Two teens. Two diaries. Two social panics. One incredible fraud. In 1971, the anonymously published 'Go Ask Alice' reivented the young adult genre with a blistering portrayal of sex, psychosis, and teenage self-destruction. The supposed diary of a middle-class addict, 'Go Ask Alice' terrified adults and cemented LSD's fearsome reputation, fueling support for teh war on drugs. Five million copies later, 'Go Ask Alice' remains a divisive bestseller, outraging censors and earning new fans, all of them drawn by the book's mythic premise: 'a real diary'. But 'Alice re, setting the stage for a national meltdown. The postumous memoir of an alleged teenage Satanist, 'Jay's Journal' merged with a frightening new crisis - adolescent suicide- to create a literal witch hunt, shattering countless lives and poisoning whole communities. In reality, 'Go Ask Alice' and 'Jay's Journal' came from the same dark place: Beatrice Sparks, a serial con artist who betrayed a grieving family, stole a dead boy's memory, and lied her way to the National Book Awards. |