Annotation:
A horrifying, yet captivating look at the world of drug addiction. Witness the fall and quasi-redemption of a middle-American girl who suffered with drugs.
Justification for Nomination:
“Anonymous” author of an alleged “diary” talks about some of the commonplace things in her life after starting a journal. She is an average middle class girl, in an average middle class town. This soon changes once she unwittingly takes LSD at a party, and has an interesting, and elaborately described drug-trip. After this first experience, she doesn’t seem to be addicted until she expresses her desire to smoke pot, and justifies trying other drugs by thinking “I haven’t tried that yet.” She soon becomes depressed after sampling several different drugs, and talks her doctor into giving her tranquilizers. She grows more depressed though, until “by chance” a sort of friend at a nearby store gives her (what I presume to be) an upper. Why this other girl is carrying them on her person at work, I cannot say, but it only serves to send “Anonymous” further down the slope into drugs.
“Anonymous” soon gets involved with an older man, sells drugs for him, and becomes disgusted and enraged when she finds out A) that he wants her to deal to elementary school kids, and B) he is really gay/bi-sexual, and uses sex to manipulate her (and probably other young girls) into selling drugs. She and her friend sort of try to “clean up” and move to San Fran, but just one whiff of pot, and they’re back into the scene. “Anonymous” soon gets deeper into the underworld, loses some time, prostitutes herself for drugs, eventually makes her way home, and somehow decides to clean up for real.
Her efforts to clean up put her at odds with her old “friends,” the druggies, and she tells the cops on one of them which only makes things worse for her. Despite her cleanup efforts, she is secretly drugged with acid, has a bad trip, and ends up in a mental hospital. After leaving there, she stays clean, stops her diary and mysteriously dies three weeks later.
So, why did I agree with the nomination? It shows an average teen girl in the beginning worrying about being fat, etc. She is a character that teens can relate too. Since this is the case, it’s easy to see how easily “you or I” can fall pray to drugs as well. “Alice” also shows a lot of YA markers, that teens can relate to. “Anonymous” is idealistic, thinking that she can leave the world of drugs anytime, and that she would still like to have a normal life despite the depths she has sunk to. This also becomes her quest, to get “clean.” The book is also quite intense, it’s an unbelievable glimpse into hell on Earth.
Reading this book can also show teen reader that their life is better than it could be, and that they are in fact “normal.” “Anonymous” can also serve as a role model of what not to do. Alice also captures a huge element of uncertainty, and intense descriptions of the horrors of the drug life-style. Long story short, Alice can serve to show teens that drugs mess up your life, but it is done with a(n almost) believable character.
Suggestions for Improvement:
The first and most obvious thing, STOP MARKETING THIS AS A “REAL DIARY!” It probably isn’t. Snopes.com says it is not, other evidence indicates that at worst, it’s a complete fabrication on “the editor’s” part. At best it’s a composite of several girls’ lives, with elements lifted from someone’s diary. In addition, if this is a teen’s diary, the language doesn’t “feel right” in several places.
I also find it hard to believe some of the circumstances she gets into, or some of the feelings she feels. Such as, after she’s clean for a while, she smells pot, and right away she goes and smokes it., and gets into drugs again. I can’t say for sure if it’s realistic, it could be but in this “diary” it feels contrived. I have never suffered from drug addiction, but I had a friend who had, and some things he told me make this almost sound legit.
I also have come to feel that several parts of the book are preachy, and that “Anonymous’” “feelings” are just anti-drug propaganda. If these are someone’s actual thoughts, then great but some of what is said seems contrived, and feels like propaganda.
Although I tend to agree that reading can be vicarious so that something can be safely “tried on,” I can’t help but wonder how many people this book turned on to using drugs.
Genre: Edgy, Banned/Challenged
A horrifying, yet captivating look at the world of drug addiction. Witness the fall and quasi-redemption of a middle-American girl who suffered with drugs.
Justification for Nomination:
“Anonymous” author of an alleged “diary” talks about some of the commonplace things in her life after starting a journal. She is an average middle class girl, in an average middle class town. This soon changes once she unwittingly takes LSD at a party, and has an interesting, and elaborately described drug-trip. After this first experience, she doesn’t seem to be addicted until she expresses her desire to smoke pot, and justifies trying other drugs by thinking “I haven’t tried that yet.” She soon becomes depressed after sampling several different drugs, and talks her doctor into giving her tranquilizers. She grows more depressed though, until “by chance” a sort of friend at a nearby store gives her (what I presume to be) an upper. Why this other girl is carrying them on her person at work, I cannot say, but it only serves to send “Anonymous” further down the slope into drugs.
“Anonymous” soon gets involved with an older man, sells drugs for him, and becomes disgusted and enraged when she finds out A) that he wants her to deal to elementary school kids, and B) he is really gay/bi-sexual, and uses sex to manipulate her (and probably other young girls) into selling drugs. She and her friend sort of try to “clean up” and move to San Fran, but just one whiff of pot, and they’re back into the scene. “Anonymous” soon gets deeper into the underworld, loses some time, prostitutes herself for drugs, eventually makes her way home, and somehow decides to clean up for real.
Her efforts to clean up put her at odds with her old “friends,” the druggies, and she tells the cops on one of them which only makes things worse for her. Despite her cleanup efforts, she is secretly drugged with acid, has a bad trip, and ends up in a mental hospital. After leaving there, she stays clean, stops her diary and mysteriously dies three weeks later.
So, why did I agree with the nomination? It shows an average teen girl in the beginning worrying about being fat, etc. She is a character that teens can relate too. Since this is the case, it’s easy to see how easily “you or I” can fall pray to drugs as well. “Alice” also shows a lot of YA markers, that teens can relate to. “Anonymous” is idealistic, thinking that she can leave the world of drugs anytime, and that she would still like to have a normal life despite the depths she has sunk to. This also becomes her quest, to get “clean.” The book is also quite intense, it’s an unbelievable glimpse into hell on Earth.
Reading this book can also show teen reader that their life is better than it could be, and that they are in fact “normal.” “Anonymous” can also serve as a role model of what not to do. Alice also captures a huge element of uncertainty, and intense descriptions of the horrors of the drug life-style. Long story short, Alice can serve to show teens that drugs mess up your life, but it is done with a(n almost) believable character.
Suggestions for Improvement:
The first and most obvious thing, STOP MARKETING THIS AS A “REAL DIARY!” It probably isn’t. Snopes.com says it is not, other evidence indicates that at worst, it’s a complete fabrication on “the editor’s” part. At best it’s a composite of several girls’ lives, with elements lifted from someone’s diary. In addition, if this is a teen’s diary, the language doesn’t “feel right” in several places.
I also find it hard to believe some of the circumstances she gets into, or some of the feelings she feels. Such as, after she’s clean for a while, she smells pot, and right away she goes and smokes it., and gets into drugs again. I can’t say for sure if it’s realistic, it could be but in this “diary” it feels contrived. I have never suffered from drug addiction, but I had a friend who had, and some things he told me make this almost sound legit.
I also have come to feel that several parts of the book are preachy, and that “Anonymous’” “feelings” are just anti-drug propaganda. If these are someone’s actual thoughts, then great but some of what is said seems contrived, and feels like propaganda.
Although I tend to agree that reading can be vicarious so that something can be safely “tried on,” I can’t help but wonder how many people this book turned on to using drugs.
Genre: Edgy, Banned/Challenged
No comments:
Post a Comment