Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks

21 reviews

emjayknocks's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book terrified me as a kid. I decided to read it as an adult because I discovered that it wasn’t a “found diary”, but rather a hoax - and there’s a documentary about it that I want to read. So, back to the source material!

I’m not sure if  the knowledge that an adult wrote this book has tainted my view…but WOW is it terrible. It’s scaremongering effort feels so transparent that it’s almost laughable. The character goes from innocent virgin schoolgirl to homeless drug addled prostitute in a mere 40 pages, and reads very much like “teenager written through the eyes of an adult who’s forgotten what it’s like to be an actual teenager”. The velocity with which she oscillates between Puritanism and heroin-fiend is jarring and unbelievable, clearly written by someone with no experience of drugs or addiction. And that ending? <insert “Get out” Cary Grant gif here>

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Addiction

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Rape, and Sexual violence

catell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Addiction, Body horror, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Bullying, Alcoholism, Blood, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship

near's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Cursing, Drug use, Mental illness, Trafficking, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

kconnorz's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Adult/minor relationship

novacoconut's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have so many mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I loved it. It pulled me in and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next, and whether she would get her life together. And it was great until the Epilogue. However, I also hated it…some parts were clearly not written by a young girl in her teens, and it took away from the authenticity of the diary. I also didn’t like the way the epilogue ended the book. If left too many questions but not in a cliffhanger type of way, but in a confusing what the heck just happened type of way. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Grief, Death, Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

razzyreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Addiction, Cursing, Sexual violence, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Trafficking, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Alcoholism, and Car accident

fabyio's review against another edition

sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

It's Mormon propaganda. The portraying of the characters and situations are borderline funny if you've actually experience or awareness of real life addiction and homelessness. Homophobic, fatphobic and all the fun things we can expect from a 70s propaganda book.

With this in mind, you can read it as a piece of fiction from its time and it's bearable. Finished in a couple days and cracked up at the ending. I'd call it camp-ish.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Child death, Classism, Death, and Drug use

All is wrong but it's funny to me.

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book is wild af. After I learned that it was written as a cautionary religious tale, it made so much more sense because like. I just don't think that a few decades ago, in any random high school, students could just get truly a Target-run grocery list of drugs. Very prodigal son vibes going on. I give the author a bit of credit because she got me to keep reading, but my goodness. I won't be reading her again, but I will be reading the newish book about all of her lies and fables. I see why this was so popular when it came out though - it's literally sex, drugs, and rock and roll. And it was QUITE a maneuver to slip by critics with an anonymous pen name.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Bullying

Moderate: Mental illness, Body horror, Alcohol, Blood, Toxic friendship, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Sexual violence

Definitely read the context surrounding the book, if you're going to dive into this.

booitskiwii's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Violence, and Drug use

Moderate: Death and Rape

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

chemical_crash's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Toxic friendship