go ask alice

Reader Response to Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Sophomores at LHS recommended this one to me.

Note from the editors:

"Go Ask Alice is based on the actual diary of a 15 year old drug user. It is not a definitive statement on the middle-class, teenage drug world. It does not offer any solutions. It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the increasingly complicated world in which we live. Names, dates, places, and certain events have been changed in accordance with the wishes of those concerned."

Back cover reads: "The harrowing true story of a teenager's descent into the seductive world of drugs. A diary so honest you may think you know Alice-- or someone like her. Read her diary. Enter her world. You'll never be able to forget Alice."


My reaction:
wow. I'm flipping speechless. It entails the diary entries of a seemingly normal teeny bopper girl at the beginning of the book- similar to that of I was a teenage fairy. but then something just steers her in the wrong direction... which leads to a continual downward spiral of drug abuse. girls 14 and up will claim this book as a part of their lives... everyone can relate to some part of it... the protagonists grampa dies (she calls him gramps, like i do) and it left me bawling. It's a really great book because it shows experimentation and consequences. Aside from the descriptions of drug use, there really is no profanity in the book.... only one or 2 f-bombs... and nothing else.

This one definitely wins the Word Nerd Seal of Approval