Sep 23, 2014 in honor of banned books week, jo asked a few of us booktubers to pick a banned book and make a video on it. At the 16th of june, alices grandmother died in her sleep. Alice decided to ask jill to get her some marijuana to try for the first time. With over a million copies in print, this book has become a classic. Published during the civil rights movement, the novel held a mirror up to the racism and injustices of 1960s america. 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. I chose go ask alice and it is certainly the strangest book ive read this year. Go ask alice by anonymous about the book she doesnt want to get hooked on drugs. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage p. This book is supposedly the real diary of a teenage girl struggling with drug use. Go ask alice is a diary of a teenage middleclass girl. Some of the recurring reasons for it being banned are language, sexual content, and drug use.
Joel gave her alice a lot of strength and offered her to go to the funeral. Controversy behind go ask alice duffys napa valley rehab. Its written in first person in traditional diary form. Years before james frey and the million little pieces scandal, there was go ask alice and the theories about who wrote the book.
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. It is also obvious that go ask alice has its roots in one of the great 10cent. A year later came jays journal, the diary of an adolescent boy who succumbs to satan worship, which similarly credited dr. For our final project my group read the book go ask alice by anonymous. Since go ask alice is thinly veiled antidrug propaganda, it kind of goes without saying that drugs and alcohol play a pretty huge role in our tale. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited. A website that has information about health for teens 3.
Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. Who does she sell drugs to that makes her feel really guilty and upset. 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 this book was originally promoted as nonfiction and was.
Stream go ask alice unabridged audiobook at by user1868941 from desktop or your mobile device. Everything is going well until one day alice gets high and leaves. Go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. 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. The book was purported to be the real journal of a 15yearold girl who was the alice of the title. In a 1995 village voice column for banned books week, nat hentoff described it as an extraordinarily. Go ask alice is an amazing story that is passed on a real persons diary. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks, 198208, avon flare edition, mass market paperback in english 1st avon flare printing 77.
This fake diary is supposed to act as an antidrug testimonial for any adolescents who may stumble across it, though the language is dated and the author ignorant of most drug culture, there are enough. Go ask alice was first published in 1971 and has since become one of the most banned books of all time. It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle. 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. See all 25 questions about go ask alice lists with this book. Lyrics in the song white rabbit by the band jefferson airplane 2. First published in 1971, go ask alice is a controversial book involving teenage addiction. The story is a look into a teenage girls life as she gets mixed up in the tragic life of drugs. The controversial 1971 novel about the diary of a 14year old high school girl who. The author of sophies choice portrays the leader of the 1831 slave rebellion, which paved the way for abolitionism.
Go ask alice is a fictional novel written by beatrice sparks and published in 1971. The go ask alice book of answers is a groundbreaking guide that mines the best material from the eponymous awardwinning web site. 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. 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. Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living.
In the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in the sky, a harrowing account of anorexia and addiction. First video, so sorry for all the editing mistakes. The argument can be made that one of the many roots of alices. It is not a definitive statement on the middleclass, teenage drug world. If youre looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our weekly recommendation thread, suggested reading page, or ask in rsuggestmeabook. What banned book have you read and how did it affect you. Go ask alice has been banned in multiple states because of its mature. This fake diary is supposed to act as an antidrug testimonial for any adolescents who may stumble across it, though the language is dated and the.
Go ask alice by anonymous and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. Go ask alice risky readers a blog about banned books. As alice set off to the library to research drugs, she ran into the guy who helped her the night she got drugged, bill, who asked her out on a. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around. Alice begins to sell drugs to help her boyfriend earn money.
Go ask alice is written as the diary of a fifteenyearold girls daytoday struggle with drug addiction. Go ask alice was originally promoted as nonfiction and was published under the byline anonymous. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage indepth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. Title stance on the book 3 articles it was banned challenged in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, and 2009 it was banned usually in schools and libraries title. Alice, once a shy, innocent girl, is sucked into the heartless world of drugs because of her need to be accepted. But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to the world around her. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the. But at the same time, weve all been so bogged down in d. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. Be sure to give several specific examples from the text and the song.
