Reluctantly Alice (Alice, #3) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Reluctantly Alice (Alice, #3) Reviews

• 
  thehodgenator

  I love Alice McKinley as a character. She is always trying to find her place in the world.
  
  In her latest adventure, Alice is starting seventh grade and she has one goal - for everyone to like her. She doesn't want to be popular, she just wants everyone to think she is a "swell" gal.
  
  There is only one problem. That problem is named Denise Whitlock. For some reason she hates Alice, and thus is the focus in the book: how to overcome a bully. Well, there really is only one way to do it - the Alice way!
  
  With Alice dealing with her bully, she and her friends adjusting to middle school, Lester dealing with two girls, and Alice's dad dealing with two women, this novel is packed with enough to keep readers turning the page.
  
  I gave this novel five stars because I feel that Naylor has a solid plot with well-developed characters. While it can get a bit repetitive book after book about Alice growing up without a mom, for me as a reader, it is what makes her an endearing character. A lot of Alice's issues are birthed from her growing up without a female role model, and I love that she is always searching for just the right one.
• 
  Kelly (kellyreadingbooks)

  Another cute one in the series!
• 
  Meagan

  This is the third installation in the "Alice" series, and once again I was thoroughly entertained. Like the rest of the series so far, it was poignant, sweet and funny. Rather than rehash my feelings about the series, I'd like to share a favorite passage, which occurs as Alice researches the human body at the public library:
  
  "A librarian came by to get a book from the shelf, and she couldn't help but see what I was looking at; she didn't even blink. Like it was okay to be curious. I felt almost the way I did at the grade school the other day. Safe. Protected.
  
  When I picked out four books for Elizabeth, the man at the checkout desk didn't stare at me or anything, either. He checked out my books on bodies as casually as if I were reading up on the Civil War or photosynthesis or how to build a bird feeder. I had to know if this was just an act or if librarians were always glad to have you read stuff. So just before we left the library, I went over to a woman at the reference desk and asked where I would find a list of nudist camps.
  
  It wasn't just an act, it was real." -p. 90
  
  As a librarian, I realize I'm biased, but to me Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has shown exactly how great libraries can be.
• 
  Cayla Mcelwee

  For my summer reading I chose to read Reluctantly Alice. Reluctantly Alice was a very good choice for me to read because it kept my attention, and was a great part of the series. In Reluctantly Alice the author explained Alice's difficulties of starting 7th great with a goal of getting everyone to like her. I liked how the author made Alice start off well, have difficulties with her goal later in the book, and manage to fix her problems on her own, and become friends with the girl that was giving her problems. In this book, Alice had big improvements from the last books, and was starting to handle things better on her own. Starting out, Alice didn't know much about 7th grade, and later found out who the bullies were, and the girls bullied Alice. Towards the end of the year there was a project with a partner that you picked, Alice picked the bully. The author showed how Alice fixing her own problems really worked (even though you would never think so) because Alice turned out to fix her problem, and meet her goal of 7th grade. Overall Reluctantly Alice was a great book, and I definitely recommend it!
• 
  Marilena Turquoise

  Alice's new adventures and agonies as she has to sing although she knows she can't carry a tune. Nudism - exploring mens' nude bodies in magazines (was that why the series was banned in schools?) and the best part, how to deal with bullies the best way possible. What I mostly liked about this book is that bullying is portrayed the way we had in mind the previous decades. Unlike nowadays that things got to extremities (either kids are trying to kill each other physically or emotionally or teachers get involved in every single disagreement between kids and name it "bullying"), here bullying is handled with a different psychology,a more friendly, a more bohemian one. Finally, you are probably wondering why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5; I felt like this was part of a series so somehow incomplete as an individual book -unlike the rest that can be read either as standalones or as parts of a series.
• 
  Rosie

  The third book in the Alice series finds Alice entering 7th grade with the goal of being liked by everyone. For the most part, she seems to be getting along with everyone except for the school bully, Denise Whitlock. Denise goes out of her way to make Alice's first semester of junior high miserable. Alice is offered some ways on how to handle Denise but ultimately comes up with a creative way to get her bully under control.
  
  Like the other Alice books, this one features some topics and conversations about growing up that Alice and her friends are curious about. But like Alice has come to realize, the best thing to do is to take it one day at a time, no matter how humiliating, stressful, or confusing the day before was.
• 
  Melody Loomis

  I’ve got to give this one 5 stars because there were times when I was literally laughing out loud because it was so funny! There were two scenes in particular that were my favorite. One was the scene where Alice was looking through National Geographic magazines for pictures of naked men. Two, the scene in which Patrick and Alice were passing notes about their boring history teacher back and forth, complete with drawings of their teacher spraying saliva all over his students. I think these scenes were so funny to me because it reminded me a lot of what me and my friends did when I was that age.
  
  Can’t wait to read the next one in the series!
  
• 
  Joyce

  I loved it - I remember just enough of this series to be like, "ah yeah that!" with a smile, but I forget just enough to be pleasantly surprised at major plot points, such as when Lester rescues Alice from Denise. I remember that Denise had family issues and ultimately commits suicide in front of a train later on in the series. I love witnessing the love problems of Alice's dad and older brother Lester. Interesting to read about Alice's seventh grade experiences. Man, I'm glad I didn't go to seventh grade at her school in her time.
• 
  Cheryl

  This is the one with an interesting bully and a very nasty torture (though nobody actually gets it done to them). And an awful lot of romance all over the place. And unacceptably clueless adults at the school. And it was a bit longer. Just felt a little off to me... but I'll keep reading at least for awhile.
  
