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. 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. At the beginning of the book, alice is a typical, insecure, middleclass teenager preoccupied with boys, diets, and popularity. If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. Three weeks later alice died, at the age of seventeen, because of using too many drugs. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. In the book go ask alice by anonymous, the main character alice writes her life down in a diary. The book is a powerful way for teens to really experience the tragic consequences of drug addiction. See all 25 questions about go ask alice lists with this book. This is appropriate for all ages, it is good for everyone to know what can happen if you get. 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. Who does lsd and then marijuana, she asked, as if id read the book for veracity at the ripe age of thirteen. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist.
Notethis book is probably not appropriate for kids 10 or under. Our team members have advanced degrees in public health, health education, medicine, counseling, and a number of other. Her fortunes take a sharp turn for the worse when her family moves to a new town and she finds. 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. I thought it was interesting to read keeping in mind that this was a way adults thought they could discourage drug use.
It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these. Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. Teen, years old written by cs523046 october 1, 2018. This book is so worththeread for every young person.
Go ask alice, a diary of a teen age girl who fell into drug use and committed suicide, is the most frequently censored book in high school libraries, according to a survey of librarians. Go ask alice the novel, or diary, deals with the downfall of a young teenage girl in america, and her journals over the course of two years and a few days. Go ask alice, written by an anonymous author, is a diary kept by a fifteenyearold drug user. This is my first anonymous book, having never read any of the other similar books published in the previous years go ask alice, lucy in the sky or jays journal. Today we feature the year 1993 and go ask alice, by anonymous. Go ask alice book by anonymous official publisher page. Go ask alice in the book, go ask alice, a young girl, who felt like an outcast, was invited to a party. Oh dear wonderful, trusting, friendly diary, thats exactly what ill do. Go ask alice stays very true to the diary while bringing it to life in a visually impacting way. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. Parents and school boards were worried that this book would encourage teens and preteens to try out drugs. 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. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage.
Set preferences and get age appropriate recommendations with common sense media plus. 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. 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. To ask other readers questions about go ask alice, please sign up. I also read the ones about sex where the journaler in one contracts aids and in the other gets pregnant. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited. I know the book is over 40 years old but go ask alice really feels it. At the 16th of june, alices grandmother died in her sleep. The dates and locations mentioned in the book place its events as occurring between 1968 and 1970 in california, colorado, oregon, and new york city. I finally have something to do for the rest of my life. Throughout the whole book, it brought the readers attention by giving us enough details. Does anyone know where i can read go ask alice on the internet for free. I think this book writes in a interesting way while it teaches us a life lesson by expressing in diary form. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay.
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. According to wikipedia, beatrice sparks is known for editing and authoring many books, which are said to be tweaked to her specifications. All picture source titles are hyperlinked to the pages that they appear on this site. Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. With over a million copies in print, this book has become a classic.
June 2024 alice feels left out of the social scene. The author, frankie thomas, describes the four stages of experience in reading the 1971 classic. 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 drugusing kids blame alice for a raid at a party. First paperback edition march 1998 go ask alice taken from white rabbit, written by grace slick. Ill spend the rest of my life helping people who are just like me. I was 2 pages away from finishing it and i am desperate to know how it ends, but without other people telling me.
I work with the public and see a lot of drug addicted people. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. The diary begins right before alice s fifteenth birthday. First, the titillated horror at the book s dramatic depictions of drug use. After reading the case and guidelines thoroughly, reader should go forward and start the analyses of the case. Nowadays ya lit is pretty universal harry potter really opened the doors for people to read childrens books no matter what their age but in 1971 when our book. Lyrics in the song white rabbit by the band jefferson airplane 2. Maybe its partly to blame for the disconnect i felt to the characterstory. An intelligent, sensitive girl with a literary flair, she experiments with drugs and the counterculture to escape from her low selfesteem and consuming loneliness. Anyway, given the agenda of its presumable author, it is not surprising that go ask alice comes off as heavy handed.
Derived from the 1971 novel by frank shiraz depicting a teenage girls descent into addiction, it is still uncertain whether go ask alice stands as a work of fiction or a genuine diary. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the. Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. It is not a definitive statement on the middleclass, teenage drug world. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country.
