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A review by dillybar20
It Happened to Nancy by Beatrice Sparks, Dathan Sheranian
1.0
I'm going to try to condense this review but it's still going to be long.
1. First of all "Nancy" isn't a real person. Beatrice Sparks has 8 "diary" stories and out of those only 2 are from real teen diaries. The rest Sparks makes up in their entirety and then claims they're real.
2. Jay's journal is very slightly real. Sparks was given Alden's journal, a boy who commited suicide, and she was asked to edit it and publish it by Alden's parents. 212 diary entires were published only 21 of them were actually Alden's. Sparks also completely made up the Satanism aspect of the story. Sparks can't even muster up a little bit of respect for real teens, she defends her completely changing Alden's story.
3. Sparks claims to have a PhD over and over again. She even refers to herself as "Dr. B" in this book but she doesn't have a PhD. She claims she's qualified to write these books because she a counselor for troubled kids. There's no proof of that either and she avoids all the questions about her "experience".
4. Every other page contains racism towards Native American people.
5. She uses the r slur 3 times.
6. Claims over and over that divorce is wrong and you need to stay with the person you married no matter how bad it gets or if they cheat.
7. Claims only girls have curly or fluffy hair.
8. Claims physical abuse is okay if you do it in God's name. (Lew hurting Nancy after they almost had sex)
9. She writes, (and this isn't an exact quote because I don't know what page) "I always liked it when the wife shut up and let her husband take charge".
10.Nancy's Mom doesn't take her to the Police Station for the first while and doesn't take Nancy to the Hospital for a rape exam ever. (Let's be real, Nancy would have vaginal trauma and would need medical help).
11. Makes a statement saying that even if you're not religious Christianity just makes you feel right inside. (Sparks is Mormon)
12. Says Christian men have all the strength/willpower and lend it to women.
13.Nancy has never read "Gone with the Wind" but her Mom tells her to use Scarlett O'Hara as a coping mechanism. "Gone with the Wind" is set on a plantation and romanticizes Conderates and Slavery.
14. Nancy feels suspicious of an older man after being raped by an older man and she tells herself she isn't being safe she's being "jaded and mistrusting and negative." (Sparks thinks teens don't use commas.)
15. Nancy's Mom screams at Nancy that having suicidal thoughts is wrong rather than get her help. It's stated that Nancy had alot of suicidal thoughts even before she got HIV.
She needed a therapist before and after she got raped. She didn't get one.
16. Exact quote, "I ate like a starving African".
17.Lew doesn't like that Nancy says "anyways" and asks her to change the way she speaks so he's more comfortable even though she's not hurting anyone.
18.Sparks says non- missionary sex is disgusting
19. The one positive thing I was going to say is that Nancy would never have an abortion herself but she recognized other's right to choose. That all went out the window with, "That would be soooo hard... imagine the little baby being sucked out kicking and screaming and thrown away." I don't have enough time to explain the numbers of ways that incorrect so do some research yourself.
20. She villianizes choosing not to be a father. All parents have the right to decide if they want to raise their kid or not. She allows Dorie to choose whether or not she wants to be a Mom but the guy is an asshole for making literally the same choice?
21. Sparks says only a few people have HIV/AIDS. This book was published in 1994. In that year alone 80,691 people had HIV/AIDS and that's in the U.S. alone.
22. She encourages flushing tampons down the toilet.
23. She says an "A-" doesn't count as an "A"
24.She says adults don't mind taking care of babies endlessly and never getting any sleep. Don't lie to people about how hard parenthood is. Every parent of a baby wishes they could get a nap right now. Don't romantize sleep deprivation.
25. She says all teenage boys are bad with exceptions. Give people a chance, Sparks.
26.The cab driver fought harder to get Nancy to a rape center than her Mom ever did.
27.Uses "schizo" twice. This isn't a slur but it harms people with Schizophrenia and shouldn't be used as an insult.
28. Uses "multiple personalities" as an insult. Same as above but with D.I.D. rather than Schizophrenia.
29. "Life is heaven" "LIFE IS ENDLESS DARKNESS AND I WANT TO KILL MYSELF" Repeat that about 100 times and you have the whole book. Make sure to throw in the word Sacred about 200 times!
30. Aunt Thelma refuses to let Nancy's painting be even slightly different than hers because you're not allowed to paint in your own style.
31. Sparks wrote that Dr. S loved and missed Nancy and wanted to be more than a doctor to her. This somehow isn't seen as creepy.
32.Random words are italized.
33. Sparks says everyone who has sex is immoral AND a whore except for Dorie and Nancy. They're "exceptions". Maybe no one is a whore and it's just your internalized misogyny Sparks.
34. Everytime Nancy had a problem she ran away or lied. Every single time.
35. The time who raped Nancy never got in any trouble.
This book is from 1994 it's information on HIV/AIDs isn't accurate anymore. Go research.
