Go Ask Alice

Anonymous. (1971). Go Ask Alice. New York: Simon Pulse.

Annotation: This fifteen-year-old anonymous author shares with us through her diary the ups and downs she experiences as she gets introduced to LSD, and other drugs and risky behaviors. Once she starts, it seems she just can’t stop.

Justification for Rejection: This book ended SO WEIRD!!! I was on the fence about it the whole time, leaning towards no. Then it got the end and I kind of liked the hopeful, peaceful way she ended the book. Then I read the one paragraph epilogue and wow that was weird and random and now it’s a definite no from me.

I did like the positive message and positive outlook the author gained through her experience. She has a lot of times of a fake “recovery” where she wanted to change, but in the end I really believe she did want that life change. For me, I used to volunteer with a youth group, and it was so amazing to see those teens go from a place of despair to a place of genuine life change.

I think the raw and realness the author shows in what she went through because of using drugs was good. I think adolescents reading this can understand somewhat of how messed up she got from the drugs and not want any part of it.

My one big fear is that teens reading this book will read about the times the author thought these drug highs were so great, and think “oh, I’ll just try it once.” They too will get caught in the downward spiral the author found herself sucked in to.

I really liked the strong family themes throughout the book. The author’s family really loved her and cared about her deeply. I think in a way, this subconsciously kept her going.

Genre: Edgy/Autobiography