A website that has information about health for teens 3. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks as anonymous banned books. After writing go ask alice, beatrice edited many other diaries about gangs, aids, and teen pregnancy. At the 16th of june, alice s grandmother died in her sleep. She has quite a few friends in the town she was living in in the first part of the book. 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. May 07, 20 letting ana go is a book in the form of a diary that follows an unnamed teenage girl as she goes from a healthy athlete to someone in a desperate battle with anorexia. If you are in an urgent situation, please visit our emergency page to view a list of 24 hour support services and hotlines. 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. 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 sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book. Alice acted like she was sick, so she didnt had to go to school. 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. Dark, desperate, desolate go ask alice exhibits power of. After an introduction to lsd, she ends up on a ride of highs and lows, from the loss of friends she once had to the gaining of a new selfawareness. Then write an essay comparing and contrasting the book to go ask alice.
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. Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. Most leaders dont even know the game they are in simon sinek at live2lead 2016 duration. Read another book that deals with teenagers and drugs, such as crank by ellen hopkins and smack by melvin burgess. A lot of the time i dont notice age with books when im lost in a story but i dont think the text has dated well. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. In the same vein, go ask alice is young adult literature because thats the audience it was specifically geared toward. 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.
Creating film adaptations for movies has become very common because directors can be sure that their target audiences are intrigued by the topic of their future film. After the funeral, joel has a long talk with her about death that makes her feel better. Oneill high school, regina, saskatchewan, canada very relevant and age appropriate. An award winning novel by the name of go ask alice did that.
Alice meets a freshman at the university library, joel. He and alice get to know each other better, as does her family. Novel versus the movie adaption of go ask alice essay cram. Oct 06, 2011 i know the book is over 40 years old but go ask alice really feels it. She was so excited to finally be accepted by them, all she ever really wanted was to be one of them. Pressure to use drugs at school intensifies, as the kids harass alice and her family. Written by the pen of an anonymous girl, go ask alice details the life of a 15 yearold drug addict for two years till just after her 17th birthday. Essay about go ask alice by anonymous 837 words bartleby. This is for my english class banned book week assignment. To make an appropriate case analyses, firstly, reader should mark the important problems that are happening in the organization. Beatrice was born january 15, 1918 and is an american therapist and mormon youth counselor. Authentic, tragic tale of teen drug addiction a classic. Go ask alice is written by an anonymous author essay.
The two towns in which the diarists family reside during the story are not identified, and are only described as being. May 16, 2018 go ask alice was first published in 1971 and has since become one of the most banned books of all time. 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. In go ask alice there are many illegal substance references throughout the entire book. Sparks, 82, 83 next, another reason go ask alice should be banned is the excessive use of illegal substances. It is almost entirely in firstperson, written as entries of the protagonists diary that she received at the beginning of the book. Go ask alice should be banned from middle school and elementary libraries and only permitted at the high school level because of the use of vulgar language, the use of illegal substances, and the explicit descriptions of the activities being done throughout the book. I think ill go into child guidance when i get out of school. 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. Oct 27, 2014 i know the book is over 40 years old but go ask alice really feels it. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. Some of the recurring reasons for it being banned are language, sexual content, and drug use.
Banned books according to, more than 60% of teens are doing or have done drugs at one time. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around. The go ask alice book of answers is a groundbreaking guide that mines the best material from the eponymous awardwinning web site. The kids who were there were considered popular at her old school. Only publishers weekly threw shade, remarking that it seems awfully well. Alice is the anonymous protagonist her name is an allusion to a jefferson airplane song whose intermittent diary entries narrate go ask alice. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. I hope you read this book just to convince yourself to never do drugs. 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. Eleven gor forst en sammanfattning av handlingen och ger sedan sina egna reflektioner kring boken och dess tema. Leading up to banned books week 2012, ala will highlight one book. Go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage p. Letting ana go is the diary of a 16yearold girl chronicling how a simple task of keeping a food journal for track turned into an uncontrollable obsession to be thin.
Joel gave her alice a lot of strength and offered her to go to the funeral. If you are that age, get your parents to read it first and then get their permission. The drug use written throughout the book is not appropriate for middle school or elementary, but should be permitted for high school level. Mature discussions of sex, alcohol, and drugs freely mix with the other topics and are difficult to avoid, making this site best for older kids or perhaps younger kids in a supervised setting like a health, sex education, or selfdevelopment class.
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