Its based on a true story, so i think itd be non fiction. A direct intercept of the youthful drug experience this dear diary record is the second heads you lose, p. Mar 11, 2016 go ask alice was a groundbreaking text when first published in 1971 as one of the first books to tackle teen drug addiction. Go ask alice goodreads meet your next favorite book. 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. Yet it was originally promoted as nonfiction, its still sold as by anonymous and the copy i have has this is alice s 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. Youll also find printable book club questions at the end of this post to bring to. Go ask alice is one of the best books ive ever read. Challenges in 1978, school boards in richmond and langley, b.
I know the book is over 40 years old but go ask alice really feels it. The book details the life of an anonymous fifteen year old girl who develops a serious drug addiction, eventually leading. Though go ask alice is a classic, its not a good book. Once thought to be nonfiction, go ask alice is categorized as fiction now. Edwin strattonmackay go ask alice is a politicallyfunded novel, a terror. The 6 most ridiculous lies ever published as nonfiction. Go ask alice a real diary download go ask alice a real diary ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. 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. Go ask alice ebook by anonymous 9780689832499 rakuten. The book, written as a diary, is acclaimed for its portrayal of drug culture in the late 1960s. 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.
Its a sad and moving portrayal of a woman losing the. Go ask alice is a thrilling book, and reading it is like going through the troubles and challenges with her. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. Click download or read online button to go ask alice a real diary book pdf for free now. Her writing is sometimes streamofconsciousness, though it sometimes recounts events. 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 book go ask alice was the reallife diary of a teenage girl. I simply dont think the book should claim to be based on. Though purported to be the real diary of a 15yearold girl who became addicted to drugs during the 1960s, go ask alice is actually a work of fiction.
Dec 30, 2014 while alices initial challenges are associated with her work, as she progresses and needs to spend more and more time at home, her family life becomes the centre of the book. The book was originally marketed as nonfictional, although many attribute its content to editor beatrice sparks. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. 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. When go ask alice was first published in 1971, it was a sensation lifting the curtain on the ugly truth about the drugandsexsaturated culture of teenagers in the late 60s. An incredibly powerful and moving novel, it impacted me immediately and has stuck with me since. Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away. Go ask alice anonymous diaries paperback january 1, 2006. Go ask alice by anonymous about the book she doesnt want to get hooked on drugs. The narrator unknowingly takes lsd acid at a party and has a great trip. This book is a little disappointing in that it is indeed a work of fiction. Ellen hopkins first ya novel, crank, has become a bestselling sensation and the quintessential cautionary tale about the slippery slope of drug use for.
She has quite a few friends in the town she was living in in the first part of the book. If youre into nonfiction books then i would read this book. Go ask alice, a real diary in print for four decades. Aug 21, 2017 ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. Then someone else introduced her to torpedoes and speed and she filled in with tranquilizers and sleeping pills and dexies until she split. The song is definately about alice in wonderland, ans, yes, the book got its title from that. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication. Fiction or nonfiction, the issues are real and the story should be respected as such. If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage p.
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. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction and nonfiction alike. I also read the ones about sex where the journaler in one contracts aids and in the other gets pregnant. Maybe its partly to blame for the disconnect i felt to the characterstory.
I simply dont think the book should claim to be based on a real journal or a real girl when it is actually pure fiction. 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. Still alice book 51 of 2014 competitive nonfiction. Beatrice sparks, quote from go ask alice its a good thing most people bleed on the inside or this would be a gory, bloodsmeared earth. Go ask alice ebook by anonymous 9780689832499 rakuten kobo. Then someone else introduced her to torpedoes and speed and she filled in with tranquilizers and sleeping pills and dexies until she. Im partly somebody else trying to fit in and say the right things and do the right thing and be in the right place and wear what everybody else is. The focus shifts to her relationships with her three adult children, who are faced with the decision whether or not to get genetic testing to see if they will have the. Jan 04, 2008 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. A rough copy is mandatory and editing must be in evidence. I read still alice based on a recommendation from a few friends.
Im partly somebody else trying to fit in and say the right things and do the right thing and be in the right place and wear what everybody else is wearing. First of all, this is fiction that has been advertised as nonfiction which i think is appalling. The book was purported to be the real journal of a 15yearold girl who was the alice of the title. White rabbit lyrics and credited to anonymous, the book seemed specially designed. Still alice is the story of a harvard psychology professor who finds that she is losing pieces of herself. Following sparks statements that she had added fictional elements to go ask alice, the book was classified by its publishers as fiction and. Alice, once a shy, innocent girl, is sucked into the heartless world. Find books like go ask alice from the world s largest community of readers. Im taking an adolescent literature class this semester and the first book were reading is go ask alice by anonymous. Go ask alice is an amazing story that is passed on a real persons diary. In the book go ask alice by anonymous, the main character alice writes her life down in a diary. Summary read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Out of all the books i have read, go ask alice is on my. Fictitious books written in diary format arent uncommon and i honestly dont have a problem with that.
It is never more eloquent than when she describes the experience of being high on the various drugs she tries. Goodreads members who liked go ask alice also liked. But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to the world around her. Questions about the books authenticity and true authorship began to arise in the late 1970s, and it is now generally viewed as a found manuscript styled fictional work written by beat. It was a real diary that was published posthumously and anonymously by her family after the girl died. Jan 22, 2006 is go ask fiction or nonfiction answered by a verified tutor. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. An unapologetic contemporary imitation of anonymous fauxdiary go ask alice. Download pdf go ask alice a real diary free online new. The book begins on the unnamed teen diarists 16th birthday.
However, on the subject of fiction or not, i think some of it is true, but most of it is fiction. Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site posts comes from individual users, not justanswer. Treatment of book as fiction and nonfiction go ask alice wikipedia. 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. 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 is a fiction work written anonymously and first published in 1971. Of course the personal narrative as fictional conceit is almost as old as the novel itself, and, from. The controversy about the books authorship has done nothing to negatively impact the books popularity. I love the idea of fusion fiction because what it expresses is the way in which i have created a novel. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to return home and stay. Go ask alice was a groundbreaking text when first published in 1971 as one of the first books to tackle teen drug addiction. All picture source titles are hyperlinked to the pages that they appear on this site. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to. Download go ask alice pdf books pdfbooks a teen plunges into a downward spiral of addiction in this classic cautionary tale. Im not a very big reader and i read this book so fast. Go ask alice, which reads like a diary, describes a teenage girls experiences with narcotics and sex. Despite its controversies and deception, go ask alice remains a touching and disturbing portrait of how drug addiction can destroy the life of a smart, sweet young girl.
I think all teens and all parents should read this book. There is an alice in the book go ask alice, but shes a minor character mentioned in only one paragraph. I thought it was interesting to read keeping in mind that this was a way adults thought they could discourage drug use. It tells the story about a teen who travels through the high life and the low life of drugs. 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. Certainly, even if this account is fiction, the things that happen in the book do indeed happen to real people.
Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. Anyway, given the agenda of its presumable author, it is not surprising that go ask alice comes off as heavy handed. First paperback edition march 1998 go ask alice taken from white rabbit, written by grace slick. 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. Jul 30, 2009 is the book go ask alice a nonfiction or fiction novel. 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. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. Yet it was originally promoted as nonfiction, its still sold as by anonymous and the copy i have has this is alices.
The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. Oppenheimers musings about the structure of teen morality novels. Is go ask fiction or nonfiction answered by a verified tutor. 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.
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