Customer Reviews

It Happened to Nancy: By an Anonymous Teenager, A True Story from Her Diary

5 star:		(120)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I read this book twice in a row at fourteen and cried at the end both times, after having earlier scoffed at the book because of how stupid and naïve Nancy acted. It's really upsetting to find it may be largely or entirely a fraud, that this sweet courageous young person may have been made up or had her life made into something that was largely the creation of Dr. Sparks. A lot of girls are like Nancy and don't see anything fishy about an older man wanting to date them or letting an older boyfriend spend the night when their parents are away. During the stampede (or whatever the chaos was) at the Garth Brooks concert she attends with her friends, Nancy has an asthma attack and finds herself being taken care of by a strange older boy named Collin. She never tells him to get away from her because she doesn't know him, or tell him he's too old for her at her age. (Four years of age difference in a relationship isn't that big of a deal, but if you're 14 and 18, it's not the same as, say, an 18 year old and a 22 year old.) She never even tells her mother about this relationship, or any of her friends. It turns out his real name is Gary and that he's 32 years old.

In hindsight some of it does seem too fishy to be true. How was Nancy's doctor able to give her an HIV test without her knowledge or permission, why does her disease get so serious so fast (unless Collin had a full-blown case when he gave it to her, or because of her strained immune system due to her serious asthma), why doesn't she go down to the Catholic rape crisis centre she called the morning after her attack, after telling the sympathetic nun on the phone she'd come over, why doesn't her mother take her to get tested for AIDS, STDs, or pregnancy as soon as she tells her about the rape? She takes her out of town on a beach vacation instead? And it's suspicious how all of Sparks's young diarists have the same exact moral preachiness, similar writing styles, never say anything against their parents (or if they do they quickly take it back), never get involved in these problems by their own accord but instead are pulled in by friends who drug them, rape them, or talk them into Satanic beliefs. Nancy may be a sweet religious old-fashioned Southern girl, but surely she couldn't have been that naïve. I was a few years younger than Nancy at the time these events are going on in the early Nineties, and well remember what the climate was like at that time, people deathly afraid of getting AIDS from toilet seats or mosquito bites, people desperate for more funding for research because so many people were dying and getting sick. None of that was felt in her small South Carolina town?

It's a moving book with a powerful and important message, but I no longer view it the same way I did when I first read it and thought it was a 100% true story.

It was so sad to read about a typical teenage girl who fell for an older guy. I discussed this book with my friends and we all agreed that if an older guy was giving us the time of day, we would fall for him. What girl wouldn't want an older boyfriend? That's what I thought until I read this book. When Nancy met Collin who was four years older them her, she fell in love with him. Though I would find it suspicous that I could never go to his apartment, I thought the story he told her was very convincing. When he raped her and gave her the HIV virus, her life went into a downward spiral. In her last few years of life, you follow her through touching and embarassing events, as well as many sad ones. I never cry when I read books or watch movies, but this one got to me. I recommend this book to any teen of pre-teen girl. I stayed up until 2:30 on a school night to finish the book because I could not put it down! This book really makes you realize how precious every second of life is.

She was the editor of Go Ask Alice and that was proven to be fiction as were several other of her 'diary' books. But they continue to publish this woman's works of fiction as non-fiction. Do the research, find the truth.

Brought to you from the author of Go Ask Alice... yeah, right.

This is probably not the first great hoax in publishing history, but I'm sure it's one of the most successful.

In spite of the fact that the actual source of this book has long been revealed and known, the publishing company continues to brazenly assert that this is a genuine document. It's as ridiculous as the continuing insistence that The Amityville Horror is a true story, too.

It should take any literate adult no more than one and one half pages to determine that this is neither the language nor the syntax of an adolescent/young adult.

It is a known fact that this shameless propoganda was the work of Beatrice Sparks, a Mormom activist who created an entire series of these books, in which children are destroyed by the evils of homosexuality, premarital sex, drug abuse, satanism, etc.

Without diminishing what positive impact this book, or any of the others, may have had on impressionable youth, and without condemning its good intentions (is anyone in favor of having AIDS?), these books are complete rubbish.

Like Mr. Frey, the intentions are not the point.

The point is that these books are being published as nonfiction.

And they are lies.

Ready for a book that you CANNOT put down? Then read this, but dont be as naive as 'Nancy' was to believe this is a true story. Nancy was left with AIDS after she was raped by 24-year-old Collin. Be ready for an intensly sad story...

But is it a REAL story? While reading it, be sharp for details that don't quite match, like a South-Carolina girl saying the people 'qued' up in a line (you know, that British word). For of us who keep diaries, don't we all write (at 12:01 pm) "The beginning of a future that is going to be more glorious than has ever nbeen known by mankind since the beginning of the earth...as well as the othger creations of infinity." And isnt it a little ironic that the LAST ENTRY EVER from Nancy is --> "I hope there is another ME, except ME"? Sounds like the author was preparing for a bang ending.

