This week, I wanted to start with a controversial pick, because sometimes it’s more interesting to go with books that are more likely to cause a stir. Few books have gained the notoriety of this week’s first choice, Beatrice Sparks’ 1971 narrative Go Ask Alice.

Set in the late 1960s, the story follows a teenage girl (never ultimately named throughout the book, though given the title, we can assume she is Alice) who is struggling to fit in in all the familiar ways of teenage girlhood. One night, she’s drugged at a classmate’s party. Forever chasing the high she experienced that day, Alice documents her spiral into addiction through a diary.

Not only has this book been banned for its content (sex, drugs, etc.), it’s also infamous for how it was initially presented to the world. Go Ask Alice was marketed as the diary of a real teenager who died of an overdose, supposedly unedited except for names and identifying details. Sparks has continued to defend it as a true story; however, several red flags remain.

First, no original diary has ever been produced, leaving readers with only Sparks’ word. This book is also the first in a series of similarly framed “anonymous diary” narratives produced by Sparks, none of which have had their original sources revealed. The timing and progression of the story often feel a little too convenient, and as a teacher, I find the voice difficult to fully believe. While many teenagers are capable writers, an informal, deeply personal diary typically doesn’t read this cleanly or professionally. That said, the book takes place long enough ago that it’s possible the tone would have been considered more casual at the time, but even accounting for that, I’m still inclined to view this as a work of fiction.

Some argue that presenting cautionary tales like this as “based on a true story” is necessary, that the fear it instills may prevent young people from ever wanting to try drugs in the first place. While it would be great if a book alone could stop addiction before it starts, I worry that Go Ask Alice may actually do more harm than good. Alice repeatedly attempts – and fails – to get clean, and while relapse is a painful reality for many, the more important message for a young audience is that recovery is possible. Many teens already experimenting with substances carry an invincibility complex, believing that while overdoses happen, it could never happen to them. The reality is that they absolutely can. For that reason, we need to do a better job as a society pointing them to success stories of people who have broken that vicious cycle.

If we’re going to use cautionary tales as preventative tools, I don’t think they should be fictionalized. There are countless real lives that have been cut short by addiction, and many families who have chosen to share their stories in hopes of saving others. Those are the narratives that deserve to be labeled “based on a true story.” Fictionalized accounts risk sensationalizing and cheapening a tragedy rather than supporting the recovery community.

There are millions of people in recovery who can tell their stories honestly, and to recover is, in my opinion, one of the most incredible things a person can do. I say this as someone from an extended family where addiction and alcoholism are the norm, and recovery isn’t celebrated nearly enough.

All of that said, I wouldn’t be surprised if fragments of real experiences found their way into Alice’s diary. The kinds of chaos described in the book can and does happen during active addiction. I just don’t believe it was genuinely compiled in full by a teenage girl.

If you’re looking for a banned book you can read in a day that’s widely known for the controversy it has brought about, this is certainly an interesting choice. I know many of us read this one growing up, so let me know in the comments what your thoughts were on it at the time. Did it scare you, move you, or make you skeptical even then?