The Agony of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

When I started The Agony of Alice I must admit that the book seemed a bit slow (as slow as such a short book can seem).

On a more minor note, it’s kind of fun to read the early books in the series that are set in the 1980s just to get little touches like the cassette tapes thrown in to make the setting authentic. Naylor does a great job creating an authentic and readable voice in her first person narration. This is the kind of book where not many “major” things happen, it’s more like opening a window into Alice’s life. Sixth grade is going to be nothing if not exciting for Alice!

Meanwhile, Alice has to decide whether she’s growing up properly or backwards, cope with the worst teacher in the entire grade, and figure out how to buy a pair of jeans. Of course, life doesn’t work that way, so instead Alice just has to keep moving forward in her new town as she tries to make new friends, find a new mother (Alice’s mother died when she was a young child), and earn a place on the coveted street patrol. As the family packs up, Alice remembers all of the embarrassing things she did in the years leading up to the move and also wishes that, just maybe, some people like Donald Sheavers and the milk man might disappear or suddenly develop amnesia to save Alice some of her embarrassment. When this story begins, Alice is preparing to move with her father and older brother. Personally, I’d be more willing to consider Naylor’s prequel novel Starting With Alice (from 2002) to be the actual beginning of this series, but having read both either seems appropriate as an introduction to Alice’s world. The Agony of Alice is the debut novel of this series, originally published in 1985 ( find it on Bookshop) and now out in a variety of reprints with myriad versions of cover art. To be specific, Alice McKinley–the intrepid heroine of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s long running children’s/YA series. In the world of children’s literature (and in recent years also YA), one name is mentioned above all others: Alice.

The Agony of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor