Go Ask Alice

Rating:
Summary: Life With Alicce
Review: I had never heard of this book before my friend told me she had just finished it and that I should read it. I was using her copy of the book and read about half and decided to purchase it for my self. I like to read books where I can relate to the main character, and in some cases in Go Ask Alice I could. The author begins to hang out with the wrong crowd and from there it's a chain reaction to drugs to sex to running away from home. It seems like this is how most teens my age fall in to the world of drugs. I recommend that all teenagers, and parents should read Go Ask Alice and listen to her story. I hope that by reading this book it can help parents understand their kids and help some teenagers lives.

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Summary: At the risk of sounding repetitive: this is a must-read.
Review: I have never once touched cigarettes or alcohol, much less drugs, but I had always been curious to know what life was truly like for someone high. Hearing folks known for their gutwrenching honesty like John Lennon publicly speak about it was helpful, of course, but it is quite another to read a person's most intimate diary. I discovered this book by accident in a fave used record store in Yuba City and was instantly fascinated. I bought it and took it home.

I finally got my answer to my curiosity satisfied for the rest of my life. And it made me more relieved that I have never tried drugs than you can ever imagine.

I can't imagine anyone NOT being affected by this book. It is absolutely gutwrenching. What's so heartbreaking is that "Alice" is tricked into taking her first trip, and near the end as the other kids get malicious with her for trying to go straight she is against tricked in the crulest way (and YES, disbelievers, this sort of situation CAN happen! What many and especially adults don't seem to realize is that teens live in a world of their own private laws and rules... they can be the cruelest creatures in the world and some of them WILL attempt revenge like the type described here!).

While the whole volume is absolutely hypnotic with its power to drown you in "Alice"'s everyday reality and can easily bring you to tears on several points, there were two particularly horrific passages for me that had me riveted in terrified shock (warning, spoilers ahead):

1.

In one passage after jumped back into her drug habit with an almost deliriously malicious glee, "Alice" writes "Jackie slipped me some co-pilots while passing out the papers today. As soon as I get home tonight I'll get high all by myself. I can hardly wait!"

And then we see the following notation from the editors: "There are no dates for the following material. It was recorded on scraps of paper, paper bags, etc." The following several pages are then filled with weird passages that only have "?" for the date entry, and the very first of them reads right after the above "co-pilots" entry, "Like here I am in Denver. When I was high I just walked out and hitchhiked here, everything still seems weird and bleak and unreal, but maybe that's just because it's early, I've only got the twenty I took from Dad's pants, but no source." And each passage gets weirder and weirder, many times being extremely indistinct on exactly what's happening apart from the fact that she manages to get to Coos Bay and a rally. And as each passage slides more and more out of control, the more her terror grows.

2.

As mentioned, her last and most deadly trip thoroughly recorded in the book was given to her without force. And it managed to be the most terrifying portion of the entire diary. I'm not even going to repeat any of it here, you'll just have to read it for yourself.

GO ASK ALICE is both a gripping read and a heartbreaking record. Never mind trying to lecture someone you know about drug use; just hand them this instead. The best way to prove to someone that a problem exists is to show them something that gives them a sharp syringe of reality. That's what this book does.

Does it ever.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Alice
Review: The book Go Ask Alice is a great book for young adults as well as adults! In the beginning of the story Alice has a normal 15 year olds life, hanging out with friends, going to a normal school, being close with her parents etc...When her dad decides to move to a different state her life changes from that point on. Alice is introduced to many different types of drugs that she gets addicted to such as LSD. The reason why this book reaches out to all different age groups is because it educates them about how the teenage life can be, with all of the peer pressure and drugs that's going around. I really enjoyed reading this book because its a book you don't ever want to put down especially because its an actual diary, and every time you flip the page it gets more interesting. The best part of the book is when you reach the end! I think the readers will be shocked and sad at the same time. When the reader is done reading this book I think it will effect the reader in many ways, it makes the reader think about life in general, I know it made me think about the teenage life and how hard it is growing up and finding your true identity. It even makes the parents think about how hard it is for the teenagers to grow up. I think everyone should read this book no matter what age the person is because it touches everyone with all the experiences Alice went through in her life.

