6. Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice
By Anonymous
Prentice Hall, 1967
Narrated by Christina Moore

Genre
Realistic Fiction

Honors

• YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2000, 2003)
• YALSA Best Books for Young Adults (1971)

Review
A fictional story written in the style of a teenager's diary, Go Ask Alice addresses serious questions about growing up and presents an uncensored look at part of the 1970s drug culture that can still be translated into today's substance using population.  A book that address difficult topics like running away, drug use, sex, rape, body image problems, and profanity, it was still on the 2003 ALA list of the top 10 most challenged books.  The unnamed "author" of the diary experiences the normal troubles teens do growing up, struggling with her body image, dating, questions about sex, testing limits with parents, and being curious about drugs.  However, this story follows the young writer as she deals with these concerns in what could be argued to be an abnormal way.  While the book is often dark and explores hard to answer questions, it also focuses on themes of the importance of family and getting to know and accept oneself, even if it means forgiving oneself and moving forward to another stage in life.  The narrator, Christina Moore, has a wonderfully expressive voice, successfully conveying all the emotions felt by this teenage writer, including her often communicated fear and confusion.

Opinion
Beatrice Sparks is the editor of Go Ask Alice and many other books that are supposed to be based off diaries of anonymous teens addressing other contempory teen issues.  The problem is she was heavy-handed with her editing, which has landed all her "edited" diaries with a Fiction label.  She also made some parents, who gave her the diary of their teenage son to publish after he committed suicide, very angry by completely adding what became the premise of the diary - a completely fictional telling of a satanic cult, leaving little of the original diary left.  So, while this book, and her others, may be in some way based on a legitimate diary of a real teen, the books we see published may be far from the actual lives of the specific teens who inspired Sparks's stories.  Go Ask Alice is a popular, classic book for teenagers since it addresses so many key issues.  I feel like this book is appropriate for the upper ends of the tween age range, late Jr. high or high school.  It has profanity in it, young character runs away, describes having sex and being raped, describes the intensity of her "trips" and her addiction, and details her psychotic break, so it may be too disturbing and graphic for some users. But for those who can handle it, some powerful lessons may be learned.

Ideas
Go Ask Alice is a great book for any discussion about substance abuse, running away, and the general struggle teenagers go through during adolescence.  This is a good book for parents/teachers and teens to read together, or simultaneously, to help provoke discussion and open up communication lines about serious topics teens may be reluctant to discuss. Due to the authorship issues, it's also a great book to start a discussion about trustworthy information sources.

5. The Notorious Benedict Arnold

The Notorious Benedict Arnold

By Steve Sheinkin
Roaring Brook Press, 2010
Narrated by Mark Bramhall

Genere
Non-fiction

Honors

• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Non-Fiction (2011)
• YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction (2011)

Review
An excellent telling of Benedict Arnold's involvement with the US's war for independence from Brittan.  Sheinkin does a masterful job of weaving quoted historical accounts into the text and writing as if this were a fictional novel.  The introduction is captivating and puts the reader on the edge of his/her seat, especially if they know little to nothing about Arnold.  Since the topic is historical, and some readers may find it boring if they already know the outcome, Sheinkin paid close attention to details, bringing in other characters that played large rolls, and adding novelty information that was likely not taught in school social studies.  Sheinkin organized the book by dates, making chapters short and including many maps to allow the reader to follow the action across the East Coast and Canada as battles were fought.  These diagrams will involve reluctant readers in the action of the battles.  The audio book narrated by Mark Bramhall was wonderfully captivating, bringing Sheinkin's description of Arnold and everything he did to life.  Bramhall had wonderful voices to differentiate all the historical quotations from the rest of the narration.

Opinion
I thought this was a great book, especially since I knew absolutely nothing about Benedict Arnold going into the book.  I now feel that I could give an account of who he is and what he did during the time of the American Revolution, though the book did not cover much of his life after he left America for Europe.  I was constantly wondering what was going on with his sons, who he seemed to have simply deserted and left with his sister most of their lives.  I don't know if this is because there is no information on what they were doing while Arnold was off fighting, marrying another woman and having another child with her, and betraying his country, or if the author simply didn't want to focus on them anymore than he already had.  I think this is a fantastic book that is easy for middle-grade and early high schoolers to enjoy while still learning about part the country's history.  Additionally, I feel that Sheinkin did a wonderful job listing his sources in a way that the reader understands which resources were used for what research and where every quote in the book came from.  It allows for easy access to resource suggestions for anyone interested in studying further on any particular part of Arnold's story.

Ideas
This book would be great in a few places: an exhibit or project on the American Revolution, anything focusing on Benedict Arnold, and possibly even something focusing on George Washington or John Andre who were both mentioned frequently throughout the book.