Rams Readers Spring 2014 discussion
Go Ask Alice
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I just finished reading this book and I thought it was good. I think it gets to the heart of how drug addiction can occur but I am somewhat skeptical also. I can speak from personal experience. I never did drugs but my best friend's daughter got on this train and it is more dark and horrible than this book could ever tell and it happens to kids you seem to have it all as well as to those who don't. It is hard for me to think that one could be so niaeve and to be so trusting of other people but I guess when you think of yourself with such loathing you would do just about anything to feel loved. I lived during the 60's and I know first hand about the hippie movement and all that went with it although I was never a part of it my older brother was influenced by it.Back to the drug addiction. I think it is a darker and more horrifying road than this book can portray and if one did portray it, it would be xxx rated in many cases. People will sell there very souls for the next heroine fix and parents will not always welcome you back with open arms.
I was probably a freshman in high school when I first read this on my own - not as a school assignment. I always thought it was real. Some research I read online today says on the copyright page it says the book is a fictional work. My copy is on my nook and I don't have a copyright page to check that out. I do know people who were drug users in the past and have recovered from it. I know several people who divorced their spouse because they just couldn't live with the spouse's drug abuse anymore. I think Cathy's comment about drug abuse being a "darker and more horrifying road" than we can imagine is probably very true. Fortunately, I was never in an environment where that was a choice or a temptation for me. I'm always saddened by the reports of famous people or the relatives of famous people who have ended their lives because of drugs. In a few places this book reminded me of Catcher in the Rye because the narrator would state something and then say, "I really did." I wondered if the higher level vocabulary used was the result of having highly educated parents. I wondered why the narrator's parents couldn't do more about her school situation to make things easier for her to stay straight. I guess they were so consumed with their own lives and careers and how they appeared on the outside to the rest of the world, they forgot it's what's happening on the inside that matters most. Also, the narrator wasn't forthright with her parents about what her struggles really were.
I wouldn't feel comfortable reading this book as a class, and I probably wouldn't have it on my shelf in the classroom if I taught at the high school level. As a class assignment, I am happier teaching books that are more upbeat. A lot of students live in pretty hellish situations anyway.
As a child of the late 60's I can say from experience, children were viewed differently. They didn't have all the psychological information we have today. It was my experience that feelings were not talked about and appearances were very important. You didn't air your dirty laundry in public. Also, bullying took place back in those days too, it was just ignored and swept under the mat. I think the whole rebellion of the 60's was against the establishment which said children and teens were to behave a certain way. Unfortunately, I was raised being told, "Children were to be seen and not heard." Maybe that was just in my family. Did anyone else who is around 50 have the same experiences.I do think it is a good book to have the class read and incorporate lessons on communication, drugs, and how to talk to people about our feelings. I think it would be a valuable lesson for kids to see what it is like on the inside of the drug world.
I however like to believe that this girl didn't kill herself but that she was tricked once again by those who wanted revenge but more than likely she fell off the wagon and just couldn't take it anymore, so sad.i>Cathy wrote: "As a child of the late 60's I can say from experience, children were viewed differently. They didn't have all the psychological information we have today. It was my experience that feelings were no..."
I had never read or heard about this book before and after reading it I must say I don't like it. I agree with Jenna when she says it seemed dishonest. I also agree with Jenna on the dialect changing from American to European, as I was reading that thought occurred to me as well.I do think this book deals with what teenagers have to face on a daily basis. I remember thinking my mom was out to get me as a teenager. I think teenagers could relate to this book. I would like to know what a actual teenager thought after reading this book.
I did not like the epilogue because of the last entry in her diary. I thought she was going to be happy at last.
This is a new read for me. This book gives a whole new perspective because it is in diary format. I like that it gives students the appeal to writing down their thoughts and everyday experiences. Some students may not be able to talk to their parents about things and a diary is a great way to be able to express yourself through writing. Alice seems like a child that got steered the wrong way by the wrong crowd. I think this experience can be very relatable even though it is a topic that we don't often speak of (like Cathy said, 'seen and not heard'). I myself have a family member that went through a very similar experience, so it was very interesting to read it from the perspective of the drug user. It is very heartbreaking to see how much she wanted the good life, and was constantly directed to one more difficult. I think that the parents in this book could have been more involved and had more open communication with Alice, at one point she mentions that she was happy to be honest with her parents and be able to share with them. Though each case is different, and each day is different in the life of a drug user. This book is so tragic because you see the everyday highs and lows of Alice's life, and you experience what she experiences. This book somewhat reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird, just in the aspect that everyday we are forced to make decisions, are we going to make the right decision, or the wrong one? Alice's choice may be different just because her first and her last time doing drugs she was tricked into it, however, in between there she made wrong choices. The ending sort of leaves you hanging and doesn't give you any information as to why or what happened. Like Cathy, I chose to believe that she wanted the good life with Joel and someone tricked her once again into the overdose that took her life.I am on the fence about whether or not I would read this book in class. Even though I think it is a great example to not do drugs, etc. I am just not sure as a parent if I would want the teachers reading this book with my daughter.
I know when I read this book when I was about fourteen, I understood that the narrator was involved in sex and that was a direct consequence of the drugs, but I don't think I understood all the references to sexual activity that I read this time. For that reason, I wouldn't read it in class even though today's kids are much more worldly and street savvy than I ever was. I wouldn't have had a problem with my daughter reading it on her own and discussing it with her in our family. Like Jaime alluded to, the scope of this book - the drugs, the sex, and attitudes toward both of them - aren't really my job. I believe I can share my attitudes and beliefs with students, but I can't teach them my attitudes and beliefs. And I'm not trained to facilitate a discussion about them either. When those issues come up in the classroom, I try to involve the appropriate people.
