Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move Book

Two decades after Alexander has a terrible day, the poor kid still can't catch a break. In Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move, a late entry in Judith Viorst's Alexander series (illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser), our plagued protagonist returns, facing yet another childhood woe: moving (no--not to Australia). Told again in Alexander's charming voice, he lets the reader know'absolutely, positively, unequivocally'that he will not move. "Never. Not ever. No way. Uh uh. N. O." In fact, we never hear other characters' exact words from their own lips, with their own voices. Alexander paraphrases all of it for us, including the repetition of his brothers' opinions of him: "Nick says I'm_____ (fill in the blank with a variety of nasty things brothers might say)," and "Anthony says I'm being immature." Repetition is also used to underscore the sadness that sort of oozes through the humor of the story. It's really a melancholy little tale. Alexander notes the distance between his current and new homes: a thousand miles. He considers his not-moving options, plotting to live with the Baldwins or the Rooneys. Or moving into his tree house. He packs and says his goodbyes, but all the while he plots, thinking of how not to move. Finally, his parents offer incentives to Alexander, like calling his best friend long distance and maybe getting a dog. Finally, he decides that maybe he can handle moving after all. And the "incentives" are a nice touch, because when thinking about all of the things that he likes about his current home early in the story, we encounter the neighbor's dog and the friend he'll be leaving behind. While not as charming as Very Bad Day, it's a worthy entry in the Alexander canon, a sweet story about loving what you have while also being willing and able to change (and hopefully love the change, too).