Contrary to publishers weekly, i find go ask alice most convincing not as an authentic diary, but as literature when the prose is what we usually call bad writing. Go ask alice, which reads like a diary, describes a teenage girls experiences with narcotics and sex. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the. Go ask alice is a novel by youth counsellor beatrice sparks, first published in 1971. This adds a bit of darkness to the story and viewers realize that even if this particular story isnt true, there are thousands of untold stories just like it that are true. Essay about go ask alice by anonymous 837 words bartleby. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand then i. 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. It is the story of a troubled young woman who seeks solace in drugs and the counterculture.
She capitalizes the word diary and refers to it as a person, confiding in it and asking it to monitor her weightloss regimen as if it were a close friend. The narrators style is so bland, her tendency to dwell on the banal while skirting the biggest traumas so unnovel like, that she actually is believable as a character prone. I would like to know this answer because alice didnt edit her diary herself. 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. A riveting, firstperson tale in the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in the sky. Alice meets a freshman at the university library, joel. When the family moves for the collegeenglishprofessor fathers new job, alice apprehensively approaches the unfamiliar and befriends another shy girl, beth, who shares her. 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. Pretty good, i dont usually read books that were written like a journal but i heard good thinks. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage girls all. Indeed, this is one of the major themes of go ask alice.
I would like to know this answer because, when you read the part of the final overdose, you dont know if it was accidentally or intentional. Free download or read online go ask alice pdf epub book. The book is written in diary form, but the author is anonymous. Everything seems normal at first, but that soon changes when she is enticed into the world of drugs. Go ask alice free download ebooks pdf 1416914633 go ask. I think this book writes in a interesting way while it teaches us a life lesson by expressing in diary form. A year later came jays journal, the diary of an adolescent boy who succumbs to satan worship, which similarly credited dr. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. It is not a definitive statement on the middleclass, teenage drug world. Sep 27, 2016 i think you mean go ask alice by anonymous aka beatrice sparks, but anywho. Pdf go ask alice a real diary download full pdf book.
Books similar to go ask alicejays journal goodreads. 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 diary s triumph comes at the end since alice discards it in favor of wanting to share herself with other peoplethe tool that enables alice to better communicate and understand herself has served its purpose. Go ask alice is supposed to be a diary, so theres quite a bit of anguished soulsearching and selfindulgent whining. Though go ask alice is a classic, its not a good book. 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. Rather than being a real life diary of a young drug. A real diary by anonymous, 9781416914631, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
Goodreads members who liked go ask alicejays journal also lik. This is my first time reading a book like this and i wonder if. Go ask alice a real diary timeline created by hannawest. He and alice get to know each other better, as does her family. Go ask alice which, btw, was insanely popular when i was a kid is a work of fiction that is commonly attributed to a therapist not a psychologist named beatrice sparks. Go ask alicejays journal anonymous diaries 9781442423107. Go ask alice book by anonymous official publisher page. Pdf go ask alice book by beatrice sparks free download. It was a brave decision on her part, but the text always stayed with me. Goodreads members who liked go ask alicejay s journal also lik. Go ask alice was written as a sort of cautionary tale, antihippieculture propaganda directed at unsuspecting young teens. Its a dark entertainment and a dark fantasy that poses the.
Girl by blake nelson written like a diary of a true 16 year old girl even though it written by a man, also made into a movie. Go ask alice is based on a true story about a teenager who becomes addicted to drugs. Go ask alice go ask alice is the diary of a young 15 year old drug abuser. The diary also functions as the engine for go ask alice s epistolary narrative a narrative composed of letters. I would like to know this answer because, alice is now dead. Go ask alice stays very true to the diary while bringing it to life in a visually impacting way. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have. A riveting firstperson tale of addiction, in the tradition of go ask alice and jays journal. 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. Go ask alice 1973 offers an antidrug message with a.
As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. Challenges in 1978, school boards in richmond and langley, b. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. I think you mean go ask alice by anonymous aka beatrice sparks, but anywho. Go ask alice this book was about a diary of a 15yearold anonymous girl that someone found and turned into a book. 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. 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. Eventually, they prove to be nothing but a source of utter helplessness and despair. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay.
Alice no longer speaks for herself, or reads from her diary. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. The book is based on the true diary of a sixteen year old boy from utah who ultimately committed suicide after joining a satanic cult, and the writing style is very similar to go ask alice. I first heard of go ask alice when still in school in the 1980s. 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. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of go ask alice and what it means. Hoping that a boy at her school will finally ask her out. Alice was ready to start a new life at a new school. This is a terrific book for those with a morbid curiosity like myself about drug addiction and runaways. Did her parents publish it to be a book, or did someone else find it and published it. Jun 27, 2008 what are some good true life books like go ask alice and annes baby. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. Find books like go ask alicejay s journal from the worlds largest community of readers.
Oct 27, 2018 go ask alice free download ebooks pdf 1416914633 go ask alice a real diary pb n in the 35 years since its original publication, this acclaimed, bestselling diary format account of a teenage girl s harrowing descent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teens readers. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the increasingly complicated world in which we live. In retrospect, these books made outlandish claims to authenticity, but i bought them literally and figuratively because they included supposedly nonfictional diary pages. Sparks worked for the late television host art linklater whose daught.
