First Things First: The Agony of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Happy March  and welcome back to "First Things First."  Each month I'll be reviewing the first book(s) in a long-standing series.  This month, I took a break from mystery thriller and re-visited my friend Alice McKinley.  "The Agony of Alice," is the first novel in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's "Alice" series.

"Life, Alice McKinley feels, is just one big embarrassment. Here she is, about to be a teenager and she doesn't know how. It's worse for her than for anyone else, she believes, because she has no role model. Her mother has been dead for years. Help and advice can only come from her father, manager of a music store, and her nineteen-year-old brother, who is a slob. What do they know about being a teen age girl? What she needs, Alice decides, is a gorgeous woman who does everything right, as a roadmap, so to speak. If only she finds herself, when school begins, in the classroom of the beautiful sixth-grade teacher, Miss Cole, her troubles will be over. Unfortunately, she draws the homely, pear-shaped Mrs. Plotkin. One of Mrs. Plotkin's first assignments is for each member of the class to keep a journal of their thoughts and feelings. Alice calls hers "The Agony of Alice, " and in it she records all the embarrassing things that happen to her.

Through the school year, Alice has lots to record. She also comes to know the lovely Miss Cole, as well as Mrs. Plotkin. And she meets an aunt and a female cousin whom she has not really known before. Out of all this, to her amazement, comes a role model -- one that she would never have accepted before she made a few very important discoveries on her own, things no roadmap could have shown her. Alice moves on, ready to be a wise teenager." goodreads.com

Not only did I love "The Agony of Alice," I've read and love this entire series.  While "The Agony of Alice," was first published in 1985 and is geared for middle grade readers (age 9-12) I didn't stumble upon it until 2011.  I read "I Like Him, He Likes Her," which details Alice's freshman year in high school and featured the novels: "Alice Alone," "Simply Alice," and "Patiently Alice."  After I devoured that, I had to put first things first and see where the Alice series began.

While I read the entire series as adult, I found Alice's story to be very relate-able to my school days and in turn, I think tweens and teens could easily relate to her. Alice isn't a privileged Upper East Sider like the "Gossip Girl" gang, nor is she full of secrets and scandals like the "Pretty Little Liars" crew or in love with a vampire.  Alice is just a normal girl dealing with everyday life.  Phyllis Reynolds Naylor doesn't shy away from describing Alice's life experiences such as puberty and the awkwardness that comes with it.  There are many instances throughout this book and the series that I really empathized with Alice and recalled similar experiences.  

As as adult I was also able to appreciate the life lessons in this series.  As Alice grows up and enters high-school, the relationships she and her friends engage in turn more serious and in some instances more physical.  Naylor does of good job of showcasing the realities and consequences of sexual relationships without coming off as preachy.  

However, this series isn't all awkward moments and life lessons.  There are plenty of comical moments too such as when Alice's fashion challenged brother Lester tries to help her with back-to-school shopping, the pranks Alice's friends play on Lester, and Alice's attempts at playing matchmaker for her father and brother.

I also loved Alice's relationship with her father.  Mr. McKinley reminds me a lot of my dad.  He's easy-going, loves music and he and Alice can talk about anything and everything. 

Last Fall, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor concluded the series with "Now, I'll Tell You Everything," which followed Alice from her college years until she turned 60.  It was a wonderful conclusion to a fantastic series.  I laughed and I cried just as I had through most books in this series.  You may also want to rewind the clock a little further and explore the prequel novels "Starting With Alice,"  "Alice in Blunderland," and "Lovingly Alice," which follow Alice from 3rd Grade through 5th. 






If you haven't met Alice McKinley, I highly recommend you do and that you share the books with the teens and tweens in your life.  She's been a great friend to me and I'm sure she'll be one to you too.

If you've read any of the books in the "Alice" series, I'd love to hear your non-spoilery thoughts below. 

First Things First: The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Happy February and welcome back to "First Things First."  Each month I'll be reviewing the first book in a long-standing series.  "The Lincoln Lawyer," is the first novel in Michael Connelly's best-selling series of the same name and is also the basis for the recent Matthew McConaughey film. 

Mickey Haller has spent all his professional life afraid that he wouldn’t recognize innocence if it stood right in front of him. But what he should have been on the watch for was evil.
   
Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers — they’re all on Mickey Haller’s client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence — it’s about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it’s even about justice.
   
A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney’s dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career.
   
Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal — this time to save his own life. - michaelconnelly.com

This book was fantastic. From the minute Mickey meets Louis Roulet, an affluent young man accused of assaulting his date, you know that something isn't quite right.  Is Roulet being set up?  Or is he really an abusive man?  As Haller begins to prepare his defense and investigates Roulet, we get some answers and that's where the real story takes off and you're on a fast paced ride as Haller soon finds himself in more trouble than he ever bargained for. Soon everyone in Haller's life is a suspect in what seems to be a sinister plot against Haller's life.  You'll be guessing everyone's true motives until the very end.

In addition to the great plot, the characters were also fantastic.  Connelly does an amazing job of making them not just characters on a page but real people.  Haller is a very interesting and complex person.  He's a brilliant lawyer.  His legal tactics are clever and he works hard but his problem is he knows he's good and as a result he's more than confident. He's a tad arrogant and that arrogance ultimately leads him into the mess he finds himself in here.  Regardless, he's also charming and and a little snarky which is a combination I find irresistible.  Haller's ex-wife describes him as a "... a sleazy defense lawyer with two ex-wives and an eight-year-old daughter and we all love you."  However I didn't find him sleazy.  While he may represent some awful people, he also sees the good in some of his other clients who've just made poor choices and found themselves in legal trouble such as his driver, Earl.  Even the minor characters in this novel such as the prostitute Haller routinely represents have depth.

I have yet to see the film adaptation of "The Lincoln Lawyer," but I'm a little reluctant to as this book was so wonderful.  I am about to the start "The Brass Verdict," the second novel in the series.  "The Brass Verdict," also features Harry Bosch from Connelly's other best-selling series.  "Bosch," has also been adapted into a television show for Amazon streaming and will debut this month. I look forward to starting that series as well.

If you haven't read "The Lincoln Lawyer," yet, go get it!  You're in for a real treat. If you have read it, seen the film or read any of Connelly's other novels, I'd love to hear your thoughts on them below.  Please try to keep your comments spoiler free.

First Things First: The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

 

Happy New Year and welcome to our new feature "First Things First."  Each month I'll be reviewing the first book or few books in a long-standing series. First up, "The Surgeon," book one in Tess Gerritsen's "Rizzoli & Isles" series.  The books are also the basis of TNT's popular drama or the same name.

"In Boston, there's a killer on the loose. A killer who targets lone women, who breaks into their apartments and performs terrifying ritualistic acts of torture on them before finishing them off. His surgical skills lead police to suspect he is a physician - a physician who, instead of saving lives, takes them.

But as homicide detective Thomas Moore and his partner Jane Rizzoli begin their investigation, they make a startling discovery. Closely linked to these killings is Catherine Cordell, a beautiful medic with a mysterious past. Two years ago she was subjected to a horrifying rape and attempted murder but she shot her attacker dead. Now she is being targeted by the new killer who seems to know all about her past, her work, and where she lives.

The man she believes she killed seems to be stalking her once again, and this time he knows exactly where to find her..." goodreads.com

It's important to note that while this book is considered a "Rizzoli & Isles," novel medical examiner Maura Isles does not appear in "The Surgeon," at all.  She makes her first appearance in the second novel in the series "The Apprentice."

This book was different than anything I had ever read before. I normally choose a light cozy mystery.  However, I am so glad I decided to broaden my reading horizons with a darker novel such as "The Surgeon." 

The novel is told from varying points of view including the killer's, the killer's main target Catherine, Jane's partner Thomas, and of course Jane Rizzoli herself.  This provides a unique and detailed look at all angles of the crime and the criminal investigation process.  

The descriptions of the crime scene and the killer's point of view are graphic and disturbing but not in a gratuitous manner. It just added fuel page turning fire that this creeper must be arrested and arrested fast.

While the book was written in 2005 and some of the technology used in criminal investigation may be outdated, it was really interesting and fascinating to read the descriptions of what goes on in a criminal investigation and how the technology works.

Jane's determination to be seen as a great cop rather than a just a great female cop makes her seem not assertive and confident but abrasive at times.  However, it's something her character acknowledges and struggles with.  I had to laugh though at the one passage describing her feelings toward babies because her description of the awkwardness she felt around them was so like my own feelings that I laughed out loud.  I suspect her character and personality grows in subsequent installments as she already shows signs of becoming warmer in "The Apprentice."  

Jane's relentless pursuit of the killer will keep you up all night, not just in fear, but because you simply can't put this book down.  The cliche is definitely true here.  I carried this one around in purse so I could continue reading it whenever I had a free moment.

If you haven't already read "The Surgeon," by Tess Gerritsen, I highly recommend that you do.  I also recommend the second novel in the series, "The Apprentice."  I haven't read the seven subsequent novels in the series yet but I'm looking forward to them.  If you've read them, I'd love to read your non-spoilery comments!  Please share.