Something is wrong at the Bessledorf Hotel as bodies, both dead and alive, are moved in and out of the establishment, so Bernie decides to take the case to find out the real scoop of what is taking place.
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.
Lynn's growing conviction that her sister is learning witchcraft from a neighbor reaches its peak when Lynn, her sister, and brother are left for a weekend in the neighbor's charge.
Alice has always tried to be a decent person. She gets good grades, comes home on time, and has never really given her dad and her stepmom any reason to worry. But now that junior year of high school has started, Alice is a little sick of people assuming she's a goody-goody, so she decides to start shaking things up. First there are the dates with Tony, a cute senior who’s a lot more experienced than Alice. Then the fights with her stepmom about the new cat, the car, and everything else start. But when Alice sneaks off to a party that her parents don’t know about and a near-tragedy follows, she starts to realize every choice has a consequence, and danger rarely leads to good ones.
“An undeniably enjoyable read.” —Booklist “A charming sequel.” —School Library Journal Roxie and the Hooligans are back and this time, Smoky Jo is swiped by a kidnapper who is as blunder-prone as Roxie, Uncle Dangerfoot, and Lord Thistlebottom are clever. Roxie is back! And that means the Hooligans are not far behind. The last time we saw the lot of them, they were being honored as town heroes for thwarting a bank robbery. Now these friends find more trouble afoot…that is, Uncle Dangerfoot to be exact. Roxie’s most beloved uncle is taking her on vacation to a beach house, and of course the Hooligans sneak along. But their little beach vacation is not what it seems when the Hooligans unveil the secret invention Uncle Dangerfoot has been hiding from his nemesis, who would do anything to get his hands on it. So when one of those rowdy, messy, trouble-making Hooligans goes missing, the suspect is obvious. But, when it comes to those LOUD, mess-making, rambunctious, always-hungry, ill-mannered Hooligans, what’s worse: Missing a Hooligan? Or staying sane while keeping her hostage?!
It’s the moment Alice has been looking forward to for years—her sixteenth birthday is coming up, and that means getting her driver’s license, with the freedom that entails. And before that important milestone, there’s another delicious taste of freedom awaiting Alice and her friends—a class trip to New York City, promising some serious partying once chaperones have gone to bed. But sophomore year and driving lessons are a lot harder than Alice thought they would be, and then there’s the problem with her new boyfriend, who is sometimes too attached to her. The older Alice gets, the more complicated her life seems to become.
It’s the summer before junior year, and Alice is looking forward to three months of excitement, passion, and drama. But what does she find? A summer working in a local department store, trying to stop shoplifters, and more “real life” problems than she could have ever imagined: A good friend becomes seriously ill, Lester has more romance problems than even Alice knows what to do with, and the gang from Mark Stedmeister’s pool is starting to grow up a bit faster than Alice is comfortable with….Fortunately for Alice her family and friends are with her through it all, and by the end of the summer, Alice finds she knows a whole lot more than she had in June.