I disliked the book. I was, at one point, absolutely ready to throw the book out the window, hoping it would be run over by a car and torn to shreds by the street sweeping machine...and then burned.
That was basically over the story of Carol Ann running through the streets barefoot, feet bleeding, trying to get Lindsey medical help instead of...oh, using a phone? She came off, to me, as foolish and self-aggrandizing.
I did, however, believe some of the stories had basic grains of truth to them and came to the conclusion that I wouldn't have liked any of them, at that point, as people. Not that they would give a rat's ass then or now. But, I also came away from the experience feeling the same way as I have, a few times, over particularly nasty Ledgie fights. You build someone up, in your mind, as great artists, people who mean something to you, etc. And it's very difficult when someone tries to tear them apart. Even if they feel they are doing so as some great big public service. Yes, people are human and have all kinds of nasty little things in their closets but...I'm just too idealistic for the "whole truth." Whether the truth is 100% real or 50% manufactured in a fried brain.
And the thing is...if she wanted to either take Lindsey down or gain great fame by this book, I think she failed for one simple reason: the way it was written. If she had presented it in a more balanced way and been slightly less melodramatic and more matter of fact, I think she probably would have succeeded on both counts.
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