Book: Go Ask Alice
Series: N/A
Author: Beatrice Sparks
Publisher and Publication Date: Simon Pulse, 01/01/06
Pages: 213
Genre: Banned Books, Fiction, Classics, Young Adult
Rating: 
My Review in a Nutshell:
Go Ask Alice is a collection of diary entries of a teenage girl who becomes a drug addict. I read Go Ask Alice thirteen or so years ago, but I still feel it is pertinent to include this novel in my reviews, as it made such an impact on my life.
What’s It All About?
Go Ask Alice begins with a girl who I believe is growing up in the “hippie era”. She goes to a party, is slipped LSD, and unfortunately loves it. We follow her through a whirlwind adventure of addiction, running away from home, and the struggles of trying to remain clean (multiple times). But not all adventures are good, some are very, very dark.
My Thoughts?
I was a rebellious teenager to say the least, and I related to Go Ask Alice in more ways than one. Her struggles with peer pressure, parental pressure, and the dark side of growing up while feeling lost and alone. I will never read another book that pins drug addiction as an adolescent in the way that Go Ask Alice has. Although it is fiction, you would never know by reading it. The writing is raw, non-sugarcoated, and addicting in itself.
I highly suggest this novel to teens and parents, or anyone, for that matter. Such a gripping and eye opening story in a world that no one intentionally wants to enter. If you have ever been curious of the life as an addict, this is the story to begin with. There are only two books that I will read multiple times, and this is one of them, I have no doubt that anyone who picks up Go Ask Alice will feel the same.
On a side note: When I first read Go Ask Alice, the internet wasn’t a big shebang. My friends and I truly believed Go Ask Alice was the real diary of a real girl, and we had no way of researching it further. But in fact, it was written by a woman named Beatrice Sparks, who has released several similar novels that you may see popping up at B&N. I am unsure if the publishers now include the authors name in recent copies printed, but if they do not, do not let on to the fact that Go Ask Alice is fiction to those that you suggest it to. The idea that I was reading a real diary made this novel so much more emotional to my friends and I.
My Favorite Quotes:
“I’m not really sure which parts of myself are real and which parts are things I’ve gotten from books.”
“It’s a good thing most people bleed on the inside or this would be a gory, blood-smeared earth.”
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