| BASIC INFO | LANGUAGE LEVEL | COMPREHENSION-AIDING FEATURES |
|---|---|---|
| Book Title Alice: La liste (Alice: The List) Author(s) Cécile Lainé Illustrator(s) Jennifer Nolasco Other Contributors N/A Published by Self-Published Genre Realistic Fiction Publication date 2019 A review of the Spanish version of this book can be found here. | From the author/publisher’s website “I wrote it with level 2 and above students in mind.” Total Word Count “The novel has 4,700 words and 340 headwords, including a lot of words similar to English (I don’t delete cognates from the total word count).” | Illustrations YES Glossary YES Guiding Questions NO Context YES Other “Petit glossaire culturel et visuel” with photographs and brief cultural notes about places and cultural realia mentioned in the book. Free resources on author’s site. Graphic novel version of this book is also available here. |
| IDENTITIES PRESENT IN THE TEXT | SYNOPSIS | |
|---|---|---|
| Races, Ethnicities, and Nationalities French Algerian Korean (Supporting characters at the taekwondo studio have Korean names.) Languages spoken French Korean: A few terms related to taekwondo Sex and Genders Female Male Ages Child: 6-12 Teenager: 13-18 Mid-life Adult: 35-65 Social classes Middle Class | Sexual Orientation Heterosexual (Dis)Abilities and Neurotypes No (dis)abilities or neurotypes mentioned. Religions, Syncretism, and Spirituality Muslim – mention of Ramadan Relationship and Family Structures Multiparental Divorced parents Blended family (Alice) Body Descriptions The characters’ appearance is not mentioned in the text. | From the back of the book or the author/publisher’s website When Alice, a girl who lives in the south of France, finds out that she and her family are moving to Paris in a month, she is far from happy. Her friend suggests that she makes a list of the most important things she wants to accomplish before she leaves. Alice writes four items on her list and sets off on a quest to discover what truly matters to her. |
| ILLUSTRATIONS | STORY | SOCIAL JUSTICE |
|---|---|---|
| To what extent do the illustrations present positive and thoughtful representations of identities? Several black and white illustrations of characters. The cover shows Alice in a martial arts uniform. Alice is depicted as having long curly black hair. There is no shading to indicate skin tones, so all characters appear white. However, the author has made available supplemental materials for this book on her website which include full-color illustrations; in these illustrations, the skin color of characters is visible and varied. | We understand identities are complex and no single story represents the spectrum of identity-based experiences. Also, a text may address a stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization without relying on it. Does any stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization affect any positive and thoughtful representations of identities in the text? The story recognizes that racism towards people of North African origin exists in France. It depicts a stranger insulting a main character for no apparent reason; the character acknowledges that this happens often; and the character mentions a real organization that supports people of North African descent living in France. Teachers may wish to discuss that racism is not only a matter of actions by bigoted individuals, such as the harassment on pp. 32-35, but also a pervasive system of unjust policies and structures. | This section is for teachers who are working towards sourcing more texts within the four domains of anti-bias education. We are excited about reading all books and we understand that not all books are written for this specific purpose. Does this text work toward goals within any of the four domains of anti-bias education as defined by Learning for Justice? Identity: Promote a healthy self-concept and exploration of identity Diversity: Foster intergroup understanding Justice: Raise awareness of prejudice and injustice Action: Motivate students to act by highlighting individual and collective struggles against injustice |
| LLLAB’s REVIEW |
|---|
