Go Ask Alice
By Anonymous Edited by Beatrice Sparks
Simon Pulse (1971) ISBN: 0671664581
Go Ask Alice, edited by Beatrice Sparks, is the diary of an anonymous fifteen year old girl. Like many teenage girls, she struggles with her popularity, weight, and boys. One night, the cool crowd invites the narrator to a party and she experiences an unknowing, yet pleasurable high after consuming a drink laced with LSD. As the summer progresses, she becomes more and more addicted to a variety of drugs. As her addiction intensifies, her writing transforms into detailed remembrances of her drug trips. Eventually, the drugs overpower the diarist--she leaves her home and her loving family only to endure the harsh and unforgiving city streets and eventually loses her life.
Quantitative: Lexile Level--1010L; ATOS--5.7
Qualitative: Due to Go Ask Alice’s diary format, students may need to adjust to the structure and style of writing. However, all readers--reluctant ones included--find the story moving, compelling, and educational. Students will struggle with the cultural references and slang given that Go Ask Alice is set during the 1960s. Despite a need to scaffold for lacking background and cultural knowledge, the book’s access points and themes still resonate with readers today. Although ATOS recommends this book for 5th graders, Go Ask Alice would be appropriately placed on a 7th-10th grade reading list. Upperclassmen and adults even appreciate the novel’s value.
Content Area: English; Peer Resource; Health--Drugs.
Curriculum Suggestions: Because of the content, Go Ask Alice would be an excellent addition to any English, Peer Resource or Health class outside reading list. As the CCSS push thematic lessons, teachers could coordinate cross-curricular units that touch on addiction or even the 1960s counter culture. The journal structure of the novel could also be a means of encouraging journal writing. Students could take a secondary source on an event and convert it into a fictional firsthand account. Additionally, the novel could be used to question authenticity. A mini-research assignment involving the questionable non-fiction origin of Go Ask Alice could be a way to discuss credibility and an author’s intent.
Common Core Standards: RL.9/10.3, 5; W.9/10.3,10.
Additional/Digital Content:
- The House that Alice Built-- http://www.scribd.com/doc/29873595/Go-Ask-Alice-Lit-Crit-The-House-That-Alice-Built
- Establishing a Genre-- http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/15/reviews/981115.15oppenht.html
- Snopes.com: Fact or Fiction-- http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/askalice.asp
- ALA’s 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books-- http://www.ala.org/bbooks/100-most-frequently-challenged-books-1990%E2%80%931999
Personal Thoughts: In my experience, students that read Go Ask Alice love it. The gaps in cultural and background knowledge do not leave them unsatisfied with the content and message of the story. The fact is that students--no matter what the era--will experiment with drug use and sex. This book does not encourage this type of behavior, but rather serves as a cautionary tale.
*Meets the "Reading for Fun HS/MS" Requirement
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