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alexrinehart's review against another edition
1.0
I read this book WAY TOO YOUNG. I think I was in elementary school when I read this and it absolutely had a lasting impact on my mental well-being. Cried a lot.
Also I'm reading from these comments that the author is a fraud, as well that the book is filled with false AIDs facts. That's no bueno.
I'm seeing this shelved as a middle grade or young adult book. I do NOT think this is a good book for young people. There is much better work out there for them to read, and much better work about the topics touched in the book.
Also I'm reading from these comments that the author is a fraud, as well that the book is filled with false AIDs facts. That's no bueno.
I'm seeing this shelved as a middle grade or young adult book. I do NOT think this is a good book for young people. There is much better work out there for them to read, and much better work about the topics touched in the book.
lauraramsborg's review
4.0
This was an excellent book by the author/editor of Go Ask Alice, but it was also heart-breaking. Nancy's story really puts a human face on the AIDS epidemic and hopefully will educate people on the true nature of the disease. It should be required reading for junior high/freshman Health/FACS classes. We really must find a cure.
knightedbooks's review
2.0
I was appalled when I found out that all of the books written by anonymous teenagers and edited by Beatrice Sparks were actually works of fiction. I started with Go Ask Alice and read a few more after that. It just irks me when an author says a book is non-fiction when in actuality it is fiction.
ruthie's review
just randomly remembered this book i read when i was like twelve, that was super depressing and traumatizing, and apparently completely made up??? the fuck
ravensandlace's review
3.0
This was another book that I read in my early highschool years and I adored it. I thought it was incredibly sad and heartbreaking to have a younger person's life taken away so quickly by AIDS. I am so incredibly sensitive to those that suffer. I just wonder what that person is going through and how they are able to overcome it. That's one of the reasons why I won't watch the Saw movies.
Reading it now as a 24 year old, I realized that this book isn't what it's all cracked up to be. Let me explain. Because I sound like a horrid person.
This book is sad. Don't get me wrong, it's incredibly sad. Because this kind of thing happens everyday. There are thousands of "Nancy's" whose lives are cut short by this incurable disease. They never get to grow up and have their dream jobs with the 2.5 kids, a house and a dog. You know, the American Dream and all. Sure, some live for years after the initial diagnoses but often times, they don't or they just suffer too much.
I think what my problem was is that Nancy was incredible immature. I feel like an ass saying that because she did have AIDS at such a young age. How is she supposed to deal with that when her body and mind are still growing up? I think the reason why I say that she sounded incredibly immature is because I had a really hard time believing that this was an actual teenager writing these entries.
I admit, when I kept a journal, I tried to sound more grown up. I had this weird idea that when I became rich and successful, that I would release my journals as books so people can see the struggles that I went through. In all honesty, the most struggles that I dealt with was crippling anxiety and a severe fear of public speaking but I didn't have a damaging childhood or anything like that. But even with my journals, I still sounded like a child. Even my high school journals were childish to a point. I often had run on sentences and would bounce from topic to topic to topic.
Nancy's journal entries were childish to the extreme but then they had really big words and words that children wouldn't use in everyday life. Like quarrelling, for example. Most people would say fight. It was just little inconsistencies like that that made me rate the book 3 stars.
I think this book has a really powerful message behind it, however. AIDS is a terrible illness and I sincerely hope that we one day find a cure. The message, I think, that is behind this book, is that just because someone has AIDS doesn't mean they are any different. They are still that same person; they just have a horrible disease and precautions have to be taken but they are still that person you know and love. I think if you can get past the inconsistencies that I mentioned, this could be a good book to learn and understand what it's like for an actual AIDS sufferer.
On a final note I just wish I could find out who Nancy actually is. From the other reviews that I have read and the quick Google searches, I have been unable to actually find anything. I guess I will never know.
Reading it now as a 24 year old, I realized that this book isn't what it's all cracked up to be. Let me explain. Because I sound like a horrid person.
This book is sad. Don't get me wrong, it's incredibly sad. Because this kind of thing happens everyday. There are thousands of "Nancy's" whose lives are cut short by this incurable disease. They never get to grow up and have their dream jobs with the 2.5 kids, a house and a dog. You know, the American Dream and all. Sure, some live for years after the initial diagnoses but often times, they don't or they just suffer too much.
I think what my problem was is that Nancy was incredible immature. I feel like an ass saying that because she did have AIDS at such a young age. How is she supposed to deal with that when her body and mind are still growing up? I think the reason why I say that she sounded incredibly immature is because I had a really hard time believing that this was an actual teenager writing these entries.
I admit, when I kept a journal, I tried to sound more grown up. I had this weird idea that when I became rich and successful, that I would release my journals as books so people can see the struggles that I went through. In all honesty, the most struggles that I dealt with was crippling anxiety and a severe fear of public speaking but I didn't have a damaging childhood or anything like that. But even with my journals, I still sounded like a child. Even my high school journals were childish to a point. I often had run on sentences and would bounce from topic to topic to topic.
Nancy's journal entries were childish to the extreme but then they had really big words and words that children wouldn't use in everyday life. Like quarrelling, for example. Most people would say fight. It was just little inconsistencies like that that made me rate the book 3 stars.
I think this book has a really powerful message behind it, however. AIDS is a terrible illness and I sincerely hope that we one day find a cure. The message, I think, that is behind this book, is that just because someone has AIDS doesn't mean they are any different. They are still that same person; they just have a horrible disease and precautions have to be taken but they are still that person you know and love. I think if you can get past the inconsistencies that I mentioned, this could be a good book to learn and understand what it's like for an actual AIDS sufferer.
On a final note I just wish I could find out who Nancy actually is. From the other reviews that I have read and the quick Google searches, I have been unable to actually find anything. I guess I will never know.
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