I remember hearing about Go Ask Alice when I was young in the '90s, but as I didn't grow up in the US, it wasn't really a part of the culture, if that makes sense. I never read it myself, nor did anyone I knew. As I got older, I heard more about it and about its messy origins and its messy consequences, but not until Emerson's Unmask Alice did I really find out how twisted the stories of Alice and Jay had become. Thanks to BenBella Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincerest apologies for the delay in reviewing.

Throughout Unmask Alice, Emerson tracks a variety of stories, stories both real and fictional. At the heart of the book is the desire to find out what was going on with the cultural juggernaut that was Go Ask Alice and its follow-ups, amongst which was Jay's Journal, which lent kindling to the Satanic Panic. Written by "Anonymous", these books were sold as the real-life journals and stories of teens in the '70s, lost in drugs, satanism, and hedonism. In fact, they were created by a woman called Beatrice Sparks who desperately wanted to be an author. She used the stories of actual teens and then threw everything but the kitchen sink into the mix as well. In the process, she did not just enflame some of the worst instincts of US culture, but also twisted the lives of real people into unrecognisable horrors. Unmask Alice is not the easiest of reads, because of the complexities of the various stories Emerson brings together and the real sadness surrounding some of them. I was hooked by it throughout however, both wanting to know how Sparks did what she did, but also appreciating everything I was learning about the US in the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

Something I really appreciated about Rick Emerson's writing was how aware he was of the power of writing. That makes sense, of course, as he tracked how Beatrice Sparks abused the stories of others for her own gains, treading over their lives as if they didn't matter. More importantly, however, Emerson was aware that he himself could fall into the same trap, himself using the stories of the real teens behind Sparks' books to tell another story. And so, from the outset of Unmask Alice, he is very clear about where his information comes from, what is fact, what is conjecture, etc. There is only one section, which he demarks clearly, where he is hiding names and details and this is done for the sake of the people behind the story. It was Emerson's awareness, I guess, of how powerful stories are, how they can ruin a life, how they can twist a life beyond recognition, which stayed with me a lot after finishing Unmask Alice; that truly is the message of the book. I also appreciated that while he did not mince his words, he did not go the easy route of utterly demonising Sparks. He lets her actions speak for themselves, but also informs us of her background.

Unmask Alice is, I believe, a very important corrective to the culture. If you read Go Ask Alice, if you remember the panic around D&D, if you wonder how that all began, I cannot recommend Unmask Alice more!

Rounded up from 2.5* This book just wasn't for me. The way it's written, to me was crazy. It skipped from one thing to another, not separated by chapters. My head was all over the place trying to keep track. I know the whole controversy from so many years ago, I had high hopes of this book putting it together. It kind of did, but a few things were just not right (checked on Google, to make sure my memory was correct)
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read this ARC.

As someone who previously read go ask Alice, this book was so shocking! It explained so much and I learned way more than I thought I would have. Definitely recommend!

Though I grew up in the UK, culturally, the war on drugs was kicked off, for me at least, with a conversation about two American teenager's diaries, though we didn't read them, the conversation was a little bit at least, focussed on them.
Turns out, they were a huge fraud perpetrated for attention.
This book discusses the person behind both "Alice" and "Jay" and what they did.
It's not surprising that this became the basis of a panic in the US. But what is surprising is what they did to perpetrate the hoax, and some of the stuff around it.

Wow, this one really was a ride. Unexpected twists and turns everywhere! That being said, the lack of cited sources when so much of it is reconstructing the lives of people who are now gone has me dropping this down to three stars.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and BenBella Books for the ARC!

Unmask Alice covers a wide range of topics and timeline, without feeling like it rambles or loses sight of the original thesis. Sparks comes across as self-righteous in a way that feels contemporary. These same arguments could easily been made on Fox News today. I was aware that Go Ask Alice's authenticity was questionable when I read it in the early '00s. But was unaware of the depth that LGBTQIA+, book banning, legalization of marijuana, and the desire for a few to determine morality for all played in the overall fraud. This book was relevant but in a terrifying example of "history-repeats-itself" way.

I wasn't the biggest fan of this one, unfortunately. I found myself skim-reading through large chunks and I wish that I had known more about the original text Go Ask Alice before going into this one. It did, however, encourage me to do some research into the topic. So it'll get two stars from me for that reason.

I remember reading Go Ask Alice while in middle school and being absolutely terrified, but then learning the truth behind it later on in life. I listened to the author speak on the podcast You're Wrong About, and knew I had to read this book. It was incredible and enlightening, and I was really happy I got a chance to read it.

