Go ask Alice

I read this book again last summer but have been lazy putting up a review..

Currently i have a back log of about 20 books i need to post about, and i figure this is a good place to start.

Go ask Alice, as presented by Beatrice Sparks was actually a very enjoyable book, As far as it can be when you are in the middle of a teenager’s angsty druggy rebellious drug diary.

Interestingly, it is an “Anonymously” written book. I have anonymous in quotes because the reality is that this book is likely a near-total work of fiction.

Per wikipedia:
Revelations about the book’s origin have caused much doubt as to its authenticity and factual accounts, and the publishers have listed it as a work of non-fiction since at least the mid-late 1980s. Although it is still published under the byline “Anonymous,” press interviews and copyright records suggest that it is largely or wholly the work of its purported editor, Beatrice Sparks.

i originally read this book when i was 11 or 12 years old. a lot of us were suckers and fell for the urban legend, that “Alice” existed and her story is true. As with other scare books, this was primarily read as teenage “research” as a medium to gather ideas for stuff to do, but more efficiently and a hell of a lot less conspicuously than they did in the book.. THANKS BEATRICE!……..backfire!

It goes hand in hand with stories like Jay’s Journal, another scare book from the same era, with questionable sources and inaccurate information. It is likely that at one point there was a root reality to this story, but after her alterations it was all lost. i need to get a copy of JJ and read that again.. It is the book Beatrice wrote that screwed up the life of a real family through mis-information and outright sensationalist lies.

Overall, reading the story again after 20 years i was able to get a big kick out of the tale and the supposed lesson to be learned. it was heavy handed, so much in fact it was difficult to read. there was a severe repetition of themes and words when the author was trying to make sure you were paying attention and was written in a manner that i cant imagine a child ever writing.. over innocent naivete mixed with blind following, yet “Alice” never picks up the basics of information that actual use of drugs and delinquent behavior fosters… she comes across as a brain dead girl with the learning curve and street knowledge of a dry sponge.

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Speaking of books.. I should take a page from Spark’s overall plan and write my own scare book. I will conveniently borrow the core plot line of an old school-scare film.. I was kinda thinking “Gang Boy” (staring Curly Riviera, ultimate gang bad ass) would be a solid choice . this has always been one of my favorites because of the stark contrast to how gang life is portrayed in the 50′s vs modern times. I guess it doesn't hurt that i have always thought that the Outsiders (SE Hinton) was pretty Tuff.

[video available thanks to the internet archive]

I will call my book “Truce: Breaking up the dance”. It will detail the story of Danny, Gang Boy, as he “fights a battle inside himself and the angry world around him”. of course, in order to have a scare book, i will have to change the ending and make it bloody and sad..

Sparks… get a hold of me.. i need some pointers!