it's not like i planned it this way by phyllis reynolds naylor

genre: teen fiction

recap: {back cover}
a new living arrangement: + stepmom, but - brother

a new maybe romance: + sam, but - patrick (kind of)

a new, long-awaited ticket to freedom: + driver's license, but - carefree irresponsibility

all these new pluses and minuses in alice's life each have their own pluses and minuses. sure, alice finally no longer has to share a bathroom with lester, but now she has to share her whole house with her former seventh-grade english teacher. and yeah, all this attention from sam is unexpected (and fun), but where does that leave her and patrick? when change is so complicated, whether it's good or bad seems entirely beside the point.

review: a follow up to that book, this one continues on to alice's sophomore year and the summer after. pretty good. quick read, even though the book is really thick. i'll be picking up the next one to continue on to junior year, and i'm sure there'll be another. i like series books.