| Content Warning: Teachers may wish to provide a disclaimer to students regarding a part of the text that presents a racial slur towards the character Bilal, which may cause discomfort for some students (p. 32). Alice La liste is a story that explores what and who is important in the life of a teenage girl. Alice’s father announces that the family will be moving to another city soon. Alice is devastated. This life-changing event forces her to make some choices she may not have made otherwise, and she sets several goals for herself to accomplish before moving. As Alice considers what is important to her, her choices reflect her self-determined core identities and priorities as an athlete, a sister and a friend. One of Alice’s goals is to get her black belt in Taekwondo. The book depicts her as someone who actively works towards this goal, even when she injures an ankle. “Mon examen de Taekwondo est dans deux semaines. Ça fait des mois que je me prépare à cet examen. Je ne sais pas comment je vais faire. Pour l’instant, je regarde beaucoup de vidéos sur YouTube pour travailler sur les Poomse et je m’entraîne sans utiliser mon pied, dans ma chambre” / My Taekwondo test is in two weeks. I’ve been preparing for this test for months. I don’t know how I’m going to do it. For the moment, I watch a lot of videos on YouTube to work on the Poomse and I train without using my foot, in my room (p. 18). Alice finds ways to reach her personal goal despite setbacks. Alice has a relationship of mutual respect with her younger brother, Hugo, who is seven years old. One of the goals that she puts on her list of things to accomplish before moving to Paris is taking him to Chateau d’If. Once there, she loses track of Hugo and runs around frantically to find him. “Je me mets à courir. Je me sens un peu en colère et j’ai très peur. Je me mets à créer ‘HUUGOO!’ J’ai perdu Hugo!” / I begin running. I feel a little angry and very scared. I begin yelling ‘HUUUGOO!’ I lost Hugo! (p. 16). Later in the book, when Hugo congratulates Alice with her black belt accomplishment she thinks “Je suis si heureuse d’avoir Hugo dans ma vie” / I am so happy to have Hugo in my life (p. 42). The book acknowledges racism. Alice has a crush on a boy named Bilal, whose family is of Algerian origin. As he and Alice are walking down the street, a man shouts racist insults at Bilal. Alice wants to fight the man, but Bilal has experienced this before, and he chooses to walk away. “Je ne veux pas me prendre la tête avec ce raciste. Oui, je suis né en France, je suis français, et je me sens français. Mais je suis aussi arabe. Cet homme avait besoin d’une excuse pour provoquer un combat. Je ne veux pas nous mettre en danger” / I don’t want to argue with that racist. Yes, I was born in France, I am French and I feel French. But I am also an Arab. That man wanted an excuse to start a fight. I don’t want to put us in danger (p. 34). This incident acknowledges that acts of racism exist as a pervasive social issue, and models one way to respond. It is worth noting that racism does not only manifest as acts of hatred towards groups of people, but also consists of systemic and institutional structures and policies that serve to keep some people disenfranchised. In addition, racism is not always as extreme or obvious as the incident in the text; for example, microaggressions also do harm. Bilal also tells Alice about an organization called Génériques which worked to preserve the memory of immigration in France (p. 34). This is a real organization that was active for more than thirty years and still maintains an online presence. A teacher may wish to incorporate primary source documents from Génériques or other sources that document immigration in France. When the character Bilal is racially harassed in the park by an unknown man, there is no indication in the illustrations or text of how the harasser would have been able to identify Bilal as Arab (p. 32). Teachers may wish to supplement the text with primary source resources as part of a discussion about racialized dynamics within various regional contexts. When Alice discovers that her goals are in conflict, she makes a choice that damages her relationship with her friends. “J’hésite. Qu’est-ce que je fais? J’annule Camille et Khadra ou je demande une autre date à Bilal? Aller au Glacier du Roi avec mes deux meilleures amies, c’est sur ma liste…C’est très important. Mais un rendez-vous avec Bilal, c’est aussi sur ma liste!” / I hesitate. What do I do? I cancel with Camille and Khadra or I ask Bilal for another date? Going to the Glacier du Roi with my two best friends is on my list… It’s very important. But a date with Bilal is also on my list! (pp. 19-20). In the end, she cancels on her friends to go on the date with Bilal. Not only does Alice cancel her gathering with her friends, but she doesn’t tell them why. While Alice’s inner monologue shows that she understands her mistake, there is never a moment in the book when she reaches out to Khadra or Camille to try to repair the relationship. Note: This review was originally published June 4, 2024. It has been edited and updated April 8, 2025. |
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