As a former angsty youth who adored Go Ask Alice and everything else Beatrice Sparks published as various “anonymous” teenagers, I knew Rick Emerson’s Unmask Alice would be my jam, but I had no idea how deep and winding the rabbit hole went. Sparks desperately wanted to be a writer, but struggled to make that happen—and when it did, her name wasn’t anywhere to be found. She was fueled by satanic panic and homophobia, and the books served as cautionary tales about drug use, sex, cults, eating disorders, teen pregnancy, and the foster care system, among other things. Emerson dives deep into the stories surrounding the creation of the two most controversial of the books, Alice and Jay’s Journal, as well as the cultural landscape when they were published. Unmask Alice reads like a thriller, forever chasing down this elusive woman who shaped the foundation of young adult literature.

From Riot Roundup: The Best Books We Read July–September 2022 at Book Riot.