Anonymous (48)

There is a possibility -- and not a faint one -- that this is the stupidest book ever written. To begin with, as with all Ms. Sparks' books, she did not "edit" the book; unless there happened to be some central office in Pueblo, Colorado or somewhere, teaching all the teenagers of the day to write in precisely the same voice with precisely the same stylistic tics, she wrote it herself, as any seventh-grader (as I was when I read this book) can glean from a three-second comparison of this one show more to Go Ask Alice.

Second, the tone of this book is hysterical, and I don't mean that in the sense of "funny." I mean hysterical. That's right, parents -- you'd all better watch out or your kids will be taken from you -- by SATAN!! I mean, honestly. As though the drug hysteria she spread in Go Ask Alice wasn't bad enough?

This book may be good to read while drunk, but I wouldn't swear to it. show less

This was a fun book to read back in High School; it was exciting watching this kid experiment with drugs, sex, and witchcraft. Naturally, the validity of the book has come under attack, with "Jay's" family accusing Beatrice Sparks of mostly fabricating events.

Read it for the morbid entertainment, if that sounds interesting to you. Don't read it for confirmation of Satanic activity; you've got a creative work on your hands, not a journalistic one.

Beatrice Sparks is well known for taking the words of teenagers and bulking them up with fictional fluff to make them sell a specific narrative. Drug addiction, homelessness, angst and suicidal tendencies, all of these are fair game within her edits.

When I was a kid though, I did not know any of this, and as with many kids, we read these stories with a sick guilty pleasure. There was even a little "training manual" feel to them as we picked apart things we knew vs those elements we did show more not.

Jay's Journal was no exception to this. In fact, growing up in Utah, Jay's Journal had a specific allure to the teenage crowd as it was purportedly written by a guy in our area during my parents generation. Debunked, it is shown that minimal amounts were factual and all the juicy details were fiction.

With that said, who cares! I tracked down the revision of this book that I read as a teen. Kid filled with angst slaughters cows and drinks their blood straight from the vein? Ritualistic satanist sex? Conjuring demons/demonic possessions? Man, when I was a gothic clad teen in a heavily religious area, this was Stephen King IRL and a must read!

Unfortunately, every pro has a con. For every kick ass page of occult awesomeness, there are 20 pages of whiny teenage crying and love sick drivel.

As a teen, this book was great, as an adult it was like a root canal.

If anyone has a lead on the book written by "Jay's" brother in real life, I would love to read it. Was apparently a short print run with no current ebook revisions. Hook me up! I hate that I cannot locate a copy if this.

A Place in the Sun: The Truth Behind Jay's Journal, by Scott Barrett



Reblurb:

Not needed. The only things I would add would be pure snark..

Regarding struggling with the same demons.. (Raul specifically) and my curiosity if he looks less like Freddy Mercury these days ;)



Publisher's summary from the edition I read:

"On a cold January night, Jay put a pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. He was sixteen"

Jay was a nice, bright high school kid who cared about good grades, good friends, and good times-- and as few hassles with his parents as possible. He thought someday he might be a doctor, a lawyer, maybe a writer. He thought he could handle anything. But he was wrong.

When school days began to twist into a haze of drugs and drinking... When his girlfriend's addiction led him to steal pills from his father's pharmacy.. When a charismatic friend lured him into a nightmare world of the occult, Jay couldn't handle it. Helplessly fascinated, he plunged into a world of Ouija boards and witchcraft, animal sacrifice and Satanism... into a black abyss from which there seemed no escape.

Only in the pages of his journal could Jay express the dark forces that led to his suicide. Now from the editor who brought the phenomenal Go Ask Alice to light, Here is Jay's Journal-- a haunting, heartbreaking story that may help other young people struggling with the same demons, and that will surely leave no reader unmoved. show less

When I read this book I was under the impression that it was a Fiction piece. Some of the material was based on a Journal written by a teen male, it was not totally based on fact. I thought it was a good eye opener for parents who may see their young adult's life through "Rose Coloured Glasses" if you will. Growing up is not for the faint at heart. There are so many struggles with identity, hormones, goals, peers, and family, that it becomes a mine field you have to pick your way through. If show more this book does nothing else it could be a good spring board for conversations between youth and adults, I believe it has served a valuable purpose show less