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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
257 of 263 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The sad truth about this story,
This review is from: Jay's Journal (Mass Market Paperback)
When I first read this book, I was blown away. That was because I was 12. After a few years, when I happened to pick it up again, a lot of things about this "true" story seemed a little.. well... false, so I decided to do some research on the net. This is what I found out: The real "Jay" was a young boy named Alden, who grew up in Pleasant Grove. He was quite depressed and involved with drugs, and he committed suicide, but he was never involved with the occult. Mrs. Sparks came to Alden's family when they were still greiving, and received Alden's journal under the guise that she wanted to help other people with "his problem". She then took a bunch of supposed accounts of other teenagers involved with the occult, and combined them with entries from Alden's journal (which never mentioned the occult). She also didn't bother to hide some very identifying details about Alden very well. The result of all this was that people in Pleasant Grove figured out who "Jay" was, and not only did his poor parents have his death to deal with, but vicious rumors of their deceased son being a animal-sacrificing Satanist. His grave was desecrated several times, and his parents ended up divorcing under all the strain. Why was this book passed off as a journal? Well for one thing, any book about Satanism sold really well at the time this was published (more bucks for the renowned Beatrice Sparks). Another reason might be because Mrs. Sparks is a devout Mormon, and if you write a book that basically shouts "Hey! See, this kid strayed from Christianity and started exploring other religions, and look! He got mixed up with Satan and died!" and direct it to teenagers, thats a great way to evangelisize your religion. I find this book completely disgusting. It would have been fine if it had been labeled as a work of fiction, but to take some poor kid's misery, mix it up with sensationalism, and call it "a true story" to make a point and some money is in my opinion... Satanic.
117 of 119 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I'm Alden's Brother. I know the facts.,
By Aldensbro (Arizona) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Jays Journal (Board book)
To all of you people from Utah that claim "Jay's Journal" is a true story, well, lets just say that Beatrice Sparks has convinced you, once again, that her self righteous fantasy view of the world is fact, and teenagers can gain some sort of phenomenal "powers" by killing cats and drinking cow's blood, and only by obeying your parents and going to church will save you from the evils of the real world. Some of you claim to have known members of my family when you have no idea what we have gone through since the publication of this book. right now I have Alden Barrett's original journal in my possesion. I am here to tell all of you the facts. My brother, Alden Neil Barrett, died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the right temple on March 13, 1971. He was posthumously diagnosed with clinical depression after his psychiatrist, (NOT Beatrice Sparks) read his journal, which sporadically detailed the last six months of his life. Exactly 21 of 69 entries from Alden's journal were used by Beatrice Sparks in "Jay's Journal"; some of which include, "The Joys Of the Theater", and "The Joys of Debate." She has several different accounts as to where she recieved information that Alden was involved in occult activities, none of which I believed when I interviewed her for my book. She was vague and apologetic, and would not reveal her "sources." Side-by-side comparisons of "Jay's Journal" and "Go Ask Alice" reveal suspiciously similar writing styles. (Entries that repeat words three times for emphasis, for example.) No where in Alden's journal is there any mention of drinking cow's blood, or any of the other alleged occult or satanic activities mentioned in "Jay's Journal." The letter at the end of the book was actually written by my mother, Marcella. The part about "Jay's" two friends dying in car accidents is true, except the timeline was fictionalized. The first one died three months after Alden. The second friend died five years after Alden. The "note from Jay's mother's scratch pad" was not Marcella's, but does reveal the intent of the book, and apparently justifies all of the creative license employed in the book.
It is my opinion that, while "Jay's Journal" has frightened some teenagers away from occult-like activities, it has also made many more children curious with the promise of special powers, and influences impressionable youth to this day in many negative ways. "Jay's Journal" ranks up there with "Plan 9 From Outer Space" as a poorly planned, low budget special effects type of pulp book that has gathered a cult following based solely on the premise that it is a true account. This book is a prime example of the phrase, "Don't believe everything you read."
104 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
i hate a book that lies to me!,
By Daniel Mackler (on the road) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Jay's Journal (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is a big lie! Although i knew nothing about this "true account" when i picked it up, as i got deeper into the book I sensed something was missing. Jay's character didn't add up. He struck me as too sane and objective to be crazy, too moral and connected with himself to be so immoral, too mature in his thoughts and writing to be so immature, and FAR TOO HONEST AND EXPRESSIVE WITH HIMSELF to be so dishonest with everyone around him. The fact that he killed himself just didn't add up to me. I'm a psychotherapist who works with suicidal people (adults now but teens in the past) and i just didn't buy it. At first i wondered if Sparks simply changed too much of Jay's identifying information (which even Freud warns against in recounting case studies) to make the story hold, but later i found myself wondering if she had actually re-written the journal herself to fit HER needs (perhaps to sell books, get famous, whatever - or perhaps some more sinister psychological desire to disguise a worthy person's true story). Although i still don't know what actually happened in "Jay's" case, ten minutes of internet research showed me claims that Jay (supposedly really Alden Barrett) was never even into the occult at all! Also, there were claims he was schizophrenic (of which this supposed "journal" gives no indication), and that "Dr." Beatrice Sparks (who should lose her license if this proves true) MADE UP whole sections of the book (more than 50%), weaving in "accounts" of other teenagers she supposedly knew. One thing for which i am grateful about this book is that Sparks is only a mediocre writer. Had she produced a more believable account of "Jay's Journal", i probably never would have become suspicious and taken my suspicions beyond the state of contemplation. I think what is called for here is the publication of "Jay's" actual journal so the reader sort the rest out for him or herself.
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