I originally got the eARC of this book through NetGalley (thanks NetGalley and BenBella Books, I guess?) in May-ish 2022. I think it was a Read Now. I had just made an account and wanted to start (obviously) getting my feedback ratio going. As life would have it... honestly I don't remember why I never got around to reading the book. Because life sucks and shit like that (at least, that's what I remember feeling at the time). When I finally decided to read the book, it had been archived and was no longer available for download. Darn. My feedback ratio would never recover.

A few months later, while moping about my shitty feedback ratio on NetGalley, I decided to actually read the freaking book, so I borrowed it from the library. I borrowed it a bunch of times (thank goodness for Libby, so I won't get fined for hoarding books) and finally started reading it in March 2023 (according to my StoryGraph). I think I tried reading it twice and only made it a few pages in. I'm a mood reader and I just wasn't in the mood to read this book. I mean, who wants to read nonfiction when you can read about faeries and dragons and unlikely romances! Let's not forget that alien smut I've been obsessed with. Well, I finally picked it up again a few days ago. Believe it or not, sometimes I need a break from the faeries. Once I actually started reading the book and got past the pages I had already read, I couldn't put it down.

Emerson (oooh, I feel so fancy using last names) writes with conviction and in an almost melodic prose. From the outset, he delivers an important piece of information and then delves into details about it without overwhelming the reader too much. I admit I had a hard time keeping track of the dates because they kept jumping around: "Wait, weren't we just in 1970? How are we back in 1965?" After I figured out the chaos of this back and forth, I thought it actually worked for the flow of the book.

I thought splitting the book into different parts was really helpful, and even though it seemed like the topics were unrelated, I thought the segues worked. Once everything started coming together in terms of how it was all connected, it all actually made sense and it was helpful to have read all the background and how different pieces converged and ultimately fit together.

Fuck all if I know whether this was well researched. As Emerson states at the very beginning, "blind faith–in anything–is a bad idea" but I kept thinking, as he then also states at the end of the book, that if I didn’t believe the shit he wrote, I could always look it up. (Side note: I don't know if this guy is atheist, but he definitely plucks at my atheist heart strings or whatever with some of his comments. Perhaps he took a page from Beatrice Sparks? Can't blame him–or B for that matter–for that stroke of genius. It definitely scored him some trust brownie points.) Some of the stuff he wrote about is absolutely nuts. Candles made of baby fat? Seriously!?!?!?! The fact that people believed this shit totally blows my mind. However, I do remember, as a 90s kid, hearing the "play the song backwards and you'll hear a message from el diablo" bullshit–shout out to Primer Impacto for their yellow journalism and fear mongering!–and believing it myself. Can you blame me? The news said it was so! And I was like 8 or theres about. It's hard to believe that people believed this nonsense, but I'm guilty of it, so it must be true (ha!). Maybe I'll look it up one day to confirm.

I appreciate Emerson bringing up how a lot of this panic was derived from people being worried about the white kids. It makes me curious how the LSD and Satanic panics played out in communities of color. I won't say they didn't play out at all. I don't know about LSD but I have first-hand experience with the satanic panic crap. It was definitely a thing, though I can't recall how much of a thing since I grew up in a Catholic household and every day felt like we were living in a satanic panic.

I loved the witty remarks throughout the book. They were funny without being obnoxious and they definitely went well with the writing style.

I've heard the name Go Ask Alice, and mostly thought it was a song. I don't remember knowing that it was a book, and if I did know, I probably thought it was related to the song. Long way of saying, I knew nothing of the book. What baffles me is that Beatrice Sparks was able to write so many of these "diary" books. Did no one catch on after the third or fourth of these books? Did no one really question her? I mean, for fuck's sake!

Anyway, this is getting ranty. I recommend this book. At least borrow it from the library and tell your friends about it. Or better yet buy two copies, one for you and one for a friend 😉. I'll definitely be buying this book myself, though I'm too greedy to buy books for other people, especially if I don't know whether they'll enjoy it.

Back when I was a kid I devoured Go Ask Alice and the other journals of “anonymous teenagers”. Back then I believed them to be real cautionary tales. Unmask Alice is the story of a liar and a fraud- Beatrice Sparks- the “author”’of these journals. It was interesting to hear the backstory of Beatrice Sparks and how these journals came to be. It was heartbreaking to know that families were destroyed over what she did. This is a good read for anyone who is familiar with these “anonymous teenagers” if you really want to know the truth behind her two most popular teens—-Alice and Jay. It honestly shocks me that this info isn’t more widely known. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC read for a review. #goaskalice, #unmaskalice, #beatricesparks, #netgalley, #rickermerson

For years, Go Ask Alice has enthralled the public and fueled the flames for the war on drugs. Written during a time when LSD was all the rage and The Satanic Panic was in full swing, it was toted as being a disturbing journal of a troubled teenager.

