Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. Go ask alice i think would be a great book for mature teenagers to read, because it is about a teenage girl. In case you arent familiar with it, its supposedly an anonymous diary found by the parents of a fifteen year old drug user after she. The go ask alice community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Go ask alice is written as the diary of a fifteenyearold girls daytoday struggle with drug addiction. I think this book writes in a interesting way while it teaches us a life lesson by expressing in diary form. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie the sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand then i found out the real story photo by birgit compton on wikimedia commons. The book title go ask alice was launched from this. I loved how this book is written in a journal style text where the main character, alice, writes entries about her life throughout a period of time in her life where she got caught up in drugs and found herself not able to stop and eventually in a mental facility. Go ask alice book by anonymous official publisher page. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks goodreads share book. Go ask alice by anonymous was a completely eyeopening book that both broke my heart, and made me realize the morals of life although they werent mentioned. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years.
Book banners like to take go ask alice out of libraries because they. Through out the history of film, many productions have been made based on best selling novels. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication. Mar 23, 2017 published in 1971, at the height of the psychedelic era, go ask alice is a visceral and harrowing depiction of a teenage girls fatal decline into drugs. Go ask alice free download ebooks pdf 1416914633 go ask. Go ask alice, which reads like a diary, describes a teenage girls experiences with narcotics and sex. School library journal this novel in diary form powerfully depicts the. Jan 22, 2018 reading go ask alicethe socalled real diary, first published in 1971, of an anonymous girl who took drugs and diedis an experience so widely shared that theres little point personalizing it. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Ok, now that ive calmed down a little bit, lets actually discuss this real diary. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of go ask alice and what it means.
This weeks episode of the podcast was all about go ask alice, and all i can say is. This is all to say that i essentially have go ask alice memorized. Its said that the author of the book upon which this movie was based wrote it as a work of. Alice is an anonymous character and the most we know about her is that she is white, middleclass teenager who struggles to fit. Apr 25, 2014 go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the reallife diary of an anonymous teenage girl. Alice is an anonymous character and the most we know about her is that she is white, middleclass teenager who struggles to fit in at school and to live up to her parents expectations. Its written in first person in traditional diary form. After that fateful day, however, her mood whether wild, funny, happy, loving, depressed, or lonely depends on drugs. In go ask alice, the diary is written by a teenage girl over a twoyear period and chronicles her experiences with drugsmainly marijuana, acid, and speed. It has sold over four million copies, was adapted as a tv movie with william shatner, and is still in print over 40 years later. If you wanted to feel this high, just go ask alice and she would give you something so good that you would think you were in the book alice in wonderland. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. Authentic, tragic tale of teen drug addiction a classic.
It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage girls all. For thirtyfive years, the acclaimed, bestselling firstperson account of a teenage girls harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. Based on the anonymously written book of the same name, go ask alice 1973 follows teenage outcast alice jamiesmith jackson who is so lonely and eager for friendship that she falls in with the drug crowd a choice that sends her spiraling down therabbit hole and into the underworld of pushers, pimps, and prostitution.
Go ask alice anonymous diaries paperback january 1, 2006. Everyone who encounters go ask alice goes through the same four stages titillated horror, for the young reader, at the books dramatic depictions of drug use. Go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the reallife diary of an anonymous teenage girl. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the. Bookbanners like to take go ask alice out of libraries because they. The whole book is a fetid lie, and a poorly executed one at that. Named for grace slicks mindexpanding white rabbit lyrics and credited to anonymous, the book seemed specially designed to scare young readers away from experimenting with. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.
May 22, 2019 novel gazing the book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie the sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand then i found out the real story. Oct 27, 2018 go ask alice free download ebooks pdf 1416914633 go ask alice a real diary pb n in the 35 years since its original publication, this acclaimed, bestselling diaryformat account of a teenage girl s harrowing descent into the nightmarish world of drugs has. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand then i found out the real story. Alice is a 15yearold with long straight hair and a passion for the beauty of life. I love this book and i dont think anything is wrong with it. This story scares the hell out of you through a teenage girl. We dont know the troubled teenage girls name but we follow her rapid descent into her life as an addict. Go ask alice is supposed to be a diary, so theres quite a bit of anguished soulsearching and selfindulgent whining. Go ask alice is a diary of a teenage middleclass girl. It is not a definitive statement on the middleclass, teenage drug world. Go ask alice 2006 read online free book by anonymous in. Based on the anonymously written book of the same name, go ask alice 1973 follows teenage outcast alice jamiesmith jackson who is so lonely and eager for friendship that she falls in with the drug crowd a choice that sends her spiraling down therabbit hole and into the underworld of. Its like an advice journal that relates to teenage girls. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a.
