<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	<author id="69007">
  <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
  <fans-count type="integer">14</fans-count>
  <followers-count type="integer">6</followers-count>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-200x266.jpg</image_url>
  <about><![CDATA[&lt;b&gt;Beatrice Sparks&lt;/b&gt; is an American therapist and Mormon youth counselor who is known for producing books purporting to be the 'real diaries' of troubled teenagers. The books deal with topical issues such as drug abuse, Satanism, teenage pregnancy or AIDS, and are presented as cautionary tales. Although Sparks always presents herself as merely the discoverer and editor of the diaries, records at the U.S. Copyright Office show that in fact she is listed as the sole author for all but two of them.
&lt;br&gt;
Sparks began working with teenagers in 1955, after attending the University of California at Los Angeles and Brigham Young University. She has worked as a music therapist at Utah State Mental Hospital and taught continuing education courses at BYU.

Critics have called the precise extent of Sparks' qualifications and experience into question. The editorial credit on some of the diaries published by Sparks identifies her as &quot;Dr Beatrice Sparks, PhD&quot;. However, when journalist Aileen Pace Nilsen interviewed Sparks for School Library Journal in 1979, she was unable to find any confirmation of where or when Sparks earned her doctorate. Nilsen also wrote that Sparks was &quot;vague about specifics&quot; when asked about her counseling qualifications and professional experience.

Sparks said that her experience working with troubled adolescents made her want to produce cautionary tales that would keep other teens from falling into the same traps. Her first work, &lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;Go Ask Alice&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;, was published under the byline &lt;i&gt;'Anonymous'&lt;/i&gt; in 1971.

&lt;i&gt;Excerpted from &lt;a href=&quot;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Sparks&quot;&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/i&gt;]]></about>    <gender>female</gender>  <hometown>Goldburg, Idaho</hometown>  <born_at>01/15/1918</born_at>    
  
  
  <books>
        <book id="46799">
  <title><![CDATA[Go Ask Alice]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
        <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Anonymous]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1783101]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.61</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>16074</ratings_count>
  <published>1970</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="119076">
  <title><![CDATA[It Happened to Nancy: By an Anonymous Teenager, A True Story from Her Diary]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>444</ratings_count>
  <published>1994</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="279642">
  <title><![CDATA[Annie's Baby: The Diary of Anonymous, A Pregnant Teenager]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>333</ratings_count>
  <published>1998</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="228539">
  <title><![CDATA[Jay's Journal]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.24</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>284</ratings_count>
  <published>1978</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="279640">
  <title><![CDATA[Treacherous Love: The Diary of an Anonymous Teenager]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.51</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>116</ratings_count>
  <published>2000</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="279639">
  <title><![CDATA[Kim: Empty Inside: The Diary of an Anonymous Teenager]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>77</ratings_count>
  <published>2002</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="279638">
  <title><![CDATA[Finding Katie: The Diary of Anonymous, A Teenager in Foster Care]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>69</ratings_count>
  <published>2005</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="279641">
  <title><![CDATA[Almost Lost: The True Story of an Anonymous Teenager's Life on the Streets (Avon Flare Book)]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.36</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>72</ratings_count>
  <published>1996</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="279643">
  <title><![CDATA[Voices: The Stories of Four Troubled Teenagers]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>2</ratings_count>
  <published>1978</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="446207">
  <title><![CDATA[It's My Candle: By an Anonymous Teenager - A True Story from His Diary]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Beatrice Sparks]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69007.Beatrice_Sparks]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>5.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1</ratings_count>
  <published>1996</published>  
  
</book>
      </books>
</author>
</GoodreadsResponse>