybe I’m drawn in by the progressively more graphic accounts of sexuality (though Naylor is no Judy Blume or Norma Klein on that front), maybe I’m comforted by the not-so-subtle didacticsm. Either way, I’m along for the “Alice” ride.
In the latest installment, Alice has entered her junior year of high school and, as she nears the final lap of teenager-hood, she’s watching the old gang change and grow away from each other. Suddenly, old pals Jill and Karen are slutty, cigarette smoking snobs and the boys at Mark Stedmeister’s pool just want to drink beer. Recognizing that her changing attitude towards her friends is the likely sign that she’s turned into a goody-goody, Alice tries to put a little pizazz into her life and begins to date a “fast” boy from the school newspaper. Meanwhile, her attempts at independence seem to be shot down all over the place by her father and stepmother.
This is a typical “Alice” entry, complete with funny asides from brother Lester, bizarre conversations with Alice’s nutty aunt from Chicago, and the obligatory masturbation scene. That said, I love every minute of each sweet and reassuring book in the series. For all the repetitive elements (do we have to hear about Pamela’s hair again?), there are what seem like genuinely real moments of conflict and confusion that raise the character of Alice up from modern mouthpiece to well-realized creation. And, though the afterschool-special plot point near the end of the novel did seem a little tired, I was glad to see it serve as motivation for a very real and kinda testy conversation between Alice and her stepmother that didn’t just tie up in a neat little bow.