Go ask Alice...who is Alice??

Go ask alice by....anonymous, right?? First of all I would like to say that if this book was really written by anonymous than...wow! First of all I would like to adress the controversies surrounding this book. (The ones that I have heard about) First of all I heard that the book was now really written by anonymous but that it was indeed written by a woman named Beatrice Sparks. However, I was never able to confirm this anywhere and most of the other blogs and readings on this book have suggested that it is still unknown so perhaps "anonymous" is a cheap way out of things.

Secondly I have heard atleast two different potential origins for the title of the book, "Go Ask Alice." I have heard that it was a random reference to a very minor character in the book named Alice who was a junkie on the street that the main character interacted very briefly with. Recently too I heard that the title was taken from a song from the 60's called "White Rabbit," by Jefferson Airplane. I can't find any evidence that this was true. And also, what initially popped into my head was the children's story about "Alice in Wonderland," also said to be somewhat of a psychedelic experience.

Another controversy surrounding this book is rooted in the field of education and the usefullness that this book provides. Quite simply this is opinion. My mother who read this book when she was younger felt that it served no purpose either way, negatively or positively. However I felt that this book scared me to death on certain parts and was somewhat of a horror story and I can only imagine that it would be a deterrent to drugs for most kids. There are alot of kids however, who may think that this is a cool lifestyle and be attracted to the idea of getting involved in that lifestyle. For me I would say that the book is not an important or necessary read but I also do not believe in banning ANY book for ANY reason, so I think it should be made available to all but not pushed. It is not extremely well written or deeply meaningful so I don't thing it is useful to English teachers for any one thing.