In one of the better books in the series, Alice is a brides maid in her cousin Carol's wedding, visits Patrick at his college and goes to third base (one base shy of what she was hoping for), does volunteer work at a soup kitchen, fills in for Lester and his roomates, looking after their apartment and Mr. Watts while the young men take a vacation together, and (spoiler alert) in an abrupt turn at the end of the book, a long-time friend, Mark, is suddenly killed in a car accident.
The book flowed better than some, and the various episodes, including the sexual encounter and the sudden death of a friend, were handled well. ( )

3Q, 3P
The story is character driven which helps draw the reader into a story that plot-wise is a bit episodic. The issues the main character Alice faces are not well woven into the story, but instead feel like they were shoved in my face with a sign saying: this is an issue you should think about in your own life. This threw me out of the story and made it harder to get through, which I feel lowers both the quality and the popularity. Still, the issues encountered are those that teens deal with which helps teens identify with the characters so I think many teens would continue reading.

I like Alice, and the series continues to move me. Alice seems real, seems full of the sorts of questions a happy, well-adjusted almost-senior in high school would have. I liked the fair and balanced treatment Naylor gave to the outspoken atheist in this book, and the way she handled the relationship with Alice and Patrick. A solid addition to a good series. ( )

Yeah, yeah, I know, but I've read all the Alice books (again: yeah, yeah, I know). The latest one isn't bad, about on par with the rest of them. I do suspect we're seeing Alice's life maybe a little too closely--it's all very realistic, but I think a lot of her conversations don't need to be represented.

(This latest book is Alice and her Crisis of Faith, so most of her conversations revolve around her questions of God. There's also a Bible-thumping character who is actively pestering everyone else about converting to her brand of Christianity so their souls will be saved; it's pretty heavy-handed on the Religious Tolerance message.) ( )

3Q, 3P

I disliked this book for several reasons. First, and I know this is pretty nit-picky, but I think that teens might have trouble with character names like "Penny," "Carol," and "Mavis." I was unfamiliar with this series until now, but from what I can gather Naylor started writing it in the mid-1980s. Even with this in mind, the selection of names reflects a lack of currency that I find a bit troubling. The other thing that I struggled with was the fact that Alice faces pretty much every major issue possible within the course of a single summer. Sex? Check. Questioning religion? Check. Encountering homelessness? You got it. The death of a friend is quickly thrown in there, too. While these are all issues that are important to teens, I think that Naylor just tried to cram a bit too much into a single book.

With that said, I do think that certain teens would really like this book. It probably holds the most appeal for girls who have read other books in the Alice series, but could also interest those who are just starting to explore the issues I outlined above. ( )