Alice Macleod Realist At Last

There are many reasons this review was posted late and backdated which I won't get into here. Suffice to say I have been meaning to write this review for months but have been putting it off because I knew that once I wrote the review I would have to admit that Alice's adventures were done--no small task let me assure you. Onward . . . Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last (2006) is the stunning conclusion to Susan Juby's debut trilogy (preceeded by Alice, I Think and its sequel Miss Smithers). You might recognize Juby's name from the 2009 Edgar Awards where Getting the Girl was a nominee. This installment opens with the first scene from Alice's screenplay "Of Moose and Men"--a creative work loosely based on her own life. Excerpts of the screenplay are sprinkled throughout the novel. The writing is overwrought, exaggerated, and provides hysterical insight into Alice's psyche throughout the story. In addition to being Alice's latest career of choice, writing her screenplay also helps this sixteen-year-old heroine make sense of the chaos that has become her life. At the beginning of the story, Alice's boyfriend Goose is moving with his family to Glasgow for an entire year only to go away to university on the other end of Canada when he finally returns. Dealing with this heartbreak is bad enough on its own. Then Alice's mother, a somewhat aggressive environmentalist, is thrown in jail as a result of her activist activities. That leaves Alice, her younger brother, and her father on their own. To say that this development leaves the family less than functional would be a vast understatement. The one constant in Alice's life seems, ironically, to be Death Lord Bob--her ineffectual therapist from the Teens in Transition (Not Trouble) Center in town. At least until he too is called away leaving Alice with the surly Ms. Deitrich who doesn't seem to understand anything about Alice's life let alone her highly evolved sense of style. With their matriarch breadwinner in jail Alice and her father find themselves, for the first time, looking for gainful employment. Alice's job search, and eventual employment, throw her into the paths of two brilliant characters: Wallace and Vince. Negotiating these new romantic waters, Alice finds herself caught between two equally charming suitors--one five years her senior, the other considerably her junior. The dilemma is equally difficult for readers who will likely be as attracted tothese guys as Alice herself. Throughout the series, readers are able to trace Alice's evolution as a character. The girl we meet in this novel is very different from the Alice entering a traditional school (or a beauty pageant) for the first time. She is more mature, and in some ways more responsible and engaged with the world at large. More than that, though, Alice's true depth as a heroine is really apparent in this story as she not only works through but even rises above all of the (screw)balls life throws at her. Alice MacLeod, Realist at

I related completely with Alice MacLeod in Susan Juby's first book "Alice, I think". Alice makes me laugh up a storm, something I miss in teen novels these days. The second novel "Miss Smithers" was also funny but the plot seemed a bit forced and not too interesting. Still, it went by fast and I enjoyed it. The third "Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last" is more of a romance. I missed the fact that Alice's boyfriend Goose has left the picture, but he is replaced by an equally lovable boy named Vince. Except Vince isn't exactly a boy, and he questions whether he is too old to be dating Alice. Alice's confusion over love and sex lead this novel with funny subplots about a prison-ridden mother, an unemployed father, and Alice's task to become a famous writer. Alice's writing is the best in this novel. In the second novel she wrote her own newspaper, but in "Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last" she heads out to write a script, which reads so utterly ridiculous, it's hilarious. A great read for the romantic, the one who loves to laugh, and anyone and everyone that wants to find a great friend in Alice.

"Alice Macleod, Realist at Last," Susan Juby's latest novel, continues the adventures of Alice Macleod, a self-proclaimed outcast who was home schooled for ten years before attending a public school. This is the third installment in a highly successful series which also includes the books "Alice, I Think" and "Miss Smithers." The book begins during the summer before seventeen-year-old Alice's senior year and her world seems to be falling apart. Her mother has been jailed for protesting the building of a toxic plant. Her boyfriend has recently moved to Scotland with his parents. Her empathetic counselor Bob has been temporarily replaced by the detached Ms. Deitrich. To top it all off the family's home-based candle making business has been snuffed out leaving Alice and her father in need of some fast employment. And that's just the start of Alice's troubles. This engaging story is told in the first person through pieces of Alice's diary and snippets of her tentatively titled screenplay "Of Moose and Men" where she has cast herself in the lead. The narrative devices skillfully convey Alice's unique outlook on life, but it might take several pages for new readers to warm up to her voice. Her sense of humor is quirky and often times quite dark. Alice's previous exploits are occasionally alluded to during the course of this novel, but reading the first two books ins't mandatory in order to thoroughly enjoy this one. Alice is the kind of character that readers will find charming. Potentially sensitive topics (such as Alice's mother's incarceration) are dealt with in a non-offensive and light-hearted manner. However, the book contains sexual content that may not be suitable for younger readers. This is a funny and entertaining book for ages twelve and up. [...]

The third, but I hope not the last, in a very funny series, Susan Juby's ALICE MACLEOD, REALIST AT LAST, concentrates on boys and men, as Alice in an endearingly oddball way juggles the hazards of dating. She's obsessed with two things, sex (having some) and screen-writing (she plans to be a younger, more attractive, and female Quentin Tarantino). This set would be a terrific gift for an adolescent girl who worries about not fitting in.

I think this is the last book in the series. This book was fun to read. Alice's outlook on her own life was really funny. I like her because she's a quirky character and very unique. In this book it's mostly about her finding love and learning about it.