The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. Why did a texas school district ban the years most. Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. While reading adventures of huckleberry finn in school, teachers often spend full class periods discussing a very important issue. Posted by jmariedavis december 8, 2011 leave a comment on go ask alice. At the 16th of june, alices grandmother died in her sleep. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. Due to its frequent and strong references to sex, heavy drug usage, and teen pregnancy, libraries and schools across the country have banned the novel as it sits at number 23 on the american library association ala 100 most. Go ask alice the movie is significant to fans of rock music. Go ask alice was published anonymously in 1971, but in the last two decades, it still lives in the top 25 most frequently banned books, according to the american library association. Go ask alice by anonymous banned book but was it real.
But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to the world around her. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book. I am always on the look out for classics and banned books often one and the same when i seen a copy of this book. In a hybrid work of biography, memoir and literary criticism whose title alludes to alice munros comingofage novel, lives of girls and women, sheila munro examines the writing life and. Go ask alice should be banned from middle school and elementary libraries and only permitted at the high school level because of the use of vulgar language, the use of illegal substances, and the explicit descriptions of the activities being done throughout the book. The book and especially the ending shows the harsh reality of drugs and addiction in teenagers. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the. I wanted her life it seemed cool it was a way to lose weight.
Go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. D espite the popularity of go ask alice, the mystery of the diarists identity has never been truly solved, and none of her relatives have ever come forward to claim a share of the royalties. Go ask alice was the product of beatrice sparks, an author who has come out with a number of teens who saw their lives ruined by their bad choices offerings, each one presented as a true. Go ask alice was designed to be the true events of a young. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday.
Thoughts on go ask alice banned books week youtube. The story is a look into a teenage girls life as she gets mixed up in the tragic life of drugs. Go ask alice is small, 224 under size pages and written in diary format so is a quick read. The book was written in 1967 and the song was originally written around 1965. Lyrics in the song white rabbit by the band jefferson airplane 2. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Go ask alice is the ultimate alice in chains tribute band. The book was also challenged as required reading in the buckingham county, va schools that year because of profanity.
Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. For thirtyfive years, the acclaimed, bestselling firstperson account of a teenage girls harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. Go ask alice was first published in 1971 and has since become one of the most banned books of all time. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have tipped me. As as child in high school i was 15, im 49 now, i read the book go ask alice, i was a loner i wanted cool friends. The american library association condemns censorship and works to ensure free access to information. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to return home and stay clean, her pleas to god to. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading go ask alice. First paperback edition march 1998 go ask alice taken from white rabbit, written by grace slick. See all 25 questions about go ask alice lists with this book. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age. Go ask alice in the book, go ask alice, a young girl, who felt like an outcast, was invited to a party. While the books origin was once steeped in controversy, it is mostly forgotten now. Go ask alice is one of the most banned books of all time.
Go ask alice by anonymous about the book she doesnt want to get hooked on drugs. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of selfdestructive escapism. If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. Jamie smithjackson portrays a shy, slightly overweight high schooler. Reading go ask alicethe socalled real diary, first published in 1971, of an anonymous girl who took drugs and diedis an experience so widely shared that theres little point personalizing it. I watched her reading, listening to music, talking on her transparent lucite. Go ask alice was published anonymously in 1971, but in the last two decades, it still lives in the top 25 most frequently banned books, according to the. Only publishers weekly threw shade, remarking that it seems awfully well. Some of the recurring reasons for it being banned are language, sexual content, and drug use. By thi time i was finished with the book i knew what i wanted i saw the exciting life i wanted. She was so excited to finally be accepted by them, all she ever really wanted was to be one of them. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around im an advocate for banned stories that teach difficult lessons the. Go ask alice is an amazing story that is passed on a real persons diary. Go ask alice by anonymous beatrice sparks banned library.
