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Go Ask Alice (Turtleback School & Library)
Go Ask Alice (Turtleback School & Library) | Anonymous
"January 24thAfter you've had it, there isn't even life without drugs...."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."Read her diary.Enter her world.You will never forget her."For thirty-five years, the acclaimed, bestselling first-person account of a teenage girl's harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. As powerful -- and as timely -- today as ever, Go Ask Alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.
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review
britt_brooke
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️ A frequently challenged book that I finally picked up after it, as well as its debunker, Unmask Alice, were both recently referenced on a podcast (I can‘t remember which one). Originally published by “Anonymous,” this claimed to be a real diary written by a real girl who gets mixed up with all the drugs. The controversy over its authenticity is fascinating, and absolutely influenced my opinion.

KathyWheeler I was 14 when this was published and read it multiple times. I can‘t decide if it would have mattered to me if I‘d known it was fake. 1mo
BarbaraBB Oh this is the one I wrote about in a comment at your review! I read it in Dutch. They were even translated 😉 1mo
britt_brooke @KathyWheeler I think that‘s a very good point considering age. I care now, but would I have at 14? Likely not. 1mo
KathyWheeler @britt_brooke Exactly! I care now too, but back then I was the exact audience for this book and didn‘t know it was fake. 1mo
69 likes4 comments
review
Adventures_of_a_French_Reader
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Panpan

2/5
Just wanted to read it before later reading Unmask Alice. It's the “diary“ of a teenager in the 70s from a good family, falling into drugs.
Didn't seem realistic to me. Would not recommend it. If you are interested in this book, visit your library ;)

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Staci
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

You witnessed the downfall of an innocent depressive girl and her use of drugs that eventually became her downfall. At some points, you think she is getting better mentally, but then...

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hollylynnbee
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Pickpick

This book is unforgettable. Such a heart wrenching story. 💉

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DebinHawaii
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#BookMoods

I am sure I have read other books #AboutAddiction but these two come to mind. The tagged is probably one of the first books about it that I read (as a tween). I just finished Seven Days in June for #SummerHeat buddy read & while it‘s about many things besides addiction, it certainly plays a large role in the story.

LeahBergen I think I read Go Ask Alice at least five times as a teen. 😆 3y
DebinHawaii @LeahBergen Me too! It was a rite of passage I think! 😂 3y
Eggs Intrigued by both 👏🏻📚 3y
52 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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LinesUponAPage
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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I read this book first when I crept barely into my teen years. It is heartbreakingly honest. Reality is as crazy as it can get when you are taking Bennies, downers, LSD, Pot and Heroin. Go Ask Alice, she‘ll tell you all about it.

Who is Anonymous anyway?
That‘s what my next book to read will hopefully explain- Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson.

#booksbooksandmorebooks #avonbooks

TheBookHippie I‘ll be excited to hear what you think! I read Alice in the late 1970s I still think about it. 3y
Jennifer3 I read this too when I was a teenager. It was a book of my mom‘s. I love that my parents let me ready anything I wanted or interested me. 3y
LinesUponAPage @TheBookHippie it‘s definitely a book that changes your perception of people and their struggles. I‘ll let you know. The Unmask Alice is an ARC. So, it will be a bit. 3y
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LinesUponAPage @Jennifer3 parents like that are the best, at least I think so because then they let you ask questions and talk about scenarios that help form who you are. My mom is the one that bought the book for me (which is the original copy in this photo). My brother was deep into the drug scene and she wanted me to understand why he struggled so much with breaking the habit. It was horrific for our family. This book made me more empathetic. 3y
TheBookHippie @Lifeisasnap I lived in the middle of it so it was more like I wasn‘t the only one. It was so good to read in print how people I loved were struggling, like you I had family members and friends afflicted. So heartbreaking for everyone. One of my very best friends died from drugs when he was 17. It still seems unreal so many decades later. 3y
allureofbeauty I used to love the anonymous journal books but there is a lot of drama around them and Beatrice sparks. 3y
Jennifer3 @Lifeisasnap I agree, I think allowing me to read and talk about the books helped me to learn so much. Also I feel like this book shaped me in a way that I found my career as more of calling. I‘ve been a social worker since 1998 and helping to show empathy and care for those struggling with addiction and mental health being my specialty. 3y
LinesUponAPage @TheBookHippie I‘m so sorry for your loss. I had nightmares that that would happen to my brother and they were always to that darn Seasons in the Sun song. It is tragic what drugs do to people and the people who love them. My brother died at 40 from a reaction between his bipolar meds & some alcohol (the only Vice he couldn‘t get rid of). It took 20 years for doctors to figure out he was self medicating with the drugs for his bipolar. 3y
LinesUponAPage @allureofbeauty i didn‘t know there were others that were anonymous. I guess I missed them. Interesting. 3y
LinesUponAPage @Jennifer3 that is amazing that you have been able to try and help those in need of help. I can only imagine it must be so hard when people don‘t use the help that is available to them because they aren‘t ready for it. I‘m sure it‘s so frustrating but satisfying when they can kick it daily. 3y
Jennifer3 @Lifeisasnap Exactly - it‘s a bit of a rollercoaster ride at times. But when someone changes their life it is amazing to have played a small role in helping them on that new path. 3y
allureofbeauty There are quite a few of them. Like maybe ten or more. Jays journal I think was the next one and his family was very upset about it. You can google it and find out more. 3y
TheBookHippie @Lifeisasnap so sorry. It‘s awful truth for so many undiagnosed people. 3y
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BookLineNSinker
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous

So I need a reading boost my fellow Litsy friends. I like audiobooks in women's fiction, thrillers, literary fiction, no detective series, no novellas-- does anyone happen to have a recommendation? I am dying for something amazing. I like guilty pleasure books also... Help me find a great read, please! I loved The Glass Hotel... I like psychological thrillers.. help me pick

fredthemoose I just finished Daisy Jones and The Six and loved it. Malibu Rising by the same author was also great! 3y
SolaRaynor Something by Agatha Christie? 3y
8 likes2 comments
review
Michellesibs
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

When Alice goes to a party of a school friend and her drink is spiked with LSD nothing is ever the same again.

Written in diary form there is no consistency, sometimes there's an entry every day and then nothing for weeks. There's blanks and unexplained events and entries without any context but the reader gets the jist loud and clear.

Everything we see is through Alice's eyes, its as unreliable as any diary can be and it tore my heart out.

fredamans This was an epic read! 3y
Michellesibs @fredamans Agreed, for such a short book it really tore at my heart ❤ 3y
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Ast_Arslan
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
#ConflictedWorlds

Day 18 - #Addiction

I read this about 15 years ago and I found it more powerful than Christiane F.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🙌🏻📚❤️ I have it stacked ! 3y
persephone1408 I just read it last month. It was really good. 3y
Ast_Arslan @persephone1408 I remember I love it, maybe I'll do a reread soon 3y
Eggs 💗📚🙌🏻 3y
30 likes5 comments
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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

This is considered an urban modern day classic, it‘s a book I never read before. First written in the late 60‘s & published in 1971 it‘s debatable whether it‘s actually NF or fiction. Regardless, I found this book compelling & effective. Written in diary format by an anonymous 15 yr old suburban teenager who quickly spirals from a “normal” teen to a strung out runaway after discovering acid. While some readers found her transformation 👇🏽

