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Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 10 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

Ranked #1385 in Entertainment, #34082 overall

Donates to Room to Read

Rated G. (Control what you see)

 

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous is a story about a teenage girl written in the format of a diary. Not much is told to us about the setting but the culture seems late 60's and the girl has no name, so we'll call her 'Alice'. Lots of spoilers on this lens.

When we enter the story, Alice is a happy teenage girl but is moving to another town and starting a diary. Once she gets there she is no longer happy, as the kids in her new school are not what they seem. Invited to a party, she is tricked into taking LSD and so starts the long journey into Alice's drug addiction. Soon she runs away, is living on the streets in California where she is rapped and taken advantage of, falling further beneath the surface of drugs and the spaces between her entries lengthen.

Soon, however, she is back in her hometown trying to recover from her addiction and lifestyle but her past 'friends' have no intention of letting her go. When she goes to babysit a neighbor's child she finds that someone left nuts laced in LSD. Upon eating them Alice goes into a bad trip and flips out, a neighbor finds her and locks her in a closet where she hurts herself trying to claw out. After this she is placed in a mental institution where she somehow keeps entries to her diary still.

Alice is finally released from the institution but stops writing entries, her last one being considerable happy. But she dies a few weeks later of a drug overdose. Suicide or murder?

A Banned Book 

Controversy over Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Go Ask Alice has been the subject of much criticism in the few decades since the was first published. With it's trip into the brain of an adolescent girl who finds herself trapped in a world of drugs and it's abusers, it takes readers into a world that shows the startling and frightening affects of drugs. 'Alice' finds herself tricked into LSD, then addicted, living on the streets, raped, taking part in sexual activity.

Go Ask Alice was forced upon many high school students in the 70's as a ploy to stop the rapid drug use in teenagers, and everyone. But now many people are outraged to find this book on their teens reading list, and even more shocked that some schools suggest the book for students as young as ten.

Bans started in the 1970's: Kalamazoo in 1974, Saginaw in 1975, and Eagle Pass and Trenton in 1977 through removal from local libraries. Other libraries in New York (1975), Utah (1979), and Florida (1982) required parental permission for a student to check out the book. Additional bans occurred in 1983 in Minnesota and Colorado, 1984 in Mississippi, and 1986 in Georgia and Michigan. Also, in 1993 in New Jersey and West Virginia, 1994 in Massachusetts, 1998 in Rhode Island, and 2003 in Maine.

The dispute over the book's authorship does not seem to have played any role in these censorship battles.

Thus, this book has made it's way to #23 on the American Library Association's list of 100 most frequently challenged books of the 1990s. The book was number 8 on the most challenged list in 2001 and up to number 6 in 2003.

In your opinion... 

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Author Controversy 

Beatrice Sparks, you say?

When I first went to create this lens I was wholely under the impression that Go Ask Alice by Anonymous was truly by Anonymous. Since that moment I stumbled upon the Wikipedia article for Go Ask Alice that I learned it indeed had some authorship. Beatrice Sparks, a psychologist and Mormon youth counselor turned author, wrote at least part of this book. She holds the copyright as author but claims to have received the diary from the family of 'Alice' who was one of her patients.

Yet no one has ever stepped forward to claim 'Alice' as there own, unlike the other families whose children have become part of her novels. Regardless, Go Ask Alice is a good read to scare you from drug use. Which is exactly what Ms. Sparks intended by editing, writing, or whatever she did to it.

For more information see the links below

If you have read the book... 

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Go Ask Alice on Amazon! 

Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice

by Anonymous

in hardcover.

Amazon Price: $12.71 (as of 07/26/2008)
Used Price: $5.30

Usually ships in 24 hours

Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice

by Anonymous

in paperback.

Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
Used Price: $0.01

Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice

The Movie! Starring famous men like William Shatner, Andy Griffith, and Robert Carradine.

Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 07/26/2008)
Used Price: $9.00

Usually ships in 1 to 2 days

More Information 

Go Ask Alice on SparkNotes
A literature study guides for students.
Go Ask Alice on Wikipedia
More and more information!
Go Ask Alice on IMDb
Go Ask Alice the movie! Starring such notables as William Shatner, Andry Griffith, etc. etc.
Beatrice Sparks on Amazon
Beatrice Sparks, the supposed 'Editor', has other "true diary" books. Check them out on Amazon!
Beatrice Sparks on Wikipedia
Beatrice Sparks a biography and more on the lady.

Controversy 

Go Ask Alice on Snopes
Snopes, the Urban Legend website, currently classifies this 'diary' as false. However, it's my personal belief it has some basis in one of Sparks' patient's diaries.
"Curiouser and Curiouser": Fact, Fiction, and the Anonymous Author of Go Ask Alice
An article about who really authored the book!
A Case Against Go Ask Alice
Specific Location: A middle school in Tiverton, Rhode Island
Confronting Bodies: School Principal, the mother of a student
Date of Action: 1998

I found this randomly when trying to get more information links. It's a short summary of a case against the book being in public schools.
100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of the 1990's
The list Go Ask Alice made it onto.

