The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer (Twin Peaks Books)

A great companion to the show, the entries immediately prior to Palmer's death are particularly illuminating. The book is basically about a young girl's descent into sex and drugs couples with a healthy dose of child abuse, so it's not light reading. Honestly, although I'm a fan ofthe show I idn't "enjoy" the book...it's kinda like watching Requiem For A Dream: you can see it's good but the unrelenting misery and hopelessness leaves you exhausted at the end of it all. Definitely worth a read if you're a fan of the show, but probably a little pointless as a 'stand alone' book.

The audiobook narrated by Sheryl Lee is brilliant. She has a very pleasant voice to listen to and she gives her entire heart and soul to the character of Laura. That said, she is much older than the character. Her voice has changed some since Twin Peaks and Fire Walk With Me. It's deeper, less airy. This probably should have been produced 20+ years ago but I'm still so thrilled and grateful that it exists! I recommend it to any Twin Peaks fan, it is a must-have!!

Sort of interesting but I eventually grew tired of the repetitive entries regarding her cocaine use. I eventually just scanned the rest of the book. I am glad to have it as part of an overall collection of Twin Peaks stuff though.

Sort of interesting but I eventually grew tired of the repetitