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shedevls's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
all i've really got to say is:
1. i wish i could've hugged alden and put him in my pocket.
2. fuck sparks. i sincerely hope she's rotting in the worst of hells.
1. i wish i could've hugged alden and put him in my pocket.
2. fuck sparks. i sincerely hope she's rotting in the worst of hells.
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Racism
bucklace27's review against another edition
Looked into some reviews to see how credible it is, and turns out dude didn't cite his sources, and is super snarky. I would love to read a book about how Go Ask Alice got made and an analysis on its cultural impact, but not one that doesn't cite sources or is super snarky.
jessbecause's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.5
dogmomirene's review against another edition
3.0
I remember reading Go Ask Alice in the 80s as a rite of passage.
When I started as a middle school English teacher in the late 90s, I was shocked when the librarian told me that the book was actually fiction. She gave me the highlights version of how the cataloguing of the book had changed over the years.
When I saw this book listed on NetGalley, I was pumped. I wanted to read the whole story. How did this author or publisher get away with passing off this diary as real?
The three stars are entirely for the research put into this account. Emerson clearly did his due diligence and pieced together multitudes of documents and interviews to share this publishing hoax.
Sadly, Emerson’s snark gets in the way of his narrative, and his organization gets muddied in places.
As I was reading, there were several times when I wondered where he was going, but I could always count on him adding a disparaging footnote. Funny how he criticized Beatrice Sparks’ writing style, but his own style included sprinkling nonfiction with so many adjectives.
It almost felt like reading a first draft. Definitely a frustrating read for me. The topic is so compelling, and I know this book could have been a five-star read.
If you’re someone who remembers the Go Ask Alice buzz from your childhood, or you’re pursuing a master’s of library science, or you have some niche interest in this topic, then you can probably read this book and take away some good information. Just be prepared for a snide guide.
Thank you to NetGalley and BenBella Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
When I started as a middle school English teacher in the late 90s, I was shocked when the librarian told me that the book was actually fiction. She gave me the highlights version of how the cataloguing of the book had changed over the years.
When I saw this book listed on NetGalley, I was pumped. I wanted to read the whole story. How did this author or publisher get away with passing off this diary as real?
The three stars are entirely for the research put into this account. Emerson clearly did his due diligence and pieced together multitudes of documents and interviews to share this publishing hoax.
Sadly, Emerson’s snark gets in the way of his narrative, and his organization gets muddied in places.
As I was reading, there were several times when I wondered where he was going, but I could always count on him adding a disparaging footnote. Funny how he criticized Beatrice Sparks’ writing style, but his own style included sprinkling nonfiction with so many adjectives.
It almost felt like reading a first draft. Definitely a frustrating read for me. The topic is so compelling, and I know this book could have been a five-star read.
If you’re someone who remembers the Go Ask Alice buzz from your childhood, or you’re pursuing a master’s of library science, or you have some niche interest in this topic, then you can probably read this book and take away some good information. Just be prepared for a snide guide.
Thank you to NetGalley and BenBella Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
lilystinylibrary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
lilblairwitch's review against another edition
5.0
This was such a well written book. I read Go Ask Alice when I was 19 or 20, so I found this very interesting and couldn’t get enough! This read like an awesome documentary. (Someone in the film industry, please make it so!) I didn’t feel like I had to slog through boring dense information. Very well done non fiction, in my opinion.