Cinfhen
skeptical, I thought the diary read authentic & true. The wishes & dreams of an innocent teen (especially pre-internet) and then the intense euphoria and highs & lows that strangle and confuse an addict. In 2021 it‘s opioids in 1971 it was LSD.
3y
TheBookHippie I read it in the 70s it‘s fairly accurate to truth back then. One of my favorites. (edited) 3y
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Cinfhen Do you think it comes from an actual diary @TheBookHippie ?? 3y
AlaMich I read this as a young teenager and I think it sort of low-key traumatized me. I was a very anxious kid and I was terrified of the same thing happening to me (button, button), which I suppose was the author‘s goal. (edited) 3y
Megabooks It was written by a Mormon youth counselor. She wrote all the “anonymous” diaries in this series. https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS689US689&hl=en-US&q=Beatrice+Spark... (edited) 3y
Megabooks Sorry for the long link. You should check out the movie version! It used to be included in Amazon prime video. Anyway, I enjoyed this until I found out it was fake propaganda. 3y
AlaMich The author of the article in my link is about my age and her description of the effect the book had on her is spot-on for me as well. Yeah, I have a BONE to pick with that woman!!! https://electricliterature.com/go-ask-alice-hoax-teen-anxiety-drugs/ (edited) 3y
CarolynM Like @TheBookHippie I read it as a young teen in the 70's. I believed it to be true at the time and it certainly felt real and accurate (to my very limited and immature understanding) but like @Megabooks I've subsequently seen articles outing the real author. I don't think it being fiction makes it any less powerful as a cautionary tale but I hate that it was presented as true when it wasn't. 3y
Megabooks @CarolynM well put Carolyn!! I didn‘t read it until I was an adult, so it had less of an impact on me, but I hate feeling manipulated by falsehoods. I can see why she did it because it makes the book more powerful and believable, and I guess the point was to scare kids straight. 3y
Cinfhen Loved that article @AlaMich I agree @Megabooks @CarolynM it‘s disingenuous and manipulative ~ it still would have been compelling as fiction 3y
BarbaraBB I read this when I was very young (10? 11?) and afterwards I decided I would never do drugs. I indeed hardly did so in my life so maybe the book did its job - or common sense. But I am shocked to learn who wrote it AND that she wrote a whole series of anonymous diaries @Megabooks ! The others haven‘t been translated in Dutch so I didn‘t have access to them at the time - fortunately. I am allergic to propaganda 😉 (edited) 3y
BarbaraBB And congrats for finishing #pop21! I still need a few and this prompt is the hardest I think! 3y
Megabooks @BarbaraBB yes, I tried to read another, but it was after I found out the author‘s identity, and tbh, it wasn‘t as good, so I didn‘t finish. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think I missed out by not reading this as a pre-teen! 😂 3y
KarenUK I‘ve not read this, but so interesting to hear about all your experiences with this book (and the subsequent discovery of who actually wrote it.) At the bookstore it is categorized as YA fiction, and still appears on some school reading lists in our county in FL. 3y
alisiakae Congrats for finishing #pop21!! I read this in middle school in the 90s, and it also left an impact, although I don‘t think I ever took it to be nonfiction. I can even remember where I read it (school library, checked it out and started reading immediately) 3y
KarenUK And congrats on completing #pop21 !!!! I‘ve still got 6 to go I think….. including this prompt. I was thinking of reading this one that was originally published anonymously, as I really enjoyed her ‘Enchanted April‘ 3y
Cinfhen Interesting @KarenUK about how it‘s shelved at B&N 🤓Thanks for accompanying me on the #PoP21 journey @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraBB @Megabooks I still have 3 from the advanced prompts to go 😝 3y
Megabooks Sorry I didn‘t congratulate you right off!! Congratulations!! Way to go!!! 🥳🥳🥳 I‘m the opposite of you: I‘m finished with the advanced but still have three of the regular prompts to go. 3y
fredamans I LOVED this book!!! 3y
Cinfhen No worries @Megabooks and congrats to you for completing the advanced prompts ♥️ 3y
Cinfhen I was definitely hooked on the book @fredamans BUT I feel a bit deceived ~ it was more compelling as a work of NF 3y
fredamans @Cinfhen I agree with you there! 3y
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bookiehannah
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Another reread while I wait for new books to come in!! I remember really liking this book- but I‘m nervous it‘s not gonna live up to my memory 😬

#goaskalice #reread

LapReader I call my parents ‘the establishment‘ because of that book. Ha! 3y
11 likes1 comment
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persephone1408
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

One of my favorite albums is Every trick in the book by Ice Nine Kills. It has 10 songs that are based on books. I decided to read all 10 books. I decided to start with my favorite song #7 Alice. I just finished and I didnt start drugs until my early 20's & I never kept a diary but I can definitely relate to her. I'm make my 18 year old daughter read it. If it would help her, then I pray she does read it! It was very good I give it an 4/5🍪 lol

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starlight97
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Tachie93
Pickpick

Interning but loved it

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Carlie_jc
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

So crazy! I still can‘t wrap my mind around the fact that she was so young. This book really gives you a look into a life influenced by drugs.

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starlight97
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Pickpick

The heartbreaking true story of a 15-year-old drug user.
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

26 likes1 stack add
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KimberlyJuracich
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
Pickpick

I loved this book. It was the first book like this I have ever read. It deals with drugs, homelessness, and everything in between. I think it should honestly be something read in schools because of the ugly truth in it. Please read it with an open mind it was written a while ago and based in the 70s. So not exactly our now version of pc.

