With over a million copies in print, this book has become a classic. Go ask alice was originally published in 1971 with the authorship credited to anonymous. Reading go ask alicethe socalled real diary, first published in 1971. Go ask alice in the book, go ask alice, a young girl, who felt like an outcast, was invited to a party. The identity of the author is still a matter for debate. See all 25 questions about go ask alice lists with this book. Virginia tech scholarly communication university libraries. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage p. When go ask alice was first published in 1971, it was a sensation lifting the curtain on the ugly truth about the drugandsexsaturated culture of teenagers in the late 60s.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. Fictitious books written in diary format arent uncommon and i honestly dont have a problem with that. The alice munro revealed by her eldest daughter was determined and diligent.
Published in 1971, the diary acts as a cautionary tale to teens about the nightmares of drugs. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand. 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. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. 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. May 22, 2019 the author is still listed as anonymous, and it really isnt manifestly obvious, as it should be, that go ask alice is a work of fiction. God, if i had enough money i would go back where i came from or at least call. But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to the world around her. Even the title hints at the fact that if you doubt that drugs are dangerous, all you need to do is go ask.
Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have tipped me. A list of important facts about anonymouss go ask alice, including setting, climax, protagonists, and. The book go ask alice was the reallife diary of a teenage girl. Jan 04, 2008 go ask alice was the product of beatrice sparks, an author who has come out with a number of teens who saw their lives ruined by their bad choices offerings, each one presented as a true. Jun 16, 2002 the alice munro revealed by her eldest daughter was determined and diligent. The author is still listed as anonymous, and it really isnt manifestly obvious, as it should be, that go ask alice is a work of fiction. The whole book is a fetid lie, and a poorly executed one at that. 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. Go ask alice is my current read for banned books week.
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. Go ask alice is a controversial 1971 book about the life of a troubled teenage girl. Go ask alice fanfiction archive with over 16 stories. Try writing a thesis about how this book has fooled people into thinking it was truelife. In 1998, when linda glovach published a new book, beauty queen, about a girl on drugs, she identified herself as coauthor of go ask alice. And i read the book, which turned out to be a real diary of a teenage. Ok, now that ive calmed down a little bit, lets actually discuss this real diary. There is noindication that any one besides alice, herself had contributed to the text, save for a four sentence introduction signed, the editors. All picture source titles are hyperlinked to the pages that they appear on this site. Go ask alice 2006 read online free book by anonymous in.
Beatrice sparks whose other books included jays journal the real. Go ask alice was a fake, but dear nobody is an actual, legitimate unless someone. 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. Yet it was originally promoted as nonfiction, its still sold as by anonymous and the copy i have has this is alices true story on the cover plus the blurb on the back, the foreword and the psychologists comment at the back. I simply dont think the book should claim to be based on a real journal or a real girl when it is actually pure fiction. I simply dont think the book should claim to be based on. Go ask alice by anonymous about the book she doesnt want to get hooked on drugs. The theme of defining insanity versus sanity has been prevalent in literature from hamlet to one flew over the cuckoos nest, and the reader can see that alice, while mentally shaky from her episode.
Fact, fiction, and the anonymous author of go ask alice. Some people maintain that alice in wonderland can only have been written by an author with considerable hallucinogenic mushroom experience under their belt. First of all, this is fiction that has been advertised as nonfiction which i think is appalling. A website that has information about health for teens 3. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. This is appropriate for all ages, it is good for everyone to know what can happen if you get into drugs, and it can scare young kids away. We see alice fall from grace because of drugs and what they can do. At the 16th of june, alices grandmother died in her sleep. Go ask alice is a novel by youth counsellor beatrice sparks, first published in 1971. This is appropriate for all ages, it is good for everyone to know what can happen if you get. She was so excited to finally be accepted by them, all she ever really wanted was to be one of.
It was originally published as the real diary of an unnamed teenager in 1971. 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. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. These are conventional curses rarely used by alice, and their inclusion here makes it clear that alice finds the world both spiritually enlightened and debased.
Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. The three of them spoke of matters of little import while they boarded the ship that would carry them back to england, and jonathan felt a distinct warmth growing in his chest as he realized just how well dio and alice had managed to establish themselves in the burgeoning state of montana, as well as the fact that discounting mr. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. Lyrics in the song white rabbit by the band jefferson airplane 2.
Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited. Alice acted like she was sick, so she didnt had to go to school. Previous page undated july page 1 next section july 27epilogue. 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. Its based on a true story, so i think itd be non fiction. Its based on a true story, so i think itd be nonfiction. 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.
Alice, once a shy, innocent girl, is sucked into the heartless world of drugs because of her need to be accepted. Third, the revelation, for the adult reader, that go ask alice is not, in fact, a real diary but a fictional hoax written by a mormon youth counselor. As alice puts it, the whole world is crazy, and, while some of the inmates at the asylum are insane, the outside world is just as incoherent. Since my original post ive discovered that research suggests that this book is truly a work of fiction and not based on a real person. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 2 pages and is available in paperback format.
In striving to enrich the lives of all readers, teachingbooks supports the first amendment and celebrates the right to read. I guess that was my one and only true love, but im glad its over. Jul 03, 2014 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. 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. Go ask alice goodreads meet your next favorite book. Joel gave her alice a lot of strength and offered her to go to the funeral. Go ask alice beatrice sparks page 8 read online free books. She has quite a few friends in the town she was living in in the first part of the book. A book about a girl with drug addiction and she writes about drug life.
The chumminess would proceed from here, with each stage. Go ask alice is unnecessary proof that sex and drug stories are the best money makers. 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. Questions about the books true authorship began to arise in the late 1970s and it is now generally viewed as a work of fiction. 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. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. The main characters of this fiction, young adult story are. Then one i will buy when we get home will be my future. Bookbanners like to take go ask alice out of libraries because they think, i assume. Yet it was originally promoted as nonfiction, its still sold as by anonymous and the copy i have has this is alices true story on the cover plus the blurb on the back, the foreword and the psychologists comment at the back everything is still packaged to make out this is nonfiction. Rather than being a real life diary of a young drug. As the years have gone by, more and more thoughtful readers believe that sparks, with help from others, faked alices story. The first edition of the novel was published in 1971, and was written by beatrice sparks. The kids who were there were considered popular at her old school.
Questions about the book s true authorship began to arise in the late 1970s and it is now generally viewed as a work of fiction. Go ask alice is written as the diary of a fifteenyearold girls daytoday struggle with drug addiction. Although there is still some question as to whether this diary is real or fictional, there is no question that it has made a profound impact on millions. But it wasnt until 1968, nearly 20 years after her debut in folio the university of western ontarios literary. Go ask alice book ottawa public library bibliocommons. Go ask alice quizzes about important details and events in every section of the book. That, right there, is a perfectly relevant question to my own interests, thank you. To ask other readers questions about go ask alice, please sign up. Edwin strattonmackay go ask alice is a politicallyfunded novel, a terror story to frighten the young and generate scapegoats. Ellen hopkins first ya novel, crank, has become a bestselling sensation and the quintessential cautionary tale about the slippery slope of drug use for. Go ask alice teaches you what can happen when you get into drugs and its hard to stay away from them once you have started and know how easy it is to get ahold of them. It was passed off as a real, anonymous diary for years and years, but the author is. It is famous for its drugs are bad message, being banned for references to sex, rape and drugs, and almost certainly being a fake.
Go ask alice is about a girl who goes from being a straighta, well behaved teenager, to a broken young girl. Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away. She concludes the first diary with the words i love god. Pdf go ask alice book by beatrice sparks free download 2. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage girls all over america. I tried not to let myself think of home till doris got started on her screwing lifes history, and now im really falling apart at the seams. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. Pdf go ask alice book by beatrice sparks free download.
Mormon therapists who write fake diaries by imaginary fifteenyearolds. Whether family, friends, or a life, the result is never good. Making up his mind to ask the pair of them about such a thing once all of them had managed to get properly settled in, jonathan answered the door and swiftly took charge of the porters as they. 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. Tomorrow ill go back to the church and ask them to call my folks. 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. Free download or read online go ask alice pdf epub book. If you dig a bit deeper, go ask alice can be loosely deemed a parable because, by definition, a parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lessonand we think antidrug propaganda fits that description pretty well. Through out the book we see the reality of drugs and what they can destroy. At first the book left me feeling shocked that this was a true story and i totally believed everything i read and then when i found out it was fake it just makes the you.
505 1182 214 667 824 139 1000 903 1665 1100 902 1087 130 1142 649 1007 63 162 1221 4 767 571 1412 1207 1272 511 476 488 387 935 957 516 793 1199 560 929 1365 1119 978 989 361 47 1083 986 776 328 787