One more thing to remember:
Go Ask Alice 1971
Jay's Journal 1979
It Happened to Nancy 1994
Almost Lost (Story of a Homeless Teenager) 1996
Annie's Baby (Story of a Pregnant Teenager) 1998

How convienent Dr. Sparks found detailed diaries
of 'hurting' teens, sometimes two years apart from each other. And it's extra convienent that Dr. Sparks is able to follow these teens and write some journal-style novels such as Treacherous Love: The Diary of an 'Anonymous' Teenager and publish in mass markets.

Perhaps Beatrice Sparks wrote IT HAPPENED TO NANCY to follow the sucess of GO ASK ALICE. Even if she did, it is an suspenceful and saddening novel/true story.

This book was supposed to be a teaching tool for teenagers. But after I finished reading it, I had more questions than answers. First off, when the girl tells her mother she's been raped, why doesn't she take her daughter to the hospital or Rape Crisis Center? Why don't they report the rape to the police? How did the rapist give her full-blown AIDS? Why doesn't the mother have her tested right away for HIV?

When we teach kids about sex, drugs, AIDS, rape, and all the other troubles in life, we have one goal in mind; we have to teach them what to do in an emergency. This book teaches the kids what NOT to do in an emergency!

Along with every other Beatrice Sparks book, I would censor this and remove it from the school library. If you are the parent of an impressionable teenager, I would advise NOT giving him/her this book to read.

It Happened to Nancy was a great book based on a true story. I liked the story because it shows how easy it is for someone to get AIDS. Ever since Nancy falls in love with Collin, is raped, and gets AIDS, your heart reaches out to her. You realize that Nancy thought Collin was so special that she didn't take the proper precaution into finding out who he really was, which many girls today do. One charachter that I really enjoyed was Lew. He became Nancy's boyfriend and stayed her boyfriend even when he found out that she had AIDS. His commitment to not have sex was so strong that you come to admire his maturity. One part of the book I enjoyed reading was the time Nancy spent at her Aunt Thelma's house. It was a calming enviroment for Nancy, which made the book less depressing to read during her time there. The author's writing style was both good and bad. The diary format helps you get close to the charachters, but it was also confusing to read in that format. Nancy was part of a divorced situation and when you were reading, it was hard to figure out where she was. If your looking for a truthful and inspiring book about AIDS, this is a great book for you. The last few pages of the book are filled with questions and answers about AIDS. If you get depressed easily this may not be the right book for you, do to the pain and hardships Nancy goes through, such as her urinary problem. It Happened to Nancy is an appropriate book for girls thirteen and up, and especially those in serious relationships.J.Gilmore

Beatrice Sparks is the author/editor of a serious of "anonymous" teen diaries. They are meant as "warnings" to children. In fact, they are not based on real diaries and the only one that actually was, she used about 10% of the journal entries and added a Satanic theme which horrified the family.

Now I am aware that children should be taught such things as drugs are bad, teenage pregnancy is not preferable, don't kill yourself etc. However, I take offense when presented in this manner. Children learn best from the truth not extreme propaganda. I also take offense that many libraries (especially school libraries) list this book as non-fiction, when in fact it is a work of fiction.

The story It Happened to Nancy is a very good book. I am one of the many that read the book and enjoyed it. An anonymous teenager who thought she had everything she would ever want or dream of writes the book. She had fallen in love with a mature college student, Collin, and he treated her with respect and Nancy trusted in him completely. Collin was what she thought was "perfect." After he knew she trusted in him fully he date-raped her and left her infected with the HIV virus. The book is in diary form. She writes daily about her emotions and feelings towards having the virus. She also writes how hard it is to tell her friends about her having AIDS but she realize that her friends are one of a kind and that they will understand her. I started reading the book because a friend told me it was a good book and it is easy to read. I said to myself, "great, an eleven point book and it is easy to follow," but as I was reading the book it came across that anyone could be a Nancy.

In this emotional, yet touching novel, What Happened to Nancy, a young girl struggles with AIDs. She has to soon go through life with the thought about possibly dying each and every day. Her parents, group of friends called "the gaggle", boyfriend, aunt and doctors help her to stay positive and get through her rough disease.

When I read this story about a girl my age dealing with more pain and suffering in one day, then most people ever have in their entire life, I was touched. In her day by day journal, the readers get to actually feel what Nancy was feeling and going through. She made me appreciate my good health so much more and I feel like I have known Nancy my whole life.

The readers not only get to read about a real girl's hard life, but they can also learn about this deadly disease that many other kids have to overcome also. Published by one of Nancy's many good friends, "Dr. B.", this tale is so breathtaking. Because the story is from a real girl's diary, I was pulled into the book right away. I could not put it down, and finished all 216 pages in just days.

My favorite part was when Nancy suddenly was feeling deeply depressed and in very much pain. She didn't feel like speaking to her best friends or parents, but then a special someone came in and made everything better, one of the "gaggle". This is my favorite part because even in all the pain and emotional damage Nancy is experiencing at the time, she still puts on a smile when her best friend comes in. This part made me smile and appreciate my friends. I will never take them for granted again.

I would definitely recommend this book. Although What Happened to Nancy is slightly depressing, it is also uplifting with Nancy's positive spirit. I give this book two thumbs up!