Rating:
Summary: A Heavy Load For A Teenager
Review: Go ask Alice is an emotionally draining book. Alice has addictions to many of the drugs today and she seems that for her to go on she must use these drugs. As Alice makes her way through high school she is introduced to drugs, her soon to be worst enemy. She falls into the category Dopers and to her getting out the pit she dug is like climbing water. But she does and with will in her heart resists the urges. But devious people in her school decide her fate. Go ask Alice is a book that at times is hard to read because it is a true story. Alice reaches out to the reader in a plea to resist drugs you will never forget.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I liked this book alot, but I was disappointed at the end. It was a shock of what happend. Get the chance, put this bok up!

Rating:
Summary: Go Ask Alice review.
Review: Go Ask Alice is a powerful true story of a young girl who becomes entrenched in the lonely world of drugs. From acid, to LSD, this riveting diary is a non-stop thrill ride from beginning to end. The reader will hold his breath and wipe away tears as Alice's life spirals in all directions. Go Ask Alice should be shared together by teenagers and parents all over the world.

Rating:
Summary: dima
Review: There is no way Alice could have tried ecstasy because it did not become available on the street until late 1970's.


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Summary: Couldn't believe a book that can SAVE LIVES is often BANNED!
Review: That might sound like an inflated claim, but it isn't. I am a 45 year old Registered Nurse and mother who can honestly say that reading this book as a young teen perhaps saved my life. When I read it, I related so much to it, and know personally of girls my age who lived as Alice and died as she did. I could have been one. The ecstacy rave scene now is even faster paced and more pressured. Frightened parents telling their teenage kids warnings that don't make sense to them are not what is going to prevent kids from killing themselves in order to fit in with their buddies or to be socially accepted among one's peers. That desire doesn't stop when one passes adolescence either. In my 20's I knew people who lived the lifestyle, a few died, and some are permanent "burn outs". I have often said, "There but for the grace of God and Go Ask Alice, go I" Besides wanting badly to be accepted and to just have FUN, one of the primary goals and desires of adolescents that lead to drug experimentation is to want to try to escape the pressures of school, parental expectations, fear of the future..etc. This one book is what kept ME from falling prey to that lifestyle..and I think the message in it, even though the language may be dated to teens of my era, is still VERY relevant. It speaks to teens FROM a teen, and even though more than 30 years have passed and the popular lingo is a little different, teens still have the same developmental issues, only the world is a little less forgiving and even more pressured with more dangerous drugs more readily available than ever before.
I also felt I had to write today since I picked up from the local Library a list of the 100 most frequently banned books and was SHOCKED to find this one listed as #23! I think this book should be REQUIRED reading for ALL adolescents rather than being BANNED! I can't imagine any caring parent who wouldn't want their kids to understand the very real dangers they face when they experiment on their developing brains with chemicals. I know some people never learn lessons from others mistakes, but for the few who CAN, this book CAN be a lifesaver!

Rating:
Summary: Best ever
Review: I read this book for English class when I was 15. It's amazing! It definitely is a good read and worth the money. No moral preaching here, just what happened to Alice.

Rating:
Summary: Chilling
Review: Many people think that this must be a work of fiction, and that it is far too unrealistic to be a real diary. There were a few parts that I wondered about, like, how did she write in the mental institution with her hands all bandaged up, but there always seems to be an explanation.
So... MYTH: Alice writes too complexly for a 15-16-17 year old girl.
DUH-DUH ARGUMENT: Alice probably did write in hard-to-understand slang, but it was NOVEILIZED.
MYTH: So many boys were falling in love with her. That's dumb.
DUH-DUH ARGUMENT: No boys fell in love with HER (except Joel.) When you're naive like Alice (was) you look at boys and there's just something about them, no matter how little you know them, you seem to like them. I've felt that way before.
MYTH: Her exploits trekking around as a hippy was unrealistic.
DUH-DUH ARGUMENT: Well, it happened back then. 1967 was when it all started, and her exploits seemed nothing near peace signs and tie-dye. She was lost in the world, like many people have been.
MYTH: It's making drugs seem good.
DUH-DUH ARGUMENT: No, it doesn't. Plus, it says in the front of the book it does not offer any solutions. Why would it?
MYTH: It's stupid that she died.
DUH-DUH ARGUMENT: That's life, stop complaining.