Plot Overview
An unnamed fifteen-year-old diarist, who the novel’s name relates to as Alice, begins a journal. Having a sensitive and painful, observant design, she records her adolescent woes: she worries in what her crush Roger thinks of her; she loathes her weight gain; she fears her budding sexuality; she actually is uncomfortable in school; she’s got trouble concerning her moms and dads. Alice’s daddy, an university teacher, takes a training place at a college that is different the household will go in the beginning of the new 12 months, which cheers Alice up.
The move is hard. Although the remainder of her family members adjusts into the town that is new Alice feels like an outcast in school. Quickly she satisfies Beth, a neighbor that is jewish therefore the two become fast friends. Beth departs for summer time camp and Alice would go to live along with her grand-parents. She’s bored stiff, but reunites by having a friend that is old Jill, who invites Alice to an event. During the celebration, Alice unwittingly falls LSD and experiences a drug trip that is fantastic. Though interested, she vows not to ever do medications once more.
Alice joyfully experiments with an increase of medications and loses her virginity while on acid. Roger along with his moms and dads appear unexpectedly to see her grandfather, that has had a little coronary arrest. Alice is enthralled with Roger but seems accountable about her medication loss and use of virginity. She does not know to who she will speak about medications. She’s concerned that she may be expecting. Alice goes house and her family members takes her warmly. Not able to rest, she gets effective tranquilizers from her medical practitioner. Beth returns from camp, but Alice discovers that Beth changed. A hip girl in a boutique, Alice meets Chris. Alice’s moms and dads bother about Alice’s « hippie » look.
Alice and Chris are both dissatisfied because of the establishment and their families that are own.
Alice and Chris are both dissatisfied with all the establishment and their very own families. Alice gets a working work using the services of Chris, additionally the two become close friends. In school, they normally use medications consequently they are popular. Chris’s buddy Richie, a university child, turns Alice on to cannabis. Which will make additional money for medications, she and Chris offer medications and do whatever they could to greatly help Richie and Ted (Chris’s boyfriend and Richie’s roomie). Alice and Chris discover Richie and Ted making love with one another and flee to San Francisco. Alice turns Richie in the authorities and vows to remain clean with Chris. They transfer to a cramped apartment. Chris secures work in a boutique by having a glamorous older girl, Sheila, and Alice gets one with a custom jeweler. Sheila invites girls up to an ongoing party at her household.
At Sheila’s swanky celebration, girls utilize medications again. They continue steadily to celebration with Sheila until one evening, whenever attempting heroin, Alice realizes that Sheila along with her boyfriend have https://www.camsloveaholics.com/adultchathookups-review now been raping and brutalizing them. Girls kick their medication life style. They locate a brand new apartment in Berkeley and available a precious precious jewelry store here, which can become a hangout for the area kids. Alice misses her family members. She comes back house for Christmas time, while the vacation nature and family camaraderie revive her. She starts college and resists medication improvements from old buddies, while some are aggressive. Chris smokes cannabis along with her, and Alice extends back on medications. The authorities raid Chris’s home while she and Alice utilize drugs. Girls are positioned on probation, and Alice is supposed to be provided for a psychiatrist.
Alice will continue to accomplish medications without her family members’ knowledge. She hitchhikes to Denver (recording her journal entries on scraps of paper without times). She travels to Oregon with other medication users but quickly loses them. A janitor directs her to a objective much like the Salvation Army. Alice is washed up and fulfills a new victim of lifelong abuse that is sexual Doris, whom allows her remain at her apartment. They become ill from malnourishment and hitchhike to Southern Ca, where Alice takes more medications, also prostituting by by herself for them. Alice speaks by having a priest about teen runaways, and then he calls her moms and dads. She is wanted by them in the future house. When you look at the populous town, Alice fulfills various other runaways and speaks in their mind about why they left house. She imagines she might go into youngster guidance or therapy some time to assist out other people, and she vows to stop medications.