GO ASK ALICE : A REVIEW

‘Go Ask Alice’ is a diary of an anonymous fifteen year old girl of the 1960’s. Alice (a name given by the publisher) was living an average life with her parents,grandparents and siblings.But one day a guy named
Roger asks her out.Alice feels so excited that she buys this diary because she feels the need to write about her love for Roger.But then Roger rejects her and she starts feeling lonely and humiliated at school with the thought that everyone at school must have heard about her being rejected.Her frustration with life increases when she gains weight .But then one day,her dad gets a better job at another university in a different county and the family decides to move.This makes a Alice very happy as she thinks that this is a good opportunity to start a new life in a new place and with new people.The whole family is enthusiastic about their move .Alice starts her weight loss program in the hope that seeing her in a good shape,Roger will ask her out and then how she will reject him to take revenge.Her last few days at school go well since Alice is so excited about going to a new place.She also writes about her thoughts when she sees her mother.She wonders whether her mom had the same teen issues that she has about boys and self and how she wishes that she could discuss these things with her mother rather than friends whom she doesn't trust.She also says that she wants to be like her mother and not lose her identity in a quest to fit in with the people of her age. This is how the book or Alice’s diary starts off and gives us an overview of the problems faced by
Alice or any other girl of her age.Being accepted by peers,being liked and asked out by boys,sexuality,family and peer pressures etc were the major problems faced by adolescents in the
1960’s and they still are even in present times.When such problems arise in her life as mentioned in the previous paragraph,Alice starts feeling close to her diary and refers to it as a close friend who is always

there for her whenever needed.Slowly,her loneliness,need to be accepted by friends,and wanting to escape from her problems and become independent led her into a dangerous trap of drugs and sex from which she could not free herself even when she tried her best. It all started when she had gone to a house party with her friends.She was offered a soda drink at the party.But she had no clue that her drink had LSD mixed in it. “This will be a good trip.Just relax and enjoy it” said the guy who gave her the drink.In this way,unknowingly,Alice got drawn into the exciting but dangerous world of drugs.After that party,she gets fascinated and wants to try other drugs as well.She also realizes that her school is divided into groups­one group of people who do drugs and another group which doesn’t.She tries to fit in in both the groups,but finds it difficult to sustain in any one.After the LSD trip,Alice tries pot (marijuana),speed(methamphetamine).With every drug she has a different exciting experience.For example,once when she was high on LSD she kept staring at her hand,or once she focused on the floor rug and its softness.Thus,things that she wouldn’t pay attention to usually became objects of fascination when stoned.Drugs also removed all her inhibitions and made her forget all her worries.She used to laugh uncontrollably,talk to everyone around her,dance crazily etc.Not only that,but sex with random guys also became a part of her crazy drug lifestyle.She had always dreamt of losing her virginity to the love of her life.But she never had sex when she was sober and when high on drugs she always ended up with one or the other guy.Thus,we can see how she gets into drugs unknowingly at first,but then her curiosity about it makes her explore the drug scene which ultimately turns out to be fatal for hER.
Alice’s story is a perfect example of how drug addiction can ruin one’s life.She started doing drugs to fit