Jay's Journal

Published by Tantor Media, Inc

Narrated by Ramon de Ocampo

Jay was a sweet, bright high school student who cared about his grades and his friends. He had ambitions. He was happy. And he thought he could handle anything.

He was wrong.

When Jay falls in with a crowd that's dabbling in drugs and the occult, he finds himself in over his head and doing things he never thought possible. Fascinated by the dark arts and in love with a dangerous girl, Jay falls deeper and deeper into a life he no longer recognizes . . . and sees no way out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781515949480

Reviews for Jay's Journal

[jasonbrownpdx · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[Angel Quintanilla · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book and the way it was written is great. The story is sad and interesting because we see a hidden world that not many know exist

[shahnareads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I feel bad for him, son.
He got 99 problems and satan is one.

Poor kid. Just in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
He needs a hug too.

[toast.x2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[wethereaders · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Could be used to scare teens away from drug abuse and the other things that could lead to suicide like the occult. CAUTION: Extreme horrific language

[gtwise · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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.

[moonlightgleam · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Written in a form of a diary, Jay’s Journal carries you through a great journey through the eyes of a teenage boy. With him, you discover his experience and struggle with drugs, love, hate, defeat and even witchcraft. He thought he was able to accomplish everything he aimed to achieve, but as you will soon find out, he can’t get everything he wants.Dr. Beatrice Sparks takes compiled letters, journal entries and thoughts from this teenage boy from the past and created a book to better apply to all teens going through life changes or journeys to discover themselves. She has removed and changed the names of the characters and locations to protect the families involved in the story.This book made me cry because not only did this boy experience such an emotional rollercoaster, it felt so real to feel as if you were in his shoes, living through his thoughts.A definite MUST READ!!!

[heidigilia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jay's Journal gives readers a glimpse of a year in the life of a fifteen year to sixteen year old boy. This journals is Jay's struggle with drugs, friends, and love life. Jay really starts to struggle when his friends, Brad and Dell, as well as himself get mixed up with an occult. Through reading the journal you see Jay struggle trying to understand what is happening to him as well as his need to find someone to turn to for help.This is a book that can help teenagers see that they might not be able to handle their own problems in life and that they should try turning to someone for help. While reading Jay's story you see him wanting to get help but doesn't every chance he gets. Many teenagers might have a hard time relating to Jay since his journal is from the 1970 and deals with issues that are not as prevalent today. However the message is still as important, "Can I handle things if I continue to pursue my present course?"

[mzzkitee · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I think I just bought this book as a quick read. It was very depressing but I was a bit disappointed when I found out that even though it was said to have been a true story it really wasn't. That ruined it for me.