Sophomore Alice Assignement (Done with the Book Monday)

Beatrice Sparks is an American therapist and Mormon youth counselor who is known for producing books purporting to be the 'real diaries' of troubled teenagers. The books deal with topical issues such as drug abuse, Satanism, teenage pregnancy or AIDS, and are presented as cautionary tales. Although Sparks always presents herself as merely the discoverer and editor of the diaries, records at the U.S. Copyright Office show that in fact she is listed as the sole author for all but two of them.


Sparks began working with teenagers in 1955, after attending the University of California at Los Angeles and Brigham Young University. She has worked as a music therapist at Utah State Mental Hospital and taught continuing education courses at...moreBeatrice Sparks is an American therapist and Mormon youth counselor who is known for producing books purporting to be the 'real diaries' of troubled teenagers. The books deal with topical issues such as drug abuse, Satanism, teenage pregnancy or AIDS, and are presented as cautionary tales. Although Sparks always presents herself as merely the discoverer and editor of the diaries, records at the U.S. Copyright Office show that in fact she is listed as the sole author for all but two of them.

Sparks began working with teenagers in 1955, after attending the University of California at Los Angeles and Brigham Young University. She has worked as a music therapist at Utah State Mental Hospital and taught continuing education courses at BYU.

Critics have called the precise extent of Sparks' qualifications and experience into question. The editorial credit on some of the diaries published by Sparks identifies her as "Dr Beatrice Sparks, PhD". However, when journalist Aileen Pace Nilsen interviewed Sparks for School Library Journal in 1979, she was unable to find any confirmation of where or when Sparks earned her doctorate. Nilsen also wrote that Sparks was "vague about specifics" when asked about her counseling qualifications and professional experience.

Sparks said that her experience working with troubled adolescents made her want to produce cautionary tales that would keep other teens from falling into the same traps. Her first work, Go Ask Alice, was published under the byline 'Anonymous' in 1971.

Other works by Beatrice Sparks

Jay's Journal is a book presented as an autobiographical account of a depressed teenage boy who becomes involved with a Satanic group. After participating in several occult rituals, "Jay" believes he is being haunted by a demon named Raul. The book is based on "true" events of 16-year-old Alden Barrett from Pleasant Grove, Utah, who committed suicide in 1971.

It Happened to Nancy: By an Anonymous Teenager is a book for young adults by Beatrice Sparks. It purports to be the actual diary, only edited by Sparks, of a teenage girl who gets AIDS through being raped.

Almost Lost: The True Story of an Anonymous Teenager's Life is a young adult novel by Beatrice Sparks.. Almost Lost tells the story of Sammy, a runaway teenager who dabbles in rap, the occult, and drugs, and is turned into a happy, wholesome teen by attending therapy with Sparks.

Annie's Baby: The Diary of Anonymous, a Pregnant Teenager The book is about a fourteen-year-old girl, Annie, who falls in love with a rich boy. She soon becomes the victim of domestic violence, along with rape. Not long after the two start dating, she finds out she is pregnant. Annie and her mother are left to decide what will become of the baby. At first, Annie tries to keep the baby, who is called "Little Annie," but soon finds it too difficult and gives her up for adoption.

(Info taken from Wikipedia... shameful, I know... but she's hard to find much about)

Having this information, I want you to write a two page paper about the authenticity of this book.  Do you believe it is the actual diary of a young girl?  Why or why not?

To do this paper, you need to look through the book and find specific spots that you believe prove your point.  Convince me by quoting the ACTUAL TEXT that Alice writes within your paper any analyze it (**see examples below).

Here are some questions to help you start thinking about the paper (please don’t simply go through them in order, they’re only there to help):

·         Is the message too didactic[1] or the plot too formulaic[2]? 

·         Are the topics so personal that they’d be difficult to fabricate[3]?

·         What would someone have to gain from making up this story? 

·         What did you learn from reading this book?

·         Would finding out that the book was a real diary or written by Beatrice Sparks change the way you interpret the book?

I have just read the stuff I wrote in the last few weeks and I am being drowned in my own tears, suffocated, submerged, inundated, overpowered.  They are a lie!  I bitter, evil cursed lie!  I could never have done things like that!  It was another person, someone else!  It must have been!  It had to be!  Someone evil and foul and degenerate wrote in my book, took over my life.  Yes, they did, they did!  But even as I write I know I am telling even a bigger lie!  Or am I?  Has my mind been damaged?  Was it really just a nightmare and it seems real?  I think I’ve mixed up things which are true and things which are not.  All of it couldn’t be true.  I must be insane (pg 108).

Diaries are great when you’re young.  In fact, you saved my sanity a hundred, thousand, million times.  But I think when a person gets older she should be able to discuss her problems and thoughts with other people, instead of just another part of herself as you have been to me (pg. 187-188).

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[1] (a) Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.  (b) In the manner of a teacher, particularly so as to treat someone in a patronizing way.

[2] Produced in accordance with a slavishly followed rule or style; predictable.

[3] Invent or concoct (something), typically with deceitful intent.