  I'll also look up The Cherry Tree Carol because even though I don't celebrate Christmas I do like carols and hymns, and do the same thing Al's dad does, which is collect different versions of my favorites (and seek out new ones, which Cherry Tree is, iirc).
• 
  Madame Jane

  The third book in the wonderful ALICE series, sees Al in seventh grade with a goal to make everyone like her. All of that doesn't go as planned when Denise begins to bully her, and Pamela and Elizabeth get too sensitive. Lester, Alice's brother, is juggling two women at a time. Indecisive to which one he should choose.
• 
  Leela

  I liked it, wouldn’t really want to reread it again. I didn’t read the rest of the series, oops, not really planning to. I might if I get around to it, but not really at the top of my list. You should still read it.
• 
  Celinda Reyes

  Currently re-reading all of the Alice books & it always amazes me that this series is still as entertaining as the 1st time I read it. HIGHLY recommend this series for all of my fellow bookworms!
• 
  Dumlesi Ndam

  Unbelievable.
• 
  Renee Schnebelin

  Alice Knows Best
  
  I am so intrigued by this series. As an almost forty year old woman I really love reading about Alice's life and how she overcomes anything that is thrown her way.
• 
  Booknerdreads Grace Haddad

  Love love love!
• 
  owleeya

  Gak pernah diterjemahin GPU ya, pantes waktu baca All but Alice rada2 bingung.
• 
  Tsippora

  these books are so wholesome <3
• 
  Jen (The Jenerator)

  Great message and this one made me laugh out loud!
• 
  Brigette

  I read this one to my kid. We enjoyed it! 4 Stars.
• 
  Fierymermaidbooks

  Alice is growing up!💖 I love how this book addressed important issues such as bullying. Alice spends most of the book as a target to an upperclassman at the middle school, and readers get see her struggle to retaliate or to take the higher road. I really wanted to see her get back together with Patrick though! One of my favorite scenes is definitely Alice, Pamela and Elizabeth doing the frog pose and making ribbet noises and then Lester walks in and they are both super embarrassed because they both like him! I also love how her two best friends are polar opposites and how Alice always meddles in things! Especially setting her dad up with her teacher😉 I think everyone needs to read these books they are literally amazing!
• 
  Morgan

  still fun!
• 
  Maria

  The third book in the Alice series, covering the first semester of seventh grade.
  
  Alice decides she wants to be liked by everyone in seventh grade, but runs into trouble when she meets Denise Whitlock, who mercilessly picks on Alice. So the lesson in this one is how to deal with a bully. Alice deals with Denise by killing her with kindness, an approach that might not work so well in real life, but makes for a nice conclusion here. I also liked how Naylor humanized Denise towards the end of the book, rather than leaving her as a two-dimensional villain.
  
  This is one of the books that I remember distinctly from my first read-through, when I was in about sixth grade. Lester has to choose between Marilyn and Crystal, which includes a sitcom-style scene when they both show up at his house to care for him when he's sick. Still funny, years later.
  
  Alice's family gets some solid character development in this one. Ben has been kind a distant father figure in the last two books, and things finally get a bit more flushed out here. He's still much gruffer and less warm than I remember him being when I originally read these books. I wonder if that changes throughout the series.
  
  Observations:
  - I enjoyed the lack of Patrick in this one. He's kind a dud.
  - Alice goes to the library to do some research on changing bodies and finds it to be a judgement-free zone. This is a wonderful message for tweens and teens who may not feel they can bring some of their questions home.
  - I got this from my library and it's a first edition straight from 1991. There's mysterious stains on every single page and the cover looks like the opening credits of Grease.
  - Alice says Aunt Sally dresses like a "lady banker", rather than just a banker.
  
• 
  Jennifer

  Starting middle school/Junior High can be an extremely scary and nerve-wracking thing, and I think that Ms. Naylor captures all of the emotions perfectly. Alice finds all of her relationships changing in this book: with Patrick, with Pamela/Elizabeth, with her father, with Lester, with Aunt Sally, and with her teachers. This year, she wants to like everyone and for everyone to like her. But then Denise shows up. And Denise represents all of those people that are hurting and just want someone to see them. And Alice shows her what friendship means.
  
  What I really enjoyed about this story was the Lester love triangle. Ms. Naylor was WAAAAAAY ahead of the game with love triangles, but having the love triangle occur in a minor character’s life is humorous because both the reader and Alice know that he is going to get in trouble! We also get some dad dating action (or attempts), and you see Alice try and figure out what her role in her father’s love life is (don’t worry, she learns).
  
  I really love and appreciate how Ms. Naylor explores different aspects of growing up in each of her novels, so that each one can get some major attention. But she also keeps the big emotional growths consistent in the series arc. Once again, Alice struggles with not having a mother–this time in the form of not understanding why her outfit doesn’t work–but it is the little details like this that show both her still struggling and her coming to an acceptance of how her life is.
  
  Yay for bubbles!
• 
  Natalie

  Oh boy, I read books 3 - 8 several months ago, all right in a row, so I'm having a hard time remembering what happened in each book. I'll do my best, but all I can say 100% for sure is that I love, love, love these books.
  
  Alice has just started 7th grade and she has goal: that everyone likes her. Not in a "I'm so popular way," but in a "I'm nice to everyone," kind of way. Fortunately Alice is extremely likable and she's doing well with her goal, until Denise Whitlock shows up. Denise has it in for Alice. Well, Alice figures that there is only one way to stop a bully, and she goes full throttle ahead.
  
  On the home front, Lester and her Dad are having women troubles. Alice tries to help them out, but they don't seem to listen.
  
  I just adore Alice. She's such a fun character. These books make me giggle like a crazy person. I think the best part is it's all so relatable. The worries and situations that Alice faces are things that we've all experienced. That's what makes her so lovable.