The kids who were there were considered popular at her old school. An award winning novel by the name of go ask alice did that. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the. One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you smalland the ones that mother gives you, dont do anything at allgo ask alice, when shes ten feet tall. As powerful and as timely today as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of selfdestructive. Created during the height of the drug era, the girl could be anyone from this time who found him or herself seduced by the mindaltering affects of marijuana, lsd, bennies, dexies, and heroin. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. As you know if youve already listened to episode 58, this was the first time i ever read go ask alice, but even beyond that, i knew very little about the book when abbe wright suggested we discuss it for her episode. Jun 01, 2006 if you wanted to feel this high, just go ask alice and she would give you something so good that you would think you were in the book alice in wonderland.
It is famous for its drugs are bad message, being banned for references to sex, rape and drugs, and almost certainly being a fake. The book purports to be the actual diary of an anonymous teenage girl who died of a drug overdose in the late 1960s and is therefore presented as a testimony against drug use. Jan 04, 2008 do you know anything about the book go ask alice. She is a pretty typical teenage girl in the late 1960sshes mostly concerned with school, boys, her hair, and fitting in okay, thats pretty typical for any decade. May 16, 2017 go ask alice in the book, go ask alice, a young girl, who felt like an outcast, was invited to a party. An older teenage girl tuned her in and turned her on drugs, then took her the. She was so excited to finally be accepted by them, all she ever really wanted was to be one of. She was so excited to finally be accepted by them, all she ever really wanted was to be one of them. Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. The novel was promoted as the real life diary of an unknown teenage girl. The title comes from the jefferson airplane song from 1967, white rabbit, written by grace slick. Novel versus the movie adaption of go ask alice essay cram.
Everything seems normal at first, but that soon changes when she is enticed into the world of drugs. But those of you old enough to remember the latter portion of the 70s might remember that beatrice sparks, the editor of go ask alice, also edited a bunch of other alarmist books aimed at teens, all supposedly taken from teenagers diaries. The book continues its claim to be the actual diary of an anonymous teenage girl who became addicted to drugs. The book go ask alice was the reallife diary of a teenage girl. Go ask alice is a controversial 1971 book about the life of a troubled teenage girl that is considered a classic of american young adult literature. First published in 1971, go ask alice is a controversial book involving teenage addiction. Go ask alice was published anonymously in 1971, but in the last two decades, it still lives in the top 25 most frequently banned books, according to the american library association. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. Jul 03, 2014 go ask alice was a fake, but dear nobody is an actual, legitimate unless someone finds otherwise reproduced diary of a teenage girl. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. Though drugs, or lack thereof, change alice s way of thinking, all she really wants is to be happy and loved.
The book go ask alice, is a very shocking and realistic take on a teenage drug addict and dealer that cannot seem to stop. It is the story of a troubled young woman who seeks solace in drugs and the counterculture. Reading go ask alicethe socalled real diary, first published in 1971, of an anonymous girl who took drugs and diedis an experience so widely shared that theres little point personalizing it. Her habit eventually becomes a problem, leading her to run away from home numerous times, before landing herself into serious danger. One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you smalland the ones that mother gives you, dont do anything at all go ask alice, when shes ten feet tall. Rather than being a real life diary of a young drug. The most famous of these literary works was 1971s go ask alice, presented as the diary of an anonymous teen girl who began her career as a stoner at age 15 and died of an overdose just weeks. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have.
The answer above mine gives you more description of the contents of the book. Go ask alice in the book, go ask alice, a young girl, who felt like an outcast, was invited to a party. Sep 16, 2012 go ask alice 1973 full movie miss flowahs. Published in 1971, at the height of the psychedelic era, go ask alice is a visceral and harrowing depiction of a teenage girls fatal decline into drugs.
The author, through this book, doesnt wants his readers to look for advise in it, but to learn about the real world in which some teenagers have to live through. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. Go ask alice was a fake, but dear nobody is an actual, legitimate unless someone finds otherwise reproduced diary of a teenage girl. Challenges in 1978, school boards in richmond and langley, b. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to return home and stay clean, her pleas to god to save her, her trust and love for her family, and her ultimate failure. I read it when i was in the seventh grade and was absolutely terrified by the searingly honest portrayal of what i assumed it felt like to do drugs. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of selfdestructive escapism. Mary rose does have problems with addiction, but she also. Oct 27, 2018 go ask alice free download ebooks pdf 1416914633 go ask alice a real diary pb n in the 35 years since its original publication, this acclaimed, bestselling diaryformat account of a teenage girl s harrowing descent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teens readers. Howling hilarity upon rereading the book in this context. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have tipped me. I was a troubled teen when i read it and alice helped me realize, that i should. Go ask alice is a memoir that follows the diary of a teenage girl during the late sixties. Named for grace slicks mindexpanding white rabbit lyrics and credited to anonymous, the book seemed specially designed to scare young readers away from experimenting with substances.
Go ask alice is unnecessary proof that sex and drug stories are the best money makers. Go ask alice is a novel by youth counsellor beatrice sparks, first published in 1971. Theres no getting around the fact that alice has almost nonexistent selfesteem, so her sense of identity is determined by the people she surrounds herself with. Go ask alice, written by an anonymous author, is a diary kept by a fifteenyearold drug user. It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle. Throughout the whole book, it brought the readers attention by giving us enough details.