When I first started reading this story, I really wasn't sure I would like it. I found the first person voice a bit odd, however, it really did grow on me. This is a coming of age story about a young girl in her final year of school before university (I believe it is set in Australia, but nothing was ever really mentioned). At the beginning she is subject to a rash of humiliation due to a video of her dancing in the street with the most unpopular boy in her class. Although I'm familiar with the high school hierarchy issues, I'm a little out of touch on how social media works into these type of issues, especially when the incident causing the uproar was so innocuous.

Once I got past the first couple chapters and Alice's internal voice grew on me the story became more interesting and less annoying. This is a fairly short story about first love, living up to expectations and trying to stay true to yourself in the very turbulent time of being on the cusp of adulthood and finding your own path.

Overall, I did enjoy the story. It was quite innocent and would be good for early teens on up. ( )

Australian YA. Alice plans to spend her final year of high school staying invisible and studying hard. But she’s thrown into the spotlight after someone posts a video of her dancing with Teddy Taualai. Suddenly Teddy keeps trying to hang out with her, and Alice’s best-and-only-friend May is eager to expand their social circle.

I loved how intensely this captures Alice’s emotions and perspective, and how the story explores that people have different emotions, perspectives and needs. Despite being friends for years, Alice and May both have more to learn about being supportive and accepting. Alice’s growing relationship with Teddy is also lovely.

Alice seems very much to me like someone who might be on the autism spectrum -- and whether or not that’s the interpretation the author intended, I think it’s great to see characters like her represented in YA.

I wish that the ending had unpacked Alice’s relationship with her parents more -- they have clearly influenced Alice in some really significant ways, even though they’ve been emotionally distant (and even though the story’s focus is on school and Alice’s social life). But anyway, that didn’t negate how much I enjoyed this book.

“Shut up, Teddy Taualai. You are driving me crazy.”
He grins at me, all close and in my face. “Yeah, but we’re friends now, right? Isn’t that what friends are for?” He turns to May, all innocence, with wide eyes. “That’s right, isn’t it?”
May nods eagerly like the traitor she is. “Definitely,” she declares. “Alice would waste away in the library if it wasn’t for me. She’s seriously shrivel up and die. Friends are important for a girl like her.”
“Excuse me?” I’m offended.
May sticks out her arm and shakes Teddy’s hand enthusiastically. “Welcome aboard, Teddy. It’s a hard job, being Alice’s friend, and I’m glad to have someone to share the burden with.”
“Glad to be here, Ma’am.” Teddy’s voice is ridiculously serious. He returns the handshake vigorously and I roll my eyes at both of them. ( )

It was Alice Dyson’s last high school year. Her plan was to keep her head down, study and get out of there with the minimum of fuss. It was what her parents expected of her. The plan was going well except for her friend May trying to get in with the popular group and Teddy Taulai latching onto her and making people notice her. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?

Alice’s parents were emotionally remote, pushing her to succeed. She had almost bought into their way of life but her quirky friends showed her a better way. "Making Friends with Alice Dyson" was a coming of age story that delivered a fresh way of looking at life.

This is a cute teen romance surrounding a studious nerdy girl and a boy everyone thinks she should avoid. The author appeals to the YA crowd, using clipped sentences and short digestible chapters. There is a strong friendship between the two main female characters that is tested by conflicts that evolve through the story. The story kept me engaged and I didn't want to put it down. ( )

I’ve always been so impressed with the young adult books that come from Australian authors. Maybe Americans only see the best of them, but this adorable and touching story certainly meets the high standards set by others I have read.

Alice Dyson is a self-described nerd who doesn’t socialize much except with May, her best friend since childhood. As the story begins, however, Alice suddenly is who everybody is talking about after a video was posted of her dancing in the street with classmate Teddy Taualai. Teddy is the subject of many negative rumors in the harsh social climate of their high school: he is "dangerous"; he is “the school’s delinquent; a "waster"; the kind of boy who always sits at the back of the class.” Except, it isn’t really true. No one has ever given him a chance.

After Alice irrationally attacks Teddy over the viral video (how, after all, could he have taken it if he was in it?) they next become allies in ferreting out the real culprit, then somewhat reluctant friends, then something more than that.

If this sounds simple and predictable, it is anything but. For one thing, Alice is not like the other teens in her school, obsessed with popularity and inclined to be mean and underhanded to achieve it. She considers the approval of her peers to be a shallow, transient, even absurd desire. She is conscientious, loyal and thoughtful, and has a secret dream for her future that requires a great deal of perseverance and bravery, qualities Alice has in abundance. She doesn't want to be noticed, and she doesn't want any interruptions from a social life. But to realize her dream, she comes to understand that she must accommodate unexpected changes in her life, as well as the feelings of others, and adapt as best she can. When you love, whether it involves family, friends, or a partner, your life is no longer just your own, and your decisions need to take others into account. But rather than diminishing you, love gives you a new kind of strength and a deeper kind of happiness.

As for Teddy, he is not the "bad boy" so common to young adult novels who is appealing to the girls in spite of, or because of, his reputation. His first inclination is always to take care of the others in his life. His bad rep was unfairly bestowed upon him, and is something he has had to live with along with the hurt and loneliness that went with it.

As you plunge into their fictional world, you just want to embrace and protect both of them.

Evaluation: Alice and Teddy, each from families that make their lives challenging, are endearingly awkward, earnest, and beset by fears, but also full of hope and goodness. I loved the characters and the way their relationship evolved, and I loved the way the author did not push Alice or Teddy into stereotypical outcomes, but let them mature and structure their futures without compromising what was important to them. Highly recommended! ( )