Book #26

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city. It was a journey that would rob her of her innocence, her youth -- and ultimately her life.

I do not have a good word to say about this book. It was absolutely woeful. I felt many things whilst reading it, but more than anything I felt insulted. I have absolutely no idea how anyone (even the target audience of young adults) can believe this book is a real diary. It is nothing other than propaganda aimed at teenagers to warn them of the dangers of drugs. This is absolutely fair, and I agree with the sentiment, but OH MY GOD give them some credit. It was sheer fearmongering; mostly ridiculous nonsense made up to scare the crap out of young kids who may come across drugs one day. LUDICROUS.

The gist of the plot is that our dear, sweet Alice goes to a party and drinks something laced with LSD. All of a sudden she is a BIG BAD JUNKIE and we get to roll along with her as she runs away, comes home to the loving arms of her parents, then runs away again to take some more drugs and cut about with the 'dopey dopers'. Then she ends up in a mental institution covered in cuts and sporting a very shit haircut due to her ripping it all out at the roots in the midst of a drugs FIT. And she dies at the end, which is quite obviously very shocking and not predictable at all.

I couldn't help but feel this book must be a massive wound to families who have suffered a loss from the effects of drugs. It was almost as though real tragedy was being blown into a cartoon money spinner.


The real author, a Beatrice Sparks, does herself absolutely no favours with her pathetic attempts to embody a teenage girl. Her writing consists of poorly conceived teen-speak, "Well, at least I'm not burned out and I'm not preg," or words being repeated for exuberant emphasis, "This evening was great great great!" She really is kidding no one. I cringed on many an occasion, and it's a wonder I made my way to the end.

This really is sheer garbage with a political and religious agenda. It is embarrassing to read.