Sparks wrote Go Ask Alice in a diary format, which proved to be an effective way to convey her message, whether or not the "diary" was real. Sparks assumed the perspective of a teenage drug user realistically, using teenage language and parroting teenage concerns. She likewise leaves blanks to omit names and make her diary more convincing. It is interesting to read the first sentence of girl's first diary entry again after finishing the book. This first sentence alludes to the ups and downs drug users experience every day. The quote on the back of the book foreshadows what will become of this unnamed girl. "After you've had it," the quote reads, "there isn't even life without drugs."

There is a little girl quality about Alice; the way she speaks, the way she reasons, the expressions she uses. The author of her diary lets her teenage...