Go ask alice by anonymous a teen plunges into a downward spiral of addiction in this classic cautionary tale. Go ask alice is a 1971 book generally viewed to have been written by the author beatrice sparks, however the novel was published originally under the pseudonym anonymous. 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. Go ask alice is a reference to a jefferson airplane song called white rabbit, which alludes to rampant hallucinogenic drug use in lewis carrolls alice in wonderland. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. In the same vein, go ask alice is young adult literature because thats the audience it was specifically geared toward. Only publishers weekly threw shade, remarking that it seems awfully well. It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. With william shatner, ruth roman, wendell burton, julie adams. Clearly written by someone with limitedno understanding of young people or drugs. Its written in first person in traditional diary form. I just recently saw the tv movie version of go ask alice and i would much more recommend the book version.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen. Most leaders dont even know the game they are in simon sinek at live2lead 2016 duration. The book and especially the ending shows the harsh reality of drugs and addiction in teenagers. The book was adapted into the 1973 television film go ask alice, starring jamie smithjackson and william shatner. The song white rabbit predates the book go ask alice.
The main character and also the author of the book alice, died. An intelligent, sensitive girl with a literary flair, she experiments with drugs and the counterculture to escape from her low selfesteem and consuming loneliness. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks is an epistolary work, meaning that is structured as a series of entries such as letters or in this case, a diary. Go ask alice book by anonymous official publisher page simon. I think this book writes in a interesting way while it teaches us a life lesson by expressing in diary form. Essay about go ask alice by anonymous 837 words bartleby.
The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 2 pages and is available in paperback format. Go ask alice by anonymous about the book she doesnt want to get hooked on drugs. Go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. Go ask alice is a supposed diary of a young girl caught up in the wild life of drug abuse in the late 1960s. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage p. Once you know what question you want to answer, its time to scour the book for things that will help you answer the question. D espite the popularity of go ask alice, the mystery of the diarists identity has never been truly solved, and none of her relatives have ever come forward to claim a share of the royalties. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book. Im an advocate for banned stories that teach difficult lessons the easier way, and go ask alice definitely falls into this category. This message is not to start with drugs, it brings many problems with it. Grace brought it with her from the great society when she joined up with jefferson airplane in 1966. 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 when her fathers new job causes her family to move across the country, alice is thrust into a new school at a time when she is at best sensitive. The first edition of the novel was published in 1971, and was written by beatrice sparks. Go ask alice by john korty john korty, julie adams.
All picture source titles are hyperlinked to the pages that they appear on this site. This story follows the typical template for the say no to drugs genre of liturature. Jul 03, 2014 though go ask alice is a classic, its not a good book. 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. The drugs only create the temporary illusion that she is in touch with nature and people. Aug 24, 2014 first video, so sorry for all the editing mistakes. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around im an advocate for banned stories that teach difficult lessons the. Go ask alice is a diary of a teenage middleclass girl. Jefferson airplane white rabbit lyrics songmeanings. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. The book go ask alice was published after the song was released and they took the name of the book from the song. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. The go ask alice book of answers program, columbia universitys health.
This took away from the lessons and meaning the book aimed to teach. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have. The go ask alice book of answers is a groundbreaking guide that mines the best material from the eponymous awardwinning web site. Nowadays ya lit is pretty universal harry potter really opened the doors for people to read childrens books no matter what their agebut in 1971 when our book was written that wasnt really the case. 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 girl who wrote this diary lived in two different worlds, the real world and a fantasy world. Dont worry if you dont know what you want to say yetright now youre just collecting ideas and material and letting it all percolate. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand then i found out the real story. Go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the reallife diary of an anonymous teenage girl. Returning to it as an adult feels a bit like youre taking part in a piece of pop culture in the vein of scared straight or reefer madness.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. With over a million copies in print, this book has become a classic. The main characters of this fiction, young adult story are. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. An award winning novel by the name of go ask alice did that. Free download or read online go ask alice pdf epub book.