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Ast_Arslan
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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After more then 10 years, it came back home!
I had borrow it to a friend of mine long time ago, now it finally came back to me!
I want to re-read this one ❤

#goaskalice #addiction #drugs #diary

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BacklistReader
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Your Not Alone by Saosin

Mental health in Fiction

One of the only required reading I actually completed in school. I don‘t remember much about it but I do remember liking it.

#beatthebacklist #beatthebacklist2020 #btboctober20

persephone1408 "You're not alone. There is more to this I know. You can make it out. You will live to tell!" I love that song. I have that album. 4y
BacklistReader @persephone1408 I have to be honest, I‘ve never actually heard the song before. Maybe I‘ll have to go have a listen…. 4y
12 likes2 comments
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SooManyBooks
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

I was told by many to read this book and I‘m glad that I did. It goes through a story of a young girl who gets involved with drugs and the wrong crowd. It‘s a heartbreaking, real story that makes the reader really open their eyes to what teens deal with. I definitely recommend reading this! #goaskalice

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la_rose_noire
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Day 1
#7days7books
Seven books that made a deep impression and changed me.

I was a teenager when my dad gave me that book. It was his original copy. It's probably the book cover I'll remember the most.

Freespirit I read this in my teens too 5y
23 likes1 comment
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Just.Linds
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
Mehso-so

This was very obviously not a true story and dare I say... outdated? But I could see how after first release it was powerful and shocking

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Cortg
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Swung by my Little Free Library today and and replaced 1/2 the books with banned/challenged books with little banned book bookmarks.

cleoh I love this! 5y
wildwoodreads Great idea! Also, The Great Illustrated Classics make me so nostalgic. 5y
Tamra Great idea! 5y
Cortg @megzlynn I know ❤️ I loved them as a kid and they always go quickly! 5y
55 likes5 comments
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ScarySandy
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

This one was good

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ahoffkosik
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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When I was in elementary school, I plucked this little book from the depths of a forgotten shelf in the back of my library. Seeing that the author was “Anonymous,” I promptly felt very confused, dropped the book, and ran away. If you know the history of Go Ask Alice, though, you know there‘s a plot twist. It‘s actually NOT the real diary of an anonymous teen drug addict. We discuss further on the latest ep of my podcast. 🎧 Link to listen in bio!

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keys_on_fire
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Mehso-so

Why: Trying to read as many books mentioned in #paperpackcrush as possible.

Pros: unique concept (someone‘s diary) for scaring kids about the dangers of drugs

Cons: hard to believe this was really a diary by a teenager; most of the time it was really well written, where most kids would be using slang, for example.

rubyslippersreads I think it was later revealed that it was written by an adult (possibly a psychologist) as a cautionary tale for teens. 5y
48 likes1 comment
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S3V3N
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

I had never heard of this book until I saw one my classmates post about it on Facebook. She mentioned that she read it in high school. It was a quick, easy read. I don't know anyone (now or in high school) who used LSD. The book is good, told through diary writings. The only issue I had was the age of the main character. She either started using early or was in high school forever.

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KristenDuck
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

Go Ask Alice is the story of one young girl‘s downward spiral into drug addiction. While we continue to root for her to get clean, she just can‘t seem to resurface.

The diary format for this novella makes for a quick read. I must admit this has had a special place in my heart since I first read it as a teenager.

At that time, I swore I‘d never do drugs.

And I never have.

Go Ask Alice isn‘t for everyone, but I believe it‘s worth trying.

ShyBookOwl It seems everyone I went to high school with was assigned this book in grade 9 or 10, but my own teachers never assigned it. I still sometimes get curious about it. 6y
LauraBytheBook I recently read somewhere that this was actually written by a religious group trying to scare kids away from using drugs. I read it years ago and I remember it being terrifying. 6y
KristenDuck @ShyBookOwl I was never assigned it - my mom had actually recommended it to me. But since, I‘ve re-read it more than once. 6y
KristenDuck @KnitNread well the job was done well then! :) 6y
TheBookgeekFrau I lost count of how many times I've read this book since middle school! It was also a made for TV movie in the 70s. I never saw it, but I heard my parents talking about it and being intrigued. When I read it 10 years later I was like 'omg this is that movie!' 6y
94 likes15 stack adds5 comments
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Gina
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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This 1971 book was written by an adult trying to keep kids off of drugs. It is purely fictional which at the time was unknown.

https://m.ranker.com/list/true-story-behind-go-ask-alice/melissa-brinks?utm_sour...

AmyG We all read this book back then. An eye-opener was an understatement. I was 13. 6y
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RyeAnnUh
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Post is a day late but it is up! Today we are going back to a book review one of the first books to make a real impact on my life. Go Ask Alice deals with drugs and overdosing so trigger warning for that, but go check it out and let me know what you think!

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OrangeMooseReads
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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After @Megabooks posted about this movie being on Amazon Prime I had to watch it. #booktofilm
Holy cheesy 70s Batman! LOL 😂

Megabooks Oh yeah! It‘s fantastic! 🤣🤣 6y
OrangeMooseReads @Megabooks and there are multiple random big names in it. 6y
Megabooks @OrangeMooseReads I know. And the picture was so bad I had trouble differentiating between all the blondes! 6y
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JaclynW I just finished this book! I'm going to need to watch this. (I did not care for the book though...) 6y
OrangeMooseReads @JaclynW I liked the book. It‘s entirely fiction and I thought the idea was good to me everyone likes different things though. The movie looks like an after school special. It was interesting to see the book translated to the screen though plus it‘s only an hour and a half I think. (edited) 6y
Blaire I just heard this book recommended on the call your girlfriend podcast. Some great points were made about what ppl said about it when it was originally published and ppl thought it was nonfiction and then learned it wasn‘t. 6y
JaclynW @OrangeMooseReads @Blaire I felt betrayed. It claims to be based on a real teenage girl, but in fact, it was written by a Mormon therapist as propaganda. Maybe the author was well intentioned but it rubbed me the wrong way. The story was "okay" but looking back, lots of things seemed "off" or completely wrong/impossible. 6y
OrangeMooseReads @JaclynW yeah i felt a bit that way too. I didn‘t realize it was a Mormon therapist that wrote it though. Yes I agree so many things were off and didn‘t add up and seemed completely impossible/improbable. 6y
Blaire @OrangeMooseReads @JaclynW on the podcast they compared it to that million little pieces...but the interviewee said reading it as fiction and appreciating it while ignoring how it was marketed - was really the first book to capture valley girl speak and look at teen girls‘ lives. I say all this not having read it or heard of it before Friday. 😂 6y
VioletBramble I read this when I was 12 (1974-75) a few years after it was published. It must seem so dated by now. Even at 12 I thought the beginning and end felt false. But then I was around a lot of drug using teens thanks to family members and neighbors. Alice rarely spoke like a teenager. When she was still keeping her diary on scraps of paper while living in the park I knew for sure she was fake. Was Valley Speak a thing then? 6y
50 likes1 stack add11 comments
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Megabooks
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

🚨 Alert 🚨 The Go Ask Alice 70s TV movie is on Amazon Prime! It is cheese-o-rific! A true must watch. 🤣🤣🤣 And It has William Shatner in it 👍🏻👍🏻

CarolynM I read the book as a teenager but I've never seen the movie 6y
Megabooks @CarolynM I read it for the first time in November. I‘m going to finish the movie tomorrow. I read that these “anonymous” books were written by a Mormon youth counselor. It seemed a little outrageous to me. 6y
CarolynM I knew nothing about drugs/drug culture when I read it so I took it all very seriously. I'm not sure I'd have been as impressed if I'd read it as an adult😂 6y
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OrangeMooseReads On my list! 6y
MaleficentBookDragon @CarolynM sane for me. I took it very seriously at age 11. 6y
Megabooks @CarolynM @MaleficentBookDragon I can see how it would be scary if read in the middle school years, especially in the years before partial to full decriminalization of marijuana. And it definitely made me glad that I‘d never tried acid! 6y
Megabooks @OrangeMooseReads 👍🏻👍🏻 6y
80 likes7 comments
review
jb72
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
Mehso-so

This was an interesting book, but the story is almost like author wanted to throw everything into it (even the kitchen sink).

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LogiKitty
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
Bailedbailed

I remember this being important to me as a kid and probably led to me having a huge aversion to drugs (good for my personal life but not the way I internally criminalized every single drug user). Read it was written by a Mormon therapist named Beatrice Sparks...tossed it out.

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Megabooks
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Panpan

This is a cheesy book written middle aged Mormon youth counselor that I find very funny and absurd at 38, but would have scared the bejeebus out of me at 13. The author, Beatrice Sparks (google her), went on to write many similar titles to continue to terrify teens.

I have chosen several quotes that are either so 70s I can‘t believe it (Gelatin salad) or funny and unbelievable. Raiding homes of middle class street dealers? Loving your period? 2⭐️

BethM Interesting Wikipedia read! I think I'll pass on the books. 6y
IndoorDame Appreciate you writing this! I‘ve always had a feeling that reading this is one of those cultural experiences I ought to participate in but I‘ve picked it up read the back cover and decided against it every few years since I was a teenager. Now I feel like I can let that impulse go. 6y
LauraBeth This book was passed around in my sixth grade class. I‘m 47, almost 48 and have never done drugs - not even pot (do you know how many times I had to say no during college?) 😂 I credit that to this book. 😂 (edited) 6y
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AmyG I read this when it came out. I wouldn‘t dream of reading it today. @LauraBeth Yes....we were all reading this. 6y
sammisho I read this in 7th grade and it terrified me! I still point to it as one of the reasons why I never tried hard drugs! I had no idea it was by a mormon youth counselor! Until today I thought it was based on a true story! 😂😂😂 I am sending this to all my middle school friends, we passed this book around! Scared us all!! 6y
Megabooks @BethM I‘m not going read any more. 👍🏻 6y
Megabooks @IndoorDame Same here. At my high school it was more about scaring us about HIV, but some of my college friends had read it, and I just finally decided to bite the bullet. Good to let it go! 6y
Megabooks @LauraBeth Well, it probably saved you some money! 😉🤣 You‘d probably have a completely different reaction at 47/8! 6y
Megabooks @AmyG As an early 90s middle schooler, I never read it then, but some of my same-age college friends had read it then. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 6y
Megabooks @sammisho If you read it with an adult‘s eyes, you‘ll see a lot of it is far-fetched. But at 13 you‘re all, “I don‘t want to end up on the street!” 😱😱😱 6y
sammisho @megabooks I still kind of want my kids to read it though. It made such a lasting impression on my pre teen self! 6y
Megabooks @sammisho I can see that. I wonder if they‘ll find an almost 50 year old book relatable? I can certainly see why parents don‘t want their teenagers using hard drugs or even any drugs. Various pills today are easier to get than beer, or so I hear. All the OxyContin to heroin books I read scare me for the generation in their teens and 20s. 😞 6y
L_auren I loved these books in middle school 😂😂😂 6y
Megabooks @L_auren lol! Did they scare you straight? 6y
L_auren @Megabooks No actually. Didn‘t get those kind of messages at home thankfully 😂 so I think I just enjoyed the drama. I read “Annie‘s Baby” like 10 times 🤣🤣🤣 6y
Megabooks @L_auren Pre-teens gone wild!!! 🤣🤣 You crack me up! 6y
zsuzsanna_reads @Megabooks We had to read this at school in the early 90s when I was 12 or 13. I don't remember it particularly scaring me, I think I kind of enjoyed the more "colourful" bits! 6y
zsuzsanna_reads @sammisho I think I'll pick something more relatable that's actually a good book as well, like 6y
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Megabooks
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Okay, so my review will have some non spoiler quotes that show how this is obviously fiction, but really:

SUDDENLY around the 50%, she‘s in school looking for an upper (because obvi adderall hasn‘t been invented) and the next entry she‘s in Denver (?!) living on the streets?! Just seems far fetched.

Continuing to read...

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Megabooks
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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So technically I checked this out for #nonfictionNovember, but it was obvious from the beginning that an adult wrote it. There were too many places where it read too mature. So can I still count it as nonfiction? 🤔🤔

Also handy Google seems to know the author!

Cinfhen Hmmmm; what do you make of that??? That bothers me 😡 6y
Megabooks @Cinfhen It bothers me but doesn‘t surprise me. This was a decade before Nancy Reagan and almost two decades before D.A.R.E. They had to do something to try to scare the bejeebus out of 6-9th graders! 6y
Lola I read this when I was a teenager and it did scare the f$&k out of me. Mission accomplished 🙄 (edited) 6y
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Megabooks @Cinfhen I‘m continuing to read, and the diary entries when she‘s high sound remarkably similar to sober ones. If you‘ve read the early entries in Theft by Finding, David‘s entries are remarkably different high vs sober. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 6y
Megabooks @Lola It was the HIV/AIDS lectures in gym class that scared me. Condoms, condoms, condoms! 6y
Cinfhen True!! I remember WANTING to read this book but too scared to check it out of the library @Lola @Megabooks 6y
Lola @Megabooks That was in my world just post college. Everyone looking for a place to get anonymously tested. That early/mid-80s fear was depicted so well in 6y
Megabooks @Lola I love Rebecca Makkai but haven‘t read TGB yet. It‘s on my list for December or January, depending on when I can get it from the library. 6y
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mkittysabibliokitty
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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@TheLibrarian has 70,000 followers and is hosting a Giveaway this is my fav book of all time! Hurray! #70kgiveaway

TheLibrarian Thank you for entering! Although it‘s been a long time since I‘ve read Go Ask Alice, I do remember liking it. 6y
mkittysabibliokitty @TheLibrarian I read it as a teen and it stuck with me it‘s actually by Beatrice Sparks.. but either she made them up or took them from true Stories.. because if you look up Beatrice Sparks on goodreads.. there is Jay‘s Journal and some more..my goodreads is mkittysamom https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9901011-mkittysamom (set to private I think) u may have to friend me but it‘s under my books! And Thanks too! 6y
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bookish_wookish
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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#tuesdaytidbits @SilversReviews

In high school we had to read Go Ask Alice. We got to take the book home to read, but we were instructed to NOT read specific chapters due to content. Everyone was excited because they all hated reading and it was less work. Me on the other hand, read the book from cover to cover. I was intrigued about the chapters we couldnt read. Also I was on the “youre not going to tell me what i cant read” plan!

SilversReviews LOL...thanks for playing. 6y
Zelma 😂 I am surprised so many students didn‘t read the forbidden chapters. That would be an automatic read for me! 6y
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amb
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Mehso-so

For banned books month, this book was originally published in the late 60s at that time it was said to be the actual diary entries of a 15 year old drug user. Wikipedia says that it was a fictionalized account of a 15 year old addict. Obviously dated language based on when it was originally published, still oddly engrossing. The last page seemed like an unnecessary scared straight tactic. TW for so many things.

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Carolhreads
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

Wow, this book punches you right in the stomach. It‘s a roller coaster ride of raw and real emotions and it‘s just plain optimistic and sad all at the same time it gave me hope and then ripped it away . My full review is on my good reads I don‘t like that you can‘t write full reviews here . Or at least mine are way too long lol

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Carolhreads
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Carolhreads
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Currently reading 📖 Started this afternoon

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JeanP
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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"Yesterday I remember thinking I was the happiest person in the whole earth, in the whole galaxy, in all of God's creation. Could that only have been yesterday or was it endless light-years ago? I was thinking that the grass had never smelled grassier, the sky had never seemed so high. Now it's all smashed down upon my head and I wish I could just melt into the blaaaa-ness of the universe and cease to exist."
- Alice

RaimeyGallant Welcome! 7y
Cathythoughts A very warm welcome to Litsy ! 7y
Cathythoughts And great quote! 7y
JeanP @Cathythoughts Thank you! 7y
Debiw781 A classic! 7y
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JeanP
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pickpick

This is the diary of a teenage girl who goes down the rabbit hole of drug abuse. She is exposed to the dark underworld of drug culture at a young and innocent age. Readers are shown what drug users are willing to do and the dark places they are willing to inhabit in order to attain drugs. Alice writes that "All dopers are part time sewer dwellers." Through it all Alice holds on to her goodness and she remains hopeful of a better life.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks So sad and I see this every day... 😥 7y
JeanP @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks It really is a very sad thing which many teenagers and young adults are experiencing at an all too young age. 7y
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Downtonabbeyroad394
Go Ask Alice | Anonymous
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Pop sugar reading challenge #18 Book title with lyrics

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