Just not as fun as the others, imo. Driven more by issues than characters. I'm still reading, but they're getting a little harder to find and I may give up before we're done. ( )

Alice, a UU, is entering 9th grade.

A new girl at school has caught Patrick's eye. He wants to keep seeing Alice, but see Penny when he wants as well. Alice says, no. We can't both be your special girl, so they break up. More teen angst in this book than in any of the middle school era volumes in the series.
Alice's preparation for a Thanksgiving dinner in which she has invited three female ex-convicts to share Thanksgiving with her family is one of those episodes that stand out as laugh-out-loud funny. ( )

I'm so, so glad this one went the way it did (spoiler alert for the rest of the review).

I liked Patrick a lot in the books before this, even though he seemed pretty unrealistic for a twelve- and thirteen-year-old boy—just way too sophisticated and together. I felt like the way he talked to Alice, and the way Alice described all their moments together, they sounded more like a couple in their twenties (because even older teenagers just aren't that well-scripted in real life). However—and this was a big "however" for me—Patrick was only good as long as things were good, and as soon as he did something that bothered Alice, he became a total ass. He was constantly gaslighting her and dismissing her thoughts and feelings, and in this book, Alice finally recognizes and addresses it. It was sad to see their sweet relationship end, but I'm so glad it did and I am loving watching Alice learn about herself in the process.

I love her books they keep you so intrested and each book is different because most sequles then the next and next ex. repeat but her's don't. ( )