Go Ask Alice

Bibliography: Sparks, B. (2006). Go ask Alice. New York: Simon Pulse.

ISBN: 978-1416914631

Genre: autobiography/non-fiction (until mid 1980’s); relabeled as fiction thereafter

Reading Level/Interest Age: 9th and up

Plot Summary: We don’t know her name, but she tells us her deepest secrets. At first those secrets are typical of teenaged girls: she doesn’t like her body, she’s in a fight with a friend; she has a crush; she’s angry with her parents. But when she drinks a soda laced with drugs, everything that once seemed so important seems to pale in comparison. Getting high gives her a sense of control, one that is sorely lacking in a new house, a new school and a family that seems to pressure her into being someone she’s not. Taking a few drugs once in awhile, getting high occasionally with friends draws her in, seemed innocuous enough but soon led into an addiction she would do anything to feed. She ran away from home, lived hand-to-mouth and traded sex for drugs. When sober, she didn’t want to give her body away or live in a filthy, unsafe apartment. She wanted the stability that she had with her family. Time and again, she promises herself that she’ll stay clean, but the siren call of the drugs is too hard to resist. Sick, alone and penniless, she finally agrees to call her parents. They bring her home, tend her, get her help, love her. She’s clean. She’s happy. She’s dead.

Critical Evaluation: Written in diary format, the reader knows only what the diarist wants us to know. There’s no external evaluation with which to extend analysis. The writing very much holds true to a teen girl’s tone. It is glib, full of trendy words and extreme moodiness. She’s either in the depths of despair or on top of the world. Where the tone breaks down, however, is in the girl’s extensive descriptions of being high. Her sentences become longer, more complex, more dynamic. Gone are the quick sentences, girlish overtones and dramatic exclamations. The complete difference in tone would make sense if she were actually on drugs while writing. With the changes in brain functions while under the influence of drugs, I can imagine that writing styles would become more free and fluid. But the diarist is writing about her drug experiences after the fact, sometimes a couple weeks after. It’s entirely possible that the length of time between experiencing and writing can alter perception. This, as much as the change in tone, pulled me out of the reading experience and made me doubt the realism of the story.

Reader’s Annotation:   It’s a secret that parents don’t want you to know… the colorful and mind-blowing intensity of being high. But are you willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING to find out for yourself?

Author Information: Although the author of Go Ask Alice has always been identified as “Anonymous”, it is now commonly recognized that the book was written by Beatrice Sparks in 1971. Originally the editor of the book, Sparks is actually listed in the US Copyright as the book’s author.

Beatrice Ruby Mathews Sparks (January 15, 1917 – May 25, 2012) was born in Goldburg, Custer County, Idaho and grew up in Logan, Utah. She began working with teenagers in 1955, after attending the University of California at Los Angeles and Brigham Young University.  She worked as a music therapist at Utah State Mental Hospital and taught continuing education courses at BYU.

Critics have questioned Sparks's qualifications and experience. Researchers have been unable to find a record of the Ph.D. she claimed on book jackets and in her résumé. One interviewer wrote that Sparks was "vague about specifics" when asked about her counselling qualifications and professional experience.¹

Curriculum ties: sex education, drug education

Booktalks: runaways, what could the parents done to better help the girl?

Challenge issues: drug use; running away; rape; underage sex; peer pressure

Challenge Issue Resources:

• Library Selection Policy
• Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
• Active listening skills
• Awards
• Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
• Illinois Library Association (Banned Books Listings)
• National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
• Positive and negative reviews: expert, parent, student
• ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
• ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom

• Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
• Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

Reasoning: Go Ask Alice has become a classic that teens return to again and again. It is frequently referred to in movies, television shows, books, articles and conversations, further entrenching itself as part of modern culture. It’s a library’s job to provide the means for patrons to become and remain culturally literate so Go Ask Alice is a necessary title.

References: ¹Beatrice Sparks. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Sparks

Go Ask Alice. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2015, from http://www.amazon.com/Go-Ask-Alice/dp/1416914633/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449175123&sr=8-1&keywords=go%2Bask%2Balice