Upon its 1971 publication, "Go Ask Alice" quickly became a publishing sensation and an international bestseller, being translated into 16 languages. Its success has been attributed to the timing of its publication at the height of the psychedelic era, when the negative effects of drug use were becoming a public concern. Alleen Pace Nilsen has called it "the book that came closest to being a YA phenomenon" of its time, although saying it was "never as famous as later "Harry Potter", "Twilight", and "Hunger Games" series". In addition to being very popular with its intended young adult audience, "Go Ask Alice" also attracted a significant number of adult readers.