Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age. Nov 20, 2003 based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. A fifteenyearold drug user chronicles her daily struggle to escape the pull of the drug world. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. 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. Attributed to anonymou s, th e book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. The queries are representative of those emailed by anonymous visitors to the go ask alice web site. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. Go ask alice a real diary timeline timetoast timelines. Go ask alice is, of course, the story of a nameless girl growing up sometime during the 1970s who is yanked out of a comfortable middleclass existence where.
Howling hilarity upon rereading the book in this context. As powerful and as timely today as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. Sparknotes is here for you weve got everything you need to ace or teach. Alice asks her mother for help, sewing a dress together for a christmas party to which shes been invited. Jamie smithjackson portrays a shy, slightly overweight high schooler.
An award winning novel by the name of go ask alice did that. White rabbit is one of grace slicks earliest songs, written during either late 1965 or early 1966. 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 by beatrice sparks, 198208, avon flare. She opens up to joel about some of her past, and he is kind and supportive. Throughout the whole book, it brought the readers attention by giving us enough details. Its based on a true story, so i think itd be nonfiction. A riveting firstperson tale of addiction, in the tradition of go ask alice and jays journal. Our team members have advanced degrees in public health, health education. Ok, now that ive calmed down a little bit, lets actually discuss this real diary. Go ask alice is unnecessary proof that sex and drug stories are the best money makers. There are several books with 70sstyle crafts macrame, string art, clothing items, etc.
Through out the history of film, many productions have been made based on best selling novels. The go ask alice community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography. 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. The book go ask alice was the reallife diary of a teenage girl. 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. I think this book writes in a interesting way while it teaches us a life lesson by expressing in diary form. 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. A shocking true story for fans of reasons why kindle edition by anonymous. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. It uses imagery found in the fantasy works of lewis carroll1865s alices adventures in wonderland and its 1871 sequel through the lookingglasssuch as changing size after taking pills or drinking an unknown liquid. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around. By now, the go ask alice readers narrative is a comic genre unto itself. 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.
This story follows the typical template for the say no to drugs genre of liturature. Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. 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. 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. When the family moves for the collegeenglishprofessor fathers new job, alice apprehensively approaches the unfamiliar and befriends another shy girl, beth, who shares her outsider status. Though the story was widely criticized as a complete fabrication and dismissed as propaganda, its message remained powerful. Alice was the pseudonymous name of the teenaged author who wrote the book upon which this aboveaverage tv movie was based. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. This book presents itself as a diary, written over a period of about two years, by a girl in her midteens.
The whole book is a fetid lie, and a poorly executed one at that. Mar 23, 2017 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. Go ask alice became a cult classic in the 1970s, revealing the inner thoughts of a teen in turmoil and detailing her attempts to pull herself out of her druginduced haze. Beatrice sparks fictionally based on the diary of a fifteenyearold drug user chronicling her struggle to escape the pull of the drug world. Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. Go ask alice save to list other books you might like. 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. Alice alice is the anonymous protagonist her name is an allusion to a jefferson airplane song whose intermittent diary entries narrate go ask alice. Go ask alice by anonymous if you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property.
The author of this diary began journaling on her sixteenth birthday. 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. 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. First video, so sorry for all the editing mistakes. To ask other readers questions about go ask alice, please sign up. The novel is in epistolary format, being comprised entirely of diary entries and as such, was first thought to be an autobiography. We will discuss the different genres of books under fiction and nonfiction categories. An intelligent, sensitive girl with a literary flair, she experiments with drugs and the counterculture to escape from her low selfesteem and consuming loneliness. An unnamed fifteenyearold diarist, whom the novels title refers to as alice, starts a diary. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading go ask alice. Novel versus the movie adaption of go ask alice essay. She feels very alone and misunderstood, seeking approval from her mother and other people. Alice hoped to be like her mother some day and wondered if her mother ever struggled with the same romantic and identity issues when she was young.
In the same vein, go ask alice is young adult literature because thats the audience it was specifically geared toward. 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. Make your own 1970s project to wear or use as decoration. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. Go ask alice is a supposed diary of a young girl caught up in the wild life of drug abuse in the late 1960s. Go ask a lice is a 1971 fi ction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of selfdestructive escapism. Aug 24, 2014 first video, so sorry for all the editing mistakes. Books similar to go ask alice goodreads share book. Please note that it is totally possible for the same book. With over a million copies in print, this book has become a classic. Go ask alice by anonymous i have read this book at least 5 times. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. The unsuspecting first time is a standard plot device used by writers. She is jealous of both of her younger siblings, a brother and a sister, believing she is the letdown child.
Go ask alice, by anonymous by alyssa guthrie on prezi. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of go ask alice. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. Go ask alice was written in the 1970s, a decade with a very unique sense of style. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. 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. The well known disney animation was based on alice. 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. A list of important facts about anonymouss go ask alice, including setting, climax, protagonists, and antagonists.
36 466 912 76 751 1161 1274 6 357 835 706 641 1358 507 1239 98 139 1266 191 323 643 1494 330 707 355 1336 965 914 1480 1464 418 146 430 1504 1023 751 455 1041 1125 238 1048 347 109