Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.  Now I’ll Tell You Everything.  New York: Atheneum, 2013.

This was a pretty ambitious project for Naylor, creating a final book that covers not just a couple of months, but forty years.  I can see how that would get mixed reviews (as far as I’ve seen on Goodreads, anyway), some people saying it felt like Naylor rushed through Alice’s experiences.  Considering the length of the book, I was glad for the fast pace, and felt it balanced well between skimming through certain parts of Alice’s life vs. spending more time on other parts.  I also thought it balanced well between new material and nostalgic reminders of the previous books, the latter especially in the final chapter.

Some say the story feels like fanfiction, with Alice & co. living predictable lives, everyone finding the job he or she wanted, or that suits them best, no one suffering any horrible tragedies…it’s an overall feel-good story, which was fine with me.  It did start to drag on towards the end, and although I liked most of the last chapter, the bit at the very end felt way too cliche (you’ll have to see my Goodreads review for more spoilers details).

For what it was trying to do, I’d say the book did a nice job.  And I totally want someone to create a three-part bar like The Voyage/Temptation/Source, because that really would make an awesome bachelor/ette party spot.

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My other Alice reviews:

Incredibly Alice
Alice on Board
My Top 10 Childhood Book Series