Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation for this review. I have never taken recreational drugs. Cover art is copyright of Penguin’s Random House.

‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’ is about the effects of LSD. It is quite popular with college students.

The story is written in second person. “You” experience a burst of confidence, and are off on an adventure where “things start to happen.” The illustrations use blocks and stripes of colour to demonstrate how vivid colours can appear on acid, and how you see everything in a new and striking way.

Next tackled is the subject of the high. This is shown in the illustration of an air balloon soaring above a vast world of colour. The language reflects the euphoria, with words like “lead” and “top” and “best.”

Then comes the low, where you “come down…with an unpleasant bump.” Here fear and uncertainty creep in. The illustrations show that your surroundings become unsteady and confusing. “The Waiting Place” is where everything becomes stagnant and you don’t know what to do with yourself. You are trapped in a feeling of hopelessness.

You embark on a second trip. Colours are bright again, music speaks to you, and your inhibitions leave you. You become over-confident, convinced you have the power to do anything and everything. This is where you are most likely to injure yourself or do something regrettable if left unchecked. This is emphasised in a double-page spread of a series of ridiculous and dangerous antics, combining several known – and unknown – sporting activities.

Depression and paranoia set in. “You” are now presented as feeling very small, with shadows and monsters lurking and looming. The colours are once again bleak and the tone is eerie.

The book concludes on a positive note, encouraging the reader to take risks but be careful. ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go’ is an informative and non-judgmental (perhaps even encouraging) depiction of recreational drug use.