One of the first books I ever read that shook me. We read this in junior high, and I remember that it had just come off the banned books list and it was controversial because the family was suing the publishers, or something like that?

They made us read it because they thought it’d scare us off drugs. And, for me, it worked. Though, to be honest, I hadn’t been interested in the first place but the school was in a poor area of the city, so I guess they thought most kids were going to come into contact with them soon, or already had. I remember wondering if a) this was actually a true story, because it seemed weird having some entries gotten from trash bags and things. And b) if they’d really used this without the permission of the family, that it was a horrible thing to do.