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. 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. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand then i found out the real story. The book and especially the ending shows the harsh reality of drugs and addiction in teenagers. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay. Posted by jmariedavis december 8, 2011 leave a comment on go ask alice.
The poor girl in this story gets hooked on acid, which is possible to do, i know people who have been there before, and trys so. Her habit eventually becomes a problem, leading her to run away from home numerous times, before landing herself into serious danger. Explain in detail how the lyrics of the song parallel the story. 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 by anonymous beatrice sparks banned library. So many people mistake the words they are reading as a tool to promote what the book is talking about. Books similar to go ask alice meet your next favorite book. Alice is an anonymous character and the most we know about her is that she is white, middleclass teenager who struggles to fit. Jan 01, 2006 go ask alice is a memoir that follows the diary of a teenage girl during the late sixties. Then she helped by a priest that helps her reunite with her family. Go ask alice a real diary timeline timetoast timelines. Alice acted like she was sick, so she didnt had to go to school. Jul 17, 2016 go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication top 100 bannedchallenged books. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after.
In honor of banned books week, jo asked a few of us booktubers to pick a banned book and make a video on it. On american library associations lists of most banned literature, go ask alice came in as number 25 between years 19901999. Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. Alice s journey into the substanceabusing hippie culture of the early 1970sshe tries everything from pot to lsd to heroinis a harrowing tale of the cycle of addiction, and the authors pull out all the stops to show us that drugs are bad. Only publishers weekly threw shade, remarking that it seems awfully well. 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.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. 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. A book about a girl with drug addiction and she writes about drug life. Mar 23, 2017 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, which portrayed the pressures peers place on one another. Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away. Oct 01, 20 go ask alice by beatrice sparks is the diary of an anonymous girl who gets addicted to drugs in general and suffers for it. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. Or maybe you saw the 1973 madefortv movie based on it costarring star treks william shatner. 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. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. 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.
Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication top 100 bannedchallenged books. 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. In a hybrid work of biography, memoir and literary criticism whose title alludes to alice munros comingofage novel, lives of girls and women, sheila munro examines the writing life and. However, not long after its publication, beatrice sparks, a psychologist and mormon youth counselor, began making media appearances presenting herself as the books editor. Originally sold as the real diary of an actual teenager, go ask alice is the fauxmemoir of a 15yearold girl whose life is dominated by her drug problems. Jun 16, 2002 in a hybrid work of biography, memoir and literary criticism whose title alludes to alice munros coming of age novel, lives of girls and women, sheila munro examines the writing life and. The poor girl in this story gets hooked on acid, which is possible to do, i know people who have been there before, and trys so hard to get past it. Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie.
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. 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. But despite confessions initial success, styrona white southernerwas eventually skewered for falsifying history vanity fair. Thoughts on go ask alice banned books week youtube. Aug 24, 2014 first video, so sorry for all the editing mistakes.
Go ask alice was a stark counterpoint to the freewheeling ethos of the early 70s that was ahead of its time, eventually fitting in perfectly with the war on drugs and d. Go ask alice is a dark adolescent fiction novel written as a diary. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. This fake diary is supposed to act as an antidrug testimonial for any adolescents who. Do books like go ask alice help or hinder addiction education and recovery. Go ask alice, written by an anonymous author, is a diary kept by a fifteenyearold drug user. I think it is important to have on this list because it is extremely controversial and i feel like it sums up most parents fears about what can happen to their children. Nicholas reznicek go ask alice go ask alice by beatrice sparks is the diary of an anonymous girl who gets addicted to drugs in general and suffers for it. The title go ask alice was taken from a 1967 jefferson airplane song called white rabbit. Parents and school boards were worried that this book would encourage teens and preteens to try out drugs. The novel is in epistolary format, being comprised entirely of diary entries and as such, was first thought to be an autobiography. Someone plants a joint in alices purse, and she leaves school to go to her fathers. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.