We dont know the troubled teenage girls name but we follow her rapid descent into her life as an addict. The main character struggled with drug use and her family always was there to try to help even through her running away and coming back. Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away. Go ask alice has also ranked among the most frequently challenged books for several decades due to its use of profanity and explicit references to sex and rape, as well as drugs. Mar 23, 2017 then, in 1978, a book called voices, a compilation of stories about troubled teens, was released, with jacket copy attributing it to beatrice sparks, the author who brought you go ask alice. But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to the world around her. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks, 198208, avon flare edition, mass market paperback in english 1st avon flare printing 77. First video, so sorry for all the editing mistakes. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. Though go ask alice is a classic, its not a good book.
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. The main conflict of this book was drug use and abuse. Books similar to go ask alice meet your next favorite book. Jan 01, 2006 go ask alice is a timeless book which talks about drug abuse in teenagers although it was written in the 70s it still fits in with the time. Some people maintain that alice in wonderland can only have been written by an author with considerable hallucinogenic mushroom experience under their belt. The dates and locations mentioned in the book place its events as occurring between 1968 and 1970 in california. Kris from sf, ca this song was not written about the book go ask alice. From sex and relationships to alcohol and drugs to fitness and nutrition, this comprehensive handbook is the first of its kind to provide muchneeded information for young adults who cannot get reliable or anonymous. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and.
Alice is the anonymous protagonist her name is an allusion to a jefferson airplane song whose intermittent diary entries narrate go ask alice. First paperback edition march 1998 go ask alice taken from white rabbit, written by grace slick. Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. Included are new features, more interaction, better integration with social media, and a widget to have go ask alice. This study guide consists of approximately 52 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of go ask alice.
The novel is in epistolary format, being comprised entirely of diary entries and as such, was first thought to be an autobiography. 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. Pdf go ask alice book by beatrice sparks free download. 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 quizzes about important details and events in every section of the. Go ask alice can still be found on video from time to time, though its reputation as a sleazy romp dressed up in freaky hippie duds is exaggerated and its usefulness as antidrug propaganda is compromised by its dated appearance.
Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. The book was written in 1967 and the song was originally written around 1965. It is, however, a wellcrafted drama with period ambiance, worth seeing again for nostalgic baby boomers. Im sure everyone and their mother has heard of this book by now, published in 1971 but only peaked my interest a few months ago when i heard it in a book talk by a classmate.
Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. 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. In the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in the sky, a harrowing account of anorexia and addiction. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Go ask alice quizzes about important details and events in every section of the book. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. Fortunately, alice is a gifted writer, lacing her unhappy vision of the world with poetic, sensitive language. It started when she was served a soft drink laced with lsd in a da.
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. A 15yearold girl in late1960s america is sucked into an odyssey of sex and drugs and eventually seeks help. If youre looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our weekly recommendation thread, suggested reading page, or ask in rsuggestmeabook. 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. Novel versus the movie adaption of go ask alice essay. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage indepth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. She was a good girl from a good family, with everything she could want or need. A year later came jays journal, the diary of an adolescent boy who succumbs to satan worship, which similarly credited dr. Go ask alice by john korty john korty, julie adams, wendell.
The list go ask alice has been one of the most frequently challenged books, according to the american library associations frequently challenged books of the 21st century list, since its publication in 1971, for content relating to drugs, sexual explicitness, offensive language, and inappropriate themes for the target age group frequently challenged 1. It is not a definitive statement on the middleclass, teenage drug world. Apr 25, 2014 go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the reallife diary of an anonymous teenage girl. Its been 25 years since i first saw this infamous, antidrug tvmovie, which, at the time, was reportedly based on the diary of a 15yearold named alice, who went from innocent high schooler to teen junkie more recently, the book was exposed as a fake. Alice is an anonymous character and the most we know about her is that she is white, middleclass teenager who struggles to fit. Alice begins her diary because she has no one else to talk to, and she spends her energy searching not for drugs, but for someone who understands her. Throughout the whole book, it brought the readers attention by giving us enough details. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited. Originally sold as the real diary of an actual teenager, go ask alice is the fauxmemoir of a 15yearold girl whose life is dominated by her drug problems. Queries posed to dear alice are answered with humor, understanding, and a. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.
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