1. First of all "Nancy" isn't a real person. Beatrice Sparks has 8 "diary" stories and out of those only 2 are from real teen diaries. The rest Sparks makes up in their entirety and then claims they're real.
2. Jay's journal is very slightly real. Sparks was given Alden's journal, a boy who commited suicide, and she was asked to edit it and publish it by Alden's parents. 212 diary entires were published only 21 of them were actually Alden's. Sparks also completely made up the Satanism aspect of the story. Sparks can't even muster up a little bit of respect for real teens, she defends her completely changing Alden's story.
3. Sparks claims to have a PhD over and over again. She even refers to herself as "Dr. B" in this book but she doesn't have a PhD. She claims she's qualified to write these books because she a counselor for troubled kids. There's no proof of that either and she avoids all the questions about her "experience".
4. Every other page contains racism towards Native American people.
5. She uses the r slur 3 times.
6. Claims over and over that divorce is wrong and you need to stay with the person you married no matter how bad it gets or if they cheat.
7. Claims only girls have curly or fluffy hair.
8. Claims physical abuse is okay if you do it in God's name. (Lew hurting Nancy after they almost had sex)
9. She writes, (and this isn't an exact quote because I don't know what page) "I always liked it when the wife shut up and let her husband take charge".
10.Nancy's Mom doesn't take her to the Police Station for the first while and doesn't take Nancy to the Hospital for a rape exam ever. (Let's be real, Nancy would have vaginal trauma and would need medical help).
11. Makes a statement saying that even if you're not religious Christianity just makes you feel right inside. (Sparks is Mormon)
12. Says Christian men have all the strength/willpower and lend it to women.
13.Nancy has never read "Gone with the Wind" but her Mom tells her to use Scarlett O'Hara as a coping mechanism. "Gone with the Wind" is set on a plantation and romanticizes Conderates and Slavery.
14. Nancy feels suspicious of an older man after being raped by an older man and she tells herself she isn't being safe she's being "jaded and mistrusting and negative." (Sparks thinks teens don't use commas.)
15. Nancy's Mom screams at Nancy that having suicidal thoughts is wrong rather than get her help. It's stated that Nancy had alot of suicidal thoughts even before she got HIV.
She needed a therapist before and after she got raped. She didn't get one.
16. Exact quote, "I ate like a starving African".
17.Lew doesn't like that Nancy says "anyways" and asks her to change the way she speaks so he's more comfortable even though she's not hurting anyone.
18.Sparks says non- missionary sex is disgusting
19. The one positive thing I was going to say is that Nancy would never have an abortion herself but she recognized other's right to choose. That all went out the window with, "That would be soooo hard... imagine the little baby being sucked out kicking and screaming and thrown away." I don't have enough time to explain the numbers of ways that incorrect so do some research yourself.
20. She villianizes choosing not to be a father. All parents have the right to decide if they want to raise their kid or not. She allows Dorie to choose whether or not she wants to be a Mom but the guy is an asshole for making literally the same choice?
21. Sparks says only a few people have HIV/AIDS. This book was published in 1994. In that year alone 80,691 people had HIV/AIDS and that's in the U.S. alone.
22. She encourages flushing tampons down the toilet.
23. She says an "A-" doesn't count as an "A"
24.She says adults don't mind taking care of babies endlessly and never getting any sleep. Don't lie to people about how hard parenthood is. Every parent of a baby wishes they could get a nap right now. Don't romantize sleep deprivation.
25. She says all teenage boys are bad with exceptions. Give people a chance, Sparks.
26.The cab driver fought harder to get Nancy to a rape center than her Mom ever did.
27.Uses "schizo" twice. This isn't a slur but it harms people with Schizophrenia and shouldn't be used as an insult.
28. Uses "multiple personalities" as an insult. Same as above but with D.I.D. rather than Schizophrenia.
29. "Life is heaven" "LIFE IS ENDLESS DARKNESS AND I WANT TO KILL MYSELF" Repeat that about 100 times and you have the whole book. Make sure to throw in the word Sacred about 200 times!
30. Aunt Thelma refuses to let Nancy's painting be even slightly different than hers because you're not allowed to paint in your own style.
31. Sparks wrote that Dr. S loved and missed Nancy and wanted to be more than a doctor to her. This somehow isn't seen as creepy.
32.Random words are italized.
33. Sparks says everyone who has sex is immoral AND a whore except for Dorie and Nancy. They're "exceptions". Maybe no one is a whore and it's just your internalized misogyny Sparks.
34. Everytime Nancy had a problem she ran away or lied. Every single time.
35. The time who raped Nancy never got in any trouble.
This book is from 1994 it's information on HIV/AIDs isn't accurate anymore. Go research.