I'm calling it: this is where the Alice series goes downhill.Some detractors hate on the high school books because of the increase in sexual content, but I'll defend the series to the ends of the earth from them; I think the frankness with which it approaches sexual topics which are undeniably part of teens' lives is one of the series' strengths. Allowing the characters to grow and change is another, and it would be ridiculous for Alice to retain her childlike naivite as she enters adulthood. At the same time, though, the writing, plotting, characterization, humor, general enjoyability factor--everything is just better in the earlier books. Reading the series in order, I usually can't tell the exact moment when it goes from genuinely high-quality to a guilty pleasure, but I reread them in backwards order because of the way they came out on e-book, and it was clear that Alice on the Outside, which immediate precedes this book, is really much better. Both have a thematic focus which the later high school books lack, but Grooming has a lot more of the excesses I find annoying in the later books, like PSAs seemingly shoehorned into the plot without coming up organically and bizarre structure. Events seem to happen without any rhyme or reason, or they'll be randomly juxtaposed. In this book, deeply moving and genuinely emotional (view spoiler)[funeral (hide spoiler)]
It's the summer between eighth and ninth grades and Alice, Elizabeth, and Pamela plan to hang out with their friends, work a few hours a week, and get in shape. Their early-morning runs and vows to eat healthier foods take a dramatic turn when Elizabeth begins to look like skin and bones. Alice experiences the loss of her favorite teacher and Pamela has problems living with her dad. The three girls attend a workshop for girls only in which body issues are discussed, including weight and sexuality. Anatomically correct terms are used to describe both male and female body parts which might make preteen readers squirm, but they are right on target for 13-year-olds. Recommended for grades 7+. Thanks to Puget Sound Council for the review copy.
What do You think about The Grooming Of Alice (2004)?
This book had a few milestones, it was one of the longest Alice books so far at 200 pages, and also one of the saddest. I read this on my way back from a wedding in about an hour and change. Major things happen to Alice in this book: We get to know her brother Lester's new girlfriend, a development occurs in the romance between her father and her English teacher, her friend suffers from an eating disorder, and worst of all, Alice suffers a huge personal loss. This book was definitely a stand out volume. I look forward to the next few!!
—Brian