The song white rabbit predates the book go ask alice. A website that has information about health for teens 3. Every year, the office for intellectual freedom oif compiles a list of the top 10 most challenged books in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. Title stance on the book 3 articles it was banned challenged in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, and 2009 it was banned usually in schools and libraries title. The poor girl in this story gets hooked on acid, which is possible to do, i know people who have been there before, and trys so. The kids who were there were considered popular at her old school. Our goal is to pay tribute to one of the best rock bands to ever hit the. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my. Alice acted like she was sick, so she didnt had to go to school. A shocking true story for fans of reasons why kindle edition by anonymous. A dark and edgy firstperson cautionary tale about how one girls seemingly minor choices quickly spiraled into a life as a sex worker in the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in. Since its publishing in 1971, go ask alice has become one of the most challenged and banned books of all time.
Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. For our final project my group read the book go ask alice by anonymous. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. The people that challenged this book claimed that it should be banned due to drugs. In a 1995 village voice column for banned books week, nat hentoff described it as an. I chose go ask alice and it is certainly the strangest book ive read this year. Top 10 most challenged books lists advocacy, legislation. In 1993, go ask alice was removed from the wall township, nj intermediate school library by the superintendent of schools because the book contains inappropriate language and borders on pornography. She is a pretty typical teenage girl in the late 1960sshes mostly concerned with school, boys, her hair, and fitting in okay, thats pretty typical for any decade when her fathers new job causes her family to move across the country, alice is thrust into a new school at a time when she is at best sensitive. In honor of banned books week, jo asked a few of us booktubers to pick a banned book and make a video on it. Go ask alice guys, they made an afterschoolspecial movie that is totally faithful to the book and it has a young william shatner. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication top 100 bannedchallenged books. The list go ask alice has been one of the most frequently challenged books, according to the american library associations frequently challenged books of the 21st century list, since its publication in 1971, for content relating to drugs, sexual explicitness, offensive language, and inappropriate themes for the target age group frequently challenged 1. A book about a girl with drug addiction and she writes about drug life.
Do you think the book go ask alice should be banned. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. Originally sold as the real diary of an actual teenager, go ask alice is the fauxmemoir of a 15yearold girl whose life is dominated by her drug problems. I picked up this book at our recent friends of the library sale. Grace brought it with her from the great society when she joined up with jefferson airplane in 1966. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication. Parents and school boards were worried that this book would encourage teens and preteens to try out drugs. Its written in first person in traditional diary form. Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away.
Kris from sf, ca this song was not written about the book go ask alice. American metalcore band ice nine kills included a song related to the book, titled alice, on their 2015 album every trick in the book. Not alice beatrice sparks doesnt have a website, but one person has built an entire website about the book anyway, so click on through for all things alice. The novel has numerous references to sex, heavy drug use, and teen pregnancy causing libraries and schools across the country to ban the novel from their. Books similar to go ask alice meet your next favorite book. Lyrics for white rabbit by jefferson airplane songfacts. The band with its current name, lineup and genre orientation, exists from august 2008, though the story goes back to 2005 with the majority of go ask alices members playing with differend band.
Joel gave her alice a lot of strength and offered her to go to the funeral. Book banners like to take go ask alice out of libraries because they think. Everyone who encounters go ask alice goes through the same four stages titillated horror, for the young reader, at the books dramatic depictions of drug use. First published in 1971, go ask alice is a controversial book involving teenage addiction. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay. It was released as a single and became the band s second top10 success, peaking at number eight 2 on the billboard hot 100. Alice was the pseudonymous name of the teenaged author who wrote the book upon which this aboveaverage tv movie was based. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. White rabbit is a song written by grace slick and recorded by the american rock band jefferson airplane for their 1967 album surrealistic pillow. Included are new features, more interaction, better integration with social media, and a widget to have go ask alice. It sits at number 18 on the american library associations list of 100 most frequently challenged books from 20002009. All picture source titles are hyperlinked to the pages that they appear on this site. Go ask alice 1973 offers an antidrug message with a side of rock.