Beatrice Sparks

Author profile

born

in Goldburg, Idaho, The United States

January 15, 1918

died

May 25, 2012

gender

female

About this author

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Beatrice Sparks was an American therapist and Mormon youth counselor who was 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 presented herself as merely the discoverer and editor of the diaries, records at the U.S. Copyright Office show that in fact she was listed as the sole author for all but two of them.
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.
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Beatrice Sparks's Books

Average rating: 3.71 · 111,161 ratings · 6,183 reviews · 13 distinct works · Similar authors

	Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks (as "Anonymous"), Anonymous 3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 104,043 ratings — published 1971 — 56 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	It Happened to Nancy: By an Anonymous Teenager, A True Story from Her Diary by Beatrice Sparks, Dathan Sheranian (Foreword by) 3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 2,232 ratings — published 1994 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jay's Journal 3.25 of 5 stars 3.25 avg rating — 1,956 ratings — published 1978 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Annie's Baby: The Diary of Anonymous, A Pregnant Teenager 3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 1,435 ratings — published 1998 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Treacherous Love: The Diary of an Anonymous Teenager 3.31 of 5 stars 3.31 avg rating — 492 ratings — published 2000 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kim: Empty Inside: The Diary of an Anonymous Teenager 3.26 of 5 stars 3.26 avg rating — 389 ratings — published 2002 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Go Ask Alice/Jay's Journal by Beatrice Sparks, Anonymous 4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 244 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Almost Lost: The True Story of an Anonymous Teenager's Life on the Streets by Beatrice Sparks, Phillip Morgenstern (Foreword by) 3.43 of 5 stars 3.43 avg rating — 261 ratings — published 1996 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Finding Katie: The Diary of Anonymous, A Teenager in Foster Care 3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 241 ratings — published 2005 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Voices: The Stories of Four Troubled Teenagers 3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 1978 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Beatrice Sparks…

Quotes by Beatrice Sparks

“I'm not really sure which parts of myself are real and which parts are things I've gotten from books.”
― Beatrice Sparks, Go Ask Alice

tags: identity, sense-of-self

287 people liked it

“It's a good thing most people bleed on the inside or this would be a gory, blood-smeared earth.”
― Beatrice Sparks, Go Ask Alice

tags: beatrice-sparks, diary, drugs, go-ask-alice, heroin, marijuana, pot

124 people liked it

“I'm partly somebody else trying to fit in and say the right things and do the right thing and be in the right place and wear what everybody else is wearing. Sometimes I think we're all trying to be shadows of each other, trying to buy the same records and everything even if we don't like them. Kids are like robots, off an assembly line, and I don't want to be a robot!”
― Beatrice Sparks, Go Ask Alice

107 people liked it

See all Beatrice Sparks's quotes »

Polls

What frequently challenged or banned children's or young adult book (or book about banning books) should we read in May and June?

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

21 votes, 27.3%

Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks

14 votes, 18.2%

Memoirs of a Bookbat by Kathryn Lasky (about banning books)

11 votes, 14.3%

Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

8 votes, 10.4%

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

8 votes, 10.4%

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

6 votes, 7.8%

Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry

5 votes, 6.5%

Girls and Sex by Wardell Baxter Pomeroy

3 votes, 3.9%

The Stupids Step Out by Harry Allard

1 vote, 1.3%

Running Loose by Chris Crutcher

0 votes, 0.0%

77 total votes

4 comments

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