Excerpts, Reviews, etc. 

for Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice Excerpt
From TeenReads.com
A Short Review of Go Ask Alice
This review is by Brooke Stephens from New Zealand. Brooke Stephens wrote this review when 14 years old.
Go Ask Alice on eBook - PDF
For $4.29 you can download the PDF of Go Ask Alice.

Go Ask Alice on eBay 

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eBay

After Reading 'Go Ask Alice'... 

Note: this is rating for the book itself, to rate this lens go to the top of the page.

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Visitor Board 

Thoughts? Suggestions? Reviews?

Share your opinions about the book, the "author", or this lens!

Ashley

I believe that go ask alice isnt exactly the life of a real teenage girl getting into drug use but that of many teenagers who once in drugs are faced with things that wouldnt be there and it includes facts about what happens on drugs in many different areas but the way beatrice sparks shows this is in the liefe of one girl making the reality of it even scarier but at the same time making it bearable. The only part i dont like is that the girl shows she is strong makes it through rehab and in the end shes dead... whats up with that?

Posted May 15, 2008

tasha

i had to read this book for eglish class, and it was awsome. it was one of the best books i've ever read. this book put everything in perspective for me and kept me from going down that path. i guess you can say it scarred me straight considering i was experimentting with marijuana and alcohol a lot.. i like to think of this book as self help guide that every really needs to read at some point...

Posted May 07, 2008

Zakuro

i thought that this was an amazing book, i chose to read for a school assignment and i thought that it was truly a wonderful book. i am not surprised to see some people flipping out about thier children reading it, but i think it is important that teenagers (not under 10) read this book to understand the meaning of what drugs can do to your life. i absolutly loved reading it!

Posted April 24, 2008

tracey

oh hel 2 da no. dis book taut me dat i shuld leeve drugs. thanxz 2 dis buk i kame out of ma depression in hel. DON'T TAKE IT!!! dam it! PLS PLS. Thanx you, sincerly tracy

Posted April 21, 2008

Dimensionality

I've searched every free online library I can think of and cannot find it so I am assuming although it was written anonymous, someone still holds the copyright. I also wish that anyone were able to read this diary of the young girl who wrote about the very real problems of teens. Too many of us, after reaching adulthood, will not acknowledge they even have troubles worth mentioning. I believe sharing this book with not only teens but more especially with parents of preteens would save at least some of the heartache suffered within the families of today. The part I remember the most is that she had no one to discuss her troubles with. Hearing with understanding is half the battle.

Posted April 13, 2008
Dimensionality

I think that some preteens would benefit from this diary. More importantly, I believe that parents of those preteens would benefit. As adults, sometimes we find it hard to understand that an 11 or 12 year old can have any problems worth mentioning in this woprld and often block them out as though not valid. Sad, isn't it? Listening could be half the battle.

Posted April 13, 2008
Marybeth

I read this book when I was a freshman... It really did change my life. I had a new insight into the mind of people who have tried drugs and are addicted. This really helped me deal with a very close friend who was starting to get into drugs. I really wish my friend should have read this before he tried smoking pot, and since he started his eigth grade year, i belive that this book should be available for all children.

Posted March 31, 2008

kelsey

i'am reading this book now and i think it's a great story. i'am still trying to find out if it's a true story or not. but it would be interesting to see if it's a true story

Posted March 30, 2008

Lupe Serrano

This book really gets to me. I LOVE IT!!

Posted March 23, 2008

rachel

i think 'go ask alice' is a revolutionary book, depicting the horrors and dangers of drug addiction and use. i'm glad that adolecsents are reading this book, it's teaching teenagers what's right and what's wrong, what's good and what's bad. i don't think this book should be banned by libraries, but rather incouraged to be read by teenagers. it's a really great book.

Posted March 13, 2008

bobert yong

this book was a great way to get to know how drugs work. i think kids should not be reading theses books at the age of 10 or under i think th adult should have bought it for them or are 16 up.

Posted March 11, 2008

Katee

This book was really something is was scary and sad i felt really bad for her just reading it made me terrifyed! i belive this is a real diary it has to be

Posted March 02, 2008

Karisma

I love this book!! It is deffanatly my favorite book of all time. Many people dont realize that what was happendin to the girl in the book is whats really happening in this world right now. Right now i am working on a report and presentation on why it shouldnt be banned from ANY school. I hope i can get people to understand why it should be out there so teenagers can learn from it, not make the same mistakes she did, and to avoid similar things she went through or did. I hope to have my report posted on here soon. So everyone check it out!!

Posted February 21, 2008

Ashley

I Loved the book, of course it seems fiction but people do face the fact that drugs are delt all around the world... and this novel is a small part that takes place in are world today and maybe many years from now ... drug use by teens

Posted January 30, 2008

annie

i loved this book it is definetly one of my favorites. it also really made me think if this is truly real or if it fake but i am writing a letter arguing why i think it shoudnt be banned from libraries

Posted January 06, 2008

 
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I hope you enjoyed yourself! Shalom.

Related topics: banned books,  60s,  abuse,  Entertainment,  more

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Jenn is a Christian teenager from Louisiana. She spends her free time worshipping Yahweh, reading books & poetry, writing fantasy stories, and playing with her thirteen pets. She's a homeschool student and works online as an web developer.

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