I did a review of this book too, and I've done so many blog posts and videos ripping apart "Dr." Sparks's propagandistic garbage. Right now I'm working on a series about everything wrong with It Happened to Nancy, which I was fooled by as a teenager. I hate that fraud so much! It's so obvious she was the true author of all of these books, since the writing style is exactly the same, and her characters all sound like conservative Mormons instead of modern teens. Even the supposedly Catholic Nancy's diary is full of Mormon language!
Well, I'm currently listening to the Audible of Unmask Alice. Haven't checked when the audiobook was released, but not only is there one, but I'm pretty sure I picked it up as an Audible Daily Deal for like 3 - 5 dollars. I picked it up either as a Daily Deal or it was on sale. I also *really* liked O'Neal's Chaos (also have the audiobook). I do like a book where you can kind of go down rabbit holes on the Internet. This book does not disappoint. On one hand, it all makes me kind of mad that "moral" people lie so much. But on the other hand, I have to admit to getting a good laugh at reading the reviews of Jay's Journal on Amazon and seeing the people that believed it be totally true versus the people who called it out for being a fraud. That religious people lie a lot is one thing, but it is a little unnerving how much of the press took Sparks' books at face value. It's not that I'm so naive about the press, of course I know they lie from time to time. One might think that the New York Times would put a little more thought into things, though. Anything to make a buck. And with that, if I had to summarize all of this in one sentence, it would be: moral people lie for money.
I definitely want to read this. I read go ask Alice in middle school, Jay's journal and it happened to Nancy in high school. I always had questions about them and the other books by Beatrice sparks and this might clear some of it up. This was a great review.
Such an eloquent review! Which is rather hard when you are so excited about the subject. My mom had me read Go Ask Alice as a teen and said her high school had made it a required read at the time for her; so it was really interesting that you spoke about how banned it was. It is also interesting, and maybe they have but I just haven’t read the book, they made no mention of the other “journals” she was a part of. Iirc there are 7 in total and Dr. Sparks’ self appointed and ever changing credentials eventually seem to settle on a PhD.
Oh thank you so much! Yes, it's tricky cause I want to ramble for hours on end... it's a really eye opening book. Moral of the story, you could lie like a rug in the 70s and 80s haha. So interesting that it was a required reading! Wow!! Yeah some people took the frequent mentions of sex problematic, so some places banned it completely, (i.e. religious folks.) Thanks again!!
One other thing. I didn't watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer during its initial run, but I have watched the series a couple of times in the last couple of years. It is almost like they used Jay's Journal as a script (minus the drugs). Almost every time I watch an episode, I find myself amazed that the show ever got made, especially given its target audience. I can't help but think that the writers involved weren't lampooning some of the Satanic Panic.
I don't see how being a 90s baby is relevant here!!?? 🤔 I literally grew up in the 90s 8-18. 90s teens were the ones MOST familiar with this book! So saying you didn't know of it due to being a 90s baby is hella irrelevant! Go Ask Alice was a 90s Phenomenon despite the crappy writing and controversies!
