Go Ask Alice - Fake Memoir

Go Ask Alice...a fake!                  

Formerly by "Anonymous"  - 

author is actually Beatrice Sparks

Publication Date:  January 1971

Publisher:  Prentice Hall

 Genre:  Diary novels

 ISBN:  9780133571110

     When I was in high school in 1971, a new book was released called Go Ask Alice. Word was going around the school that it was a true story about a teen who kept a diary of her horrid spiral into drugs and sexual promiscuity and eventually died of a drug overdose. The author was only known as "Anonymous" and at the time the book was considered non-fiction. I was 16, very naive and had no idea what life was like for a drug addict. The book made a profound impact on me. I was horrified and frightened by what I read, wishing the girl could have overcome her addiction.

     I was surprised to discover years later that the memoir was actually fake, concocted by the book's editor, a woman named Beatrice Sparks who was a Mormon youth counselor. Sparks admitted in 1979 that she wrote the book, partially basing it on information from a girl's diary who was one of her patients. She also added to the story fictional scenes and experiences from some of her other teen patients. Sparks admitted to destroying part of the girl's diary after she transcribed it and keeping the rest locked away in a vault. At the U.S. Copyright Office, she is listed as the book's author, not the editor, and holds the sole copyright over the book. No one has ever come forward claiming to have known "Alice" or confirm any part of the book (Frater, 2010; Winnipeg Public Library, 2013).

     Sparks has published other books that she claims were from real-life diaries of troubled teens. She claims that Jay's Journal was based on a diary of a former teen patient who committed suicide. The teen's parents were very dismayed when they discovered the book contained fictional accounts of Satanism and very few true facts from their son's diary. Sparks also claims to have a PhD yet this claim has never been confirmed (Frater, 2010; Winnipeg Public Library, 2013).

     Go Ask Alice is now classified as fiction; however, Sparks' other books are listed as non-fiction. "Alice" may be a fake but I am thankful she had such a powerful impact on me!

References

Frater, J. (2010). Top ten infamous fake memoirs. Listverse. Retrieved from http://listverse.com/2010/03/06/top-10-infamous-fake-memoirs/

Winnipeg Public Library. (2013). April fools! - Readers' Salon. Retrieved from http://winnipegpublibrary.wordpress.com/tag/hoaxes/

Mystery Annotation

The Light in the Ruins  by Chris Bohjalian

Genre:  Historical Mystery, Mystery

Date of Publication:  July 2013

Publisher:  Doubleday

Number of Pages:  320

ISBN Number -  978-0385534819

Storyline:  Character-driven

Tone:  Disturbing, Dramatic; Strong Sense of Place, Suspenseful

Writing Style -  Compelling


Plot Summary -   

     Most of this gripping murder mystery alternates between 1943-1944 (World War II Italy) and 1955 (Post-WWII Italy).

      In 1943, Marchese and Marchesa Rosatti face a dilemma when their stately villa in the Tuscan hills becomes occupied by the Germans. While the family reluctantly hosts the Nazis, their 18 year-old daughter, Christina, begins an affair with a German lieutenant, causing resentment and accusations of conspiracy among the townspeople and the villa employees. The Rosattis are forced to endure many heartbreaks at the hands of the Nazis with the loss of family members and their once opulent estate reduced to ruins.

     In 1955, the Rosatti's daughter-in-law, Francesca, is the victim of a grusome murder, her heart found extracted from her body. It is not long before another Rosatti is found murdered in the same fashion, leaving the remaining members of the family fearing for their lives. Homicide detective Serafina takes on the case, believing that the murderer may  be someone that held a grievance against the family during World War II. While Serafina, a former partisan during the war, pursues the serial killer, she discovers she has a direct link to the Rosatti family when found severely burned in a battle.

My opinion: I had not read a mystery in years and wasn't sure what to expect. I found The Light in the Ruins so intriguing and engrossing that I did not want to put down the book! I love novels that are character-driven with a strong sense of place so this title fit the bill! I would like to read another mystery like this in the near future. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspenseful mysteries.

Title Read-alikes

A Trace of Smoke - Rebecca Cantrell

Once Upon a Lie - Maggie Barbieri

Deadly Inheritance - Simon Beaufort