Anyone else dislike this book?

[Kim]

Maybe all the negative reviews are coming from adults who know the difference between what a 15 year old would write and an adult. All I can say is this book scared the CRAP out of me when I was in my teens. I thank my mother to this day for giving it to me to read. Believe me, at that age its not important whether an adult wrote it or the girl if it gets the message across!!! This book kept me mindful of what I was doing and those around me. It kept me always thinking if it happened to her, it can happen to me. And I never touched all that stuff. Kuddo's to mom!! And whoever really wrote the book.

[Matthew]

As I wrote before, if one want's to read a book by a real former junkie, read the Basketball Diaries or Forced Entries, both by Jim Carroll. There are no scare tactics in either one, just an honest look at what it truly means to be hooked on drugs. Its true LSD is not addictive, nor is the real stuff around anymore. Anything being called acid, LSD these days is not what was going around 40+ years ago. What I personally disliked about this book when I read it about 20 years ago is that its too much of a moralist diatribe. Which is not needed but considering the person who wrote it, it should come as no surprise. Also check out Train Spotting.

[Alana]

I read it in my late teens, and I haaated it. It made no sense half the time (yes, I know she was on drugs), and I was constantly getting the random characters mixed up. I was glad when it was over.

[Dolores]

Read this in high school in the 1970's. All the psychedelic drugs were becoming easily available even to high school kids back then. It's a cautionary story in the form of a young girl's private diary entries.
Back then we really believed it was a diary left behind by a REAL TEENAGER identified only as: "Anonymous." Finding out forty some years later, that this is a phony MADE UP story written by a woman named Beatrice Sparks; is a shock.
Boy, do I feel upset and deceived! Shame on you Sparks!!!

[Diana]

this book was okay it wasnt like what others explained it to be. i quess some people connect with it more because they have gone through it or have someone that has. in my opinion drugs can take you through the wrong rode and i think this was an interesting book i dont know if its real or fake but it made you seem like you were experiencing it. i dont dislike this book but its not my favorite one either.

[Esmeralda]

Go Ask Alice was not so bad of a book, well diary. It is a young girls experience of her doing hardcore drugs in order to feel happy. Although she does do some crazy things like run away, she teaches us a lesson on drugs. We should learn from her mistakes! Like DianeE said "I was really thankful that I read it" I am too. I've always known drugs are no good, but reading all of Alice's experiences, opens my eyes even more to never get near them.

[Tim]

Im pretty sure this book is 100% fiction,
easy to get away with as "anonymous"
paide for by DARE, i assume.

its awful.

[Dolores]

Kim wrote: "Maybe all the negative reviews are coming from adults who know the difference between what a 15 year old would write and an adult. All I can say is this book scared the CRAP out of me when I was in..."

Hello Kim...
You are 100% correct. If the novel can influence kids and teens to think twice about messing with drugs, it was worth it. I guess I'm getting apathetic in my mid-fifties. SIGH....

[[deleted user]]

Yeah, the book is pretty big waste of time. Unless you enjoy worst case scenario type work. The thing that makes me suspicious of it not being real has to do with every twist and turn being another negative resolution. I don't think a single good thing happens that doesn't turn into something terrible. The weird part is the girl writing the diary doesn't ever seem to blame herself. I mean she is choosing again and again to do drugs which for some obscure reason always wind her up in the absolute worst situations.

From my experience, drug users take responsibility for their actions. Many turn out just fine, either moderating use or stopping it all together when they are done with the drug. Alternatively, most junkies probably take responsibility for their use of drugs; whereas the girl in the novel inadvertently blames the drugs for everything. Hence, my conclusion is that it is fake propaganda; it was written by a Mormon, and Mormon's are not known to be very pro-drug nor open minded about drugs.

[Megan]

The book itself isn't bad, but if I ever met Alice, we wouldn't be the best of friends. She kind of reminds me of Izzy ("Crazy" by Amy Reed) because her feelings are so up and down. One minute she's on a high (literally) and the next she's low (this is not necessarily literal), the only difference is that Izzy is a likable character but I can't say that Alice is very enjoyable company. Izzy is fun - unpredictable, but genuinely lost and confused. Alice starts off as a righteous, and then once she starts using drugs becomes so annoying with her talk about everything being beautiful and magnificent. Once she realizes what she's doing is not good for her, she becomes the ethical girl she used to be, praising God and using words like "sweetie". And then she slips up and starts abusing again. I know it's not her fault and she can't help it, but I just really don't like her. Apologies.

[Aaron]

I think the book is real

[Carly]

Aaron wrote: "I think the book is real"

Except, it's not. It says in a disclaimer in the book itself that it is a work of fiction.

[Molly]

It just was this constant mood swing of "I love drugs" to "I'm never doing drugs, and im going to be a better person."

[maťa]

I think the book was trying to prevent teens using drugs too much, so the consequences of using them were a little too exaggerated. plus I thought that the main character (we don't even know her name!!) was too naive and kinda wel... stupid.

[Teresa]

I read this book when I was exactly 11 years old and little did I know that the book was going to help me with the influence of drugs many years later when a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to try drugs and I tried to help him and he died. That was a true story. So I can relate to Go ask Alice and I am grateful to say no and live to tell about it!! I think everyone should read books like that at a young age. it helps them remember important things when they get older and they will remain strong people.

[Helene]

I also read this book in Junior Highwhen it was first published. I laughed because my friends and I ,were "expermienting" with drugs at the time and NEVER with a thought that bad things could happen to us. I stopped laughing when kids I knew died. Maybe the book is dated because kids are more sophisticated today. but it worked for me.

[Daigo]

I feel betrayed because i actually loved this book as i thought it was a real diary. I was then really moved by the events. But then i discovered that it was a fiction, and it ruined everything. How dare the author fool us telling us it was a real diary ?

[Ulla]

I think the book isn't meant to be liked. It should show what drugs can do to you and that it's not easy if not impossible to get out (depending on the kind of drug). The girl had some good attempts to start a "normal" life, but the drugs were so tempting that she always fell back. She wasn't aware that she was playing with her life. So... no happy ending.

[Matthew]

Actually there are several books that show the effects of drug addiction much better than Go Ask Alice. You should The Basket Ball Diaries, Forced Entries, Requiem For A Dream and or Eternal Midnight.

[Janae]

I hated this book with a burning passion, not only was it fake (even though it was published as a real diary), but it also FELT incredibly fake. This character was the most annoying and idiotic character that I have ever read. She continuously said that she wanted to get help or that she would never do this again. And I understand that it is hard to do that for some people, but she also did some crazy things that did not seem realistic at all. Everything happened way too fast, at one point she is working a shop with her friend (after she ran away from home), then she was home all of the sudden for the holidays and everything was fine? That was one of the first times that I realized that this book couldn't possibly be real. Also, this character bounced around all of the time, she kept going back to parties and going back to what she said she didn't want to do. She didn't even ATTEMPT to get help. One day she uses, the next she says that she never wants to use again, THEN SHE DOES IT AGAIN THE NEXT DAY and we go back to square one. So, my hatred is not based on the sole fact that this book is fake, it's based on the fact that this character was a complete idiot.