Go Ask Alice has sold well over 5 million copies, and even today, it continues to pull in readers. Who wouldn't be interested in a "real" diary on such a sensational topic?

What if I were to tell you that the real diary by anonymous is nothing more than a fabricated story written by a woman whose whole existence is also built on nothing but fabrications and lies. In fact, the lies didn't stop with Alice. Beatrice would go on to write more "true journals."

If you have read 'Go Ask Alice' or ever considered it, I do recommend taking a look into the real story behind the journal. It is honestly just as shocking. To think one woman could garner so much attention, money and notoriety based on lies is mindblowing. But the insanity doesn't stop there. Beatrice Sparks truly is a con artist who betrayed the victims and their families, and she sold their stories padded with lies to the public!

As always, thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review

If you going to shred a dead person's character, and your agenda is to show that their whole life is fake I think in all fairness we need references not just the author's interpretation of what he says are facts but might in fact be fiction. How would I know? I think you owe it to the deceased author's family to prove everything mean, nasty and scamming you accuse the author of, knowing she can't get back to you. There are no references at all in the book.

I don't like the way the book is written, I don't like the author's tone throughout* and what I read was a bit of a mish-mash that needed style and order imposed on it by a better editor than this book got. I dnf'd it because its lack of references and its style put me off.
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Notes on Reading I'm not liking what I'm reading. I didn't need a recap of the book Go Ask Alice, and I thought that author missed many important points about it in his summing up. The writing of the book sways between objective reportage not usually suited for books but more articles, and the author's somewhat mocking, not mocking exactly, but maybe disparaging, personalised presence.

I don't really have a reason to doubt the facts behind the story of Beatrice Sparks, the author 'Anonymous' (and not Nancy Reagan as I wrote on my review of Go Ask Alice and a couple of people took me seriously and wrote some rather troll-y remarks, except that there are no references for anything he writes.

Don't think that I am defending Beatrice Sparks, I'm not, I'm only talking about how the book is written.

This is my favorite type of nonfiction, something that is jam packed with information to the point where I walk away feeling as though I've spent hours speaking with an expert, yet also compelling and filled to the brim with storytelling. Rick Emerson's voice was so evocative and engaging to read and I simply couldn't tear myself away from the page. Petition for more nonfiction to drop F-bombs, please! What a fun read.

I remember being fascinated by Go Ask Alice and Jay's Journal. Baby boomers where a prime target for these two diaries. I am so happy that Rick Emerson decided he wanted to write this book and let the world know what a fraud this author is, someone who pretended to have a licence as a child psychologist just conned publishers.

This is a very good mix of true crime, literature studies and history on Unmask Alice and to show the trauma, and paranoia and this can affect the world.

I put this off for quite a while, primarily because I'm not a fan of nonfiction but the premise was enticing so I requested this one.

While the book was well-written, I wasn't a fan of the writing style. It didn't feel objective and the tone/style put me off quite a bit. I definitely learned something new while reading this but don't feel comfortable rating a non-fiction book the same way I'd rate fiction. Instead, for the sake of Netgalley's requirements, I'll set it at a neutral 3-star rating.

I tried to start reading this book twice and couldn't get into it either time. I know the story of the book Go Ask Alice, but have never read it, and I think that might have worked against me in this situation. Perhaps if I had read the book, this one would have kept my attention a little better but as it was, it didn't.

When I found this book I was riveted and truly believed this book was real. I re-read that book in my 20's and 30's because it impacted me so much, especially that ending. The empathy I felt for those parents and the sorrow I had for that poor girl to have to go through all of that and to have it so tragic. So when I heard about this book I absolutely had to read about how this book became about and why it was such a phenomenon. Talk about pissed when I realized that this was based on some imagination of a wanna-be author who wanted to just be someone. Don't get me wrong I get it, yes this stuff does happen, and yes there is a grain of truth to so much of that book, but the way that the Go Ask Alice author did what she did just pisses me off. I think this author did a phenomenal job of really getting to the bottom of everything and exposing that author for who she really is even if she faced no repercussions for her actions and should have been caught so many times. Great job to this author.

This is a truly shocking piece of work, contrasting the reality with the fiction behind Go Ask Alice.

The author offers us a window in time, narrated in a very readable and easy to understand way, which alone provides an enjoyable read.

If you have already read Go Ask Alice, as many of us have, you may find that much of what is described here will take you by the biggest of surprises and change the way you view the original work.

It is very valuable to have these kinds of literary shenanigans brought to light and Rick Emerson did it in a wonderful way.

I had no idea about this book going in, but wow this was so interesting. This is a must read for so many reasons.

Wow, I had no idea the drama behind the GO Ask Alice books! So insightful and full of information. My teenage years were a lie!!