It’s Not Like I Planned It This Way

Hi loves! I want to start this blog by greeting you all Happy New Year and I hope your 2018 will be productive and blessed. I love you all! ❤

This article is all about my preview on the second series of Alice’s called “It’s Not Like I Planned It This Way” by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, parts that I like in the first book of this series: Including Alice, and review of the book.

Preview (It’s Not Like I Planned It This Way)

In the back cover, it says “Change is a good thing… right?” on top. So, I’m assuming that the things or events that will happen in Alice’s life will be so overwhelming to her. However, is change really a good thing? Or maybe a bad thing.

Parts that I like in Including Alice

• “I guess I had never fully admitted to myself how angry I was at her for stealing Patrick away from me. Even though it was Patrick’s decision as much as it was hers. Even though they weren’t even going out together anymore. I never wanted her to know how much that had hurt me.”
  • Isn’t it so frustrating when someone broke up with you because he like someone else? Even though you wanted to befriend the girl for that guy, you can’t because you feel different than what you want. You want to get mad and kill the girl. But at the end, you’ll just going to make a fool out of yourself and be sad with the fact that nothing will change at all.
• “The way life will always be — happy and sad and scary and exciting and never knowing what will happen next.”
  • This sentence reminds me that we have to enjoy our present life even though it makes us depressed, scared and hurt sometimes. Remember there is always a rainbow after the rain. Also, life is so short to bury yourself in sadness. All you have to do is enjoy your life to the fullest because no one knows what will happen in the future.
• “I wish you happiness every day of your life. And I want to thank you for making the time we spent together the happiest of mine.”
  • Did you ever thank the guy/girl you love after they broke your heart? Let me tell you that they deserved to be thanked. Afterall, he/she took care of you and loved you with all his/her heart. Friendly advice, enjoy every single day you’re with them because you don’t know when they’ll be gone and give everything to them so that you don’t have any regret when they left.
• “What do you say to someone who has just had her heart broken? What could anyone have said that would helped me when Patrick and I broke up? Nothing. You have to get yourself through it, that’s all.”
  • People are so good at giving pieces of advice to those problematic ones but hard to apply it to themselves if they had the same issue, but you know what’s better than giving advice? Knowing that you are by their side.
• “I’ve heard that there’s someone in the world for every single person alive. It’s just that some of them never find each other.”
  • Why does destiny made it difficult for us to find the perfect one? Why do we have to be hurt and broken from someone else when we can be just happy every single day with the one? Until now, I didn’t know the answer to these questions but there’s definitely a great reason for it.
• “We’re friends. At least we’re back to being that again. But we’re not going out or anything. Neither are he and Penny. That’s what’s so weird. I mean, if I really want him back, why don’t I go for it? It’s like I can’t forgive him either.”
  • Do you still want to be friends with your ex-boyfriend? Also, even though you forgave him for what the reason is when you broke up, do you still want them back in your life? I can’t agree that Alice’s decision of being friends with Patrick again despite their emotional breakup but I’m not so sure what’s going to happen.
• “If a guy thinks I’m going to be impressed by his car, he’s going to be disappointed.”
  • Most of the guys think that girls are materialistic. There are some videos on Facebook and Youtube that guys are using expensive cars to ask a woman out. Well, most of the woman will go because they want to experience sitting in a fancy car but isn’t that annoying? Every individual has their interest, and I can’t blame anyone for it, but it’s not right to use something like a car to make girls look bad, especially, because guys only do it for fun.
• “It’s rough, because you can’t make yourself like someone, can you?”
  • It’s rough, but I think it will be nice to make yourself like someone. Why? Because when you like someone, it’s either you got rejected, or they will leave you. Love someone who wants you more than you like them; they will stay with you and love you until they can.

Review (Including Alice)

• The first thing I noticed in this book was how many times the phrase “Love is complicated” written. I think it’s a foreshadowing that Alice’s love life will become a mess because of Patrick and Sam, but I imagined the story having Penny involve in the scene again. I don’t know, but it gives me excitement to continue reading the series.
• In the first series (I Like Him, He Likes Her), Eric is a stuttering guy who likes Alice, and they became more than friends. Alice admits that she became comfortable being with him like Patrick does. However, Eric just disappeared in the book when he migrated to Texas. It left me some questions in mind like what happened to him? Is there a chance with him and Alice? But when he appeared again in this book I was disappointed. He just emailed Alice about the girl Emily that he met in Texas, and I guess that will be the end of “Alice and Eric” story.
• As we all know, Alice has a new mom which makes them new family considering Lester just moved out from their house. She felt so left out in every situations and decisions that her dad and stepmom are doing. That’s what about the title “Including Alice” all about because she wanted to feel belong to the family and not disguising every time she’s with stepmom. She wanted to be a perfect daughter for her by acting mature in some ways. One time, Alice became so upset because she’s working so hard embroidering a bed sheet set for the newlywed but they bought a new bed without telling her and then she felt so left out. In the end, they talked about everything and also asked her suggestions with stuff that must be discussed by the whole family.

“Being a family is all about being able to be yourself without apologizing. You just are. YOU JUST BE. Be sick, and your family accepts you.” -Alice

–Lei Anne Nicole

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