Turned out to be a thinly veiled anti drug propaganda book, no real alice, no diary. Find books like go ask alicejays journal from the worlds largest community of readers. We dont want to burst your bubble, but this book is not an actual diary. In case you arent familiar with it, its supposedly an anonymous diary found by the parents of a fifteen year old drug user after she. The author of this diary began journaling on her sixteenth birthday. Go ask alice, a real diary in print for four decades. Go ask alice is a memoir that follows the diary of a teenage girl during the late sixties. Go ask alice was written in the 1970s, a decade with a very unique sense of style. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. To the young girl, drugs, at first, seem like a way to be happy. Like a blink of an eye the main character turns towards drugs, sex, and running away. Download pdf go ask alice a real diary book full free.
If you do like it, there is another book called jays journal that is very similar. Thoughts on go ask alice banned books week duration. 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, written by an anonymous author, is a diary kept by a fifteenyearold drug user. Go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the reallife diary of an anonymous teenage girl. This special anniversary edition includes a readers group guide. If you like go ask alice you might like similar books crank, cut, identical, impulse, aimee. She wishes she could talk to her mother about this, since she doesnt trust what her friends tell her. Does anyone know of any books that are similar to go ask. My very go ahead principal read it to the whole school in assembly over the course of a couple of weeks. The writing of the main character is like its out of the earlymid 1900s and just doesnt really draw you in or seem. 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.
I recommend you read this book, it was the best thing ive ever read because i could connect with it. Anonymous letting ana go in the tradition of go ask alice. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. Happening upon that anonymous diary felt like a great discovery. Go ask alice a real diary available for download and read online in other formats. This cheers alice up, and she asks her diary to help her stay attentive in her mission to remake herself by losing weight. She had a perfectly normal life until she moved to a new town and one. 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. Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. Her habit eventually becomes a problem, leading her to run away from home numerous times, before landing herself into. 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 book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. Go ask alice anonymous diaries paperback january 1, 2006. The story starts off like any other book, with a normal day and a normal family.
At the beginning of the book, alice is a typical, insecure, middle class teenager that only thinks with boys, diets, and popularity. One book that is extremely similar to go ask alice is jays journal, written by anonymous aka beatrice sparks again. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. This book is about the life of a girl, and all the troubles that she goes through with drugs. Mar 14, 2015 a highschool student documents her struggle to overcome her dependency on drugs in the pages of a diary.
A highschool student documents her struggle to overcome her dependency on drugs in the pages of a diary. 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 story. I loved it because it had real problems that teens go through everyday and everywhere. Pressure to use drugs at school intensifies, as the kids harass alice and her family. 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. Mar 25, 2016 this is the summary of a fifteen year old girl who suffers through a lot. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 2 pages and is available in paperback format.
Where does the book go ask alice take place answers. Im now a mum and i decided a couple of years ago to read the book. Go ask alice illustrates how an innocent life can be damaged beyond repair because of one small misstep. Jan 22, 2018 reading go ask alicethe socalled real diary, first published in 1971, of an anonymous girl who took drugs and diedis an experience so widely shared that theres little point personalizing it. Its great in a sense, different than anything i read at the time. The author of this fictional diary began writing for a class assignment, but soon it more. Everyone who encounters go ask alice goes through the same four stages titillated horror, for the young reader, at the book s dramatic depictions of drug use. Reading go ask alice the socalled real diary, first published in 1971, of an anonymous girl who took drugs and diedis an experience so widely shared that theres little point personalizing it. Make it sound like something that you might write in a diary. It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle.
May 22, 2019 when i called my friend kelly to discuss my revelations about go ask alicekelly is the selfdeprecating friend i rely on to temper my personal humiliations with her reliably more outrageous gaffesshe wanted to know if i was joking. Mar 23, 2017 contrary to publishers weekly, i find go ask alice most convincing not as an authentic diary, but as literature when the prose is what we usually call bad writing. Smack by melvin burgess candy by kevin brooks crank by ellen hopkins rx by tracy lynn smashed. Is the book go ask alice based on a real girls diary. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. Jan 04, 2008 do you know anything about the book go ask alice. Go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. As you may know, nobody knows who the girl is in the story, but how did they find her diary. The story of a drunken girlhood by koren zailickas beauty queen by linda glovach the site site below. Sep 27, 2010 okay, so ive been reading the book go ask alice for three days nonstop because it was very interesting. The first edition of the novel was published in 1971, and was written by beatrice sparks. Go ask alice a real diary timeline timetoast timelines.
Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. A dark and edgy firstperson cautionary tale about how one girls seemingly minor choices quickly spiraled into a life as a sex worker in the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in. Her habit eventually becomes a problem, leading her to run away from home numerous times, before landing herself into serious danger. Make your own 1970s project to wear or use as decoration. Many books have influenced my life and how i think, but very few have. Theres no getting around the fact that alice has almost nonexistent selfesteem, so her sense of identity is determined by the people she surrounds herself with. Oneill high school, regina, saskatchewan, canada very relevant and age appropriate. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book. I moved through the pages rapt, feeling sophisticated in my new acquaintance with boys, sex, and drinking.
I got yelled at, at school because i would read it instead of doing schoolwork. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a. Go ask alice book ottawa public library bibliocommons. Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. Throughout the whole book, it brought the readers attention by giving us enough details. Jan 01, 2006 go ask alice is a memoir that follows the diary of a teenage girl during the late sixties. As powerful and as timely today as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. There are several books with 70sstyle crafts macrame, string art, clothing items, etc. It may well have been very loosely based on one, but were going to go ahead and say even that is unlikely. 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.
1312 775 444 590 1529 529 956 577 566 550 387 1573 1472 1172 336 1241 914 523 243 594 287 824 829 1332 462 1373 362 220 687 278 291 973 1118 854 1036 1452 324 610 894 1001 646 1289 333 1003 275 1360 946