Get Ready for Sioux City Reads!

SIOUX CITY, IA – The Sioux City Reads program, a community-based reading initiative where a book chosen by Sioux Cityans becomes the basis for a month of programs, discussions, and events; returns with a new title for 2025: Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson.

Sioux Cityans chose this title by voting on the Library’s website. Books selected for voting were based around the true crime genre and upcoming events and discussions will follow this topic and themes from the book. Follow the Sioux City Public Library on Facebook, visit siouxcitylibrary.org/siouxcityreads, or sign-up for the Library’s e-newsletter at siouxcitylibrary.org/news to get updates.

Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson is the story of two teens, two diaries, two social panics, and one incredible fraud. In 1971, the book, Go Ask Alice reinvented the young adult genre with a blistering portrayal of sex, psychosis, and teenage self-destruction. The supposed diary of a middle-class addict, Go Ask Alice terrified adults and cemented LSD’s fearsome reputation, fueling support for the War on Drugs. In 1979, another diary rattled the culture – the posthumous memoir of an alleged teenage Satanist, Jay’s Journal. In reality, Go Ask Alice and Jay’s Journal came from a serial con artist who betrayed a grieving family, stole a dead boy’s memory, and lied her way to the National Book Awards. Unmask Alice . . . where the truth is stranger than nonfiction.

“Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson goes a long way to showing what investigative journalism could be in the right hands . . . this book is undeniably buzzworthy.” —Portland Book Review

Sioux City Reads Poetry Contest:

We want to know how this book impacted you – through poetry! Write an original poem, no longer than one page, inspired by the 2025 Sioux City Reads title, Unmask Alice.

Submit your poem by Friday, March 14 in-person at any Library location or via this form. One submission per participant, please.

A selection of finalists will be displayed at the Library in March and the winner will be announced on Reference Roundtable, Live on Facebook, on Thursday, March 27. The winning author will also receive a $25 gift card to Book People.