This book was definitely a bit of a shocker for me because I had never read something similar. In fact, I kept thinking of how I could use this book in my classroom and for one, I wouldn't use it in middle school. Perhaps it would be more appropriate for sophomore or junior English literature class but it would still be difficult for me to start a discussion let alone share my views. Although students by the time they hit high school have probably experienced with even more difficult addictions or situations. But on a personal note, I don't think I would agree or allow my children to read this novel. I understand it has real life scenarios and what not.... but I honestly couldn't bare to see them read a novel like this.
I absolutely loved this book. I love books that are written from "journals". However, the way the book was written I was unsure if a sixteen year old had in fact wrote this. The wording didn't seem like something a sixteen year old would say, however this was a long time ago so I am sure there's a huge difference in the thinking of sixteen year olds then and now. It had a personal touch, I enjoyed the fact that I was able to go inside the mind of "Alice", it was pretty scar to go inside of her mind once she started to become interested in drugs. This would be good for a high school group of students , they will be able to read for themselves the affect of trying drugs at a young age and the outcome. I believe that young teenagers would appreciate reading this book. It gives them another spectrum. Besides, high school students are faced with the majority of things "Alice" faced in this book.
Maira wrote: "I had never read or heard about this book before and after reading it I must say I don't like it. I agree with Jenna when she says it seemed dishonest. I also agree with Jenna on the dialect changi..."Yeah I somewhat agree,I toggled between the book being truthful and dishonest. It is hard to say for me, however I enjoyed reading it. It did have a sad ending though.
As encouraging students to read this book, you must let them know this is a fictional book. That may hold true accounts into the look of society of how someone on drugs may live their lives. But what a great crossover reference to look into more details about true history of books that deal with the same drug issues? Having a compare and contrast between them, doing a crossover writing over both. I like to think this would be a good in the minds of our teenage students but in our own adult minds not so much. But I do think we can involve teaching activities that would be beneficial into teaching this book within our lesson plans.
As I read back through all of our posts, it occurred to me that "The Freedom Writer's Diary" may be a better as well as updated alternative to "Go Ask Alice" for today's students. The writers are real high school students. (Or were.) In addition to drugs, other difficult issues are dealt with - gang violence, depression, suicide, incest, abuse, etc.
V. I have always heard that is a great book, I will have to put that on my list!
Jaime wrote: "V. I have always heard that is a great book, I will have to put that on my list!"Freedom writer's Diary like the movie Freedom writers? Is that the same??... a group of teenagers write in a diary about their lives as a class assignment given by their High School English teacher. Most of them have been through traumatic experiences. I will have to read this if that's the same one as the movie.
Yes, Shanay. I have several copies of the book, and you are welcome to have one. Erin Gruwell was their teacher. I'll email you.
I felt that at times this book wasn't genuine. There were times that I thought, there is no way that a teenager wrote this! Then the vernacular would change from what I would consider American dialect to a more British or European one. And some of the vocabulary? I consider myself to be well read but even now I would not use some of the flowery words she used and I especially wouldn't at 15 in a diary. It gave off a dishonest tone.
With that aside, I have to admit that her description of her first LSD trip had me hooked before trying it! Not really of course but I could instantly see the addiction take place. It is so strange to watch it unfold like that but I think it is very relatable to teenagers who are beginning to question authority and rebel. Well that was fun and my mom also told me pot was dangerous but maybe that is fun too! Definitely adolescent reasoning.
I was horrified at the path that drugs led her on and some of the things she had to endure but she almost didn't even seem phased by them. Oh I was drugged and rapes last night so I am just going to move now. wow. That added to the ingenuine feelings in the novel as well. Still hard to read through some of that though. I hated that she was trying so hard to turn her life around but at every turn there were peers ready and willing and actively trying to tear her back down. I believe that is still a very big problem for teens today. The pressures put on them by other teens is unfair and hard to breath under. Suffocating. Although this book seemed to compile the worst possible scenarios for teens on drugs, I have seen it happen first hand. A girl can be so sweet and friendly and loving and suddenly she is a completely different person. And then the unthinkable- she has run away and begun to prostitute herself. A friend of mine went down this path. She has been missing now for 7 years. I didn't need to read this book to know the horrors of drug use.
The end was upsetting. She seemed to be really happy and finally in a good place where she could love her life for what it was and who she was. And then she dies?! And I hate that we do not get to know the circumstances!
Beatrice is from a good and educated family. Her parents are attentive and loving. But that doesn't change the events that take place in the book. We can see her being critical of herself, find her own identity, rebel, and experiment. Typical teenager! Only the drugs took hold of her. I remember feeling a lot like she did at times; trying to break free of my mother's mini-me image and become myself and decide how that would look and sound. You could see her exchange what I called her flowery vocabulary for curse words and vulgar words and descriptions. Her physical appearance changed and she was less reflective of her life than before. So much tragedy in just two years.
I didn't love the book. It seemed like a longer DARE presentation in book form or an exaggerated after school special. But I didn't hate it either. I would have liked to see other perspectives but since SUPPOSEDLY this is an actual diary I can understand why that isn't included. I guess I just can't buy into the scared straight portion of it. No withdrawls, no rehab just "mommy I want to come home". I am actually pretty surprised that this book is even in schools still. It is a little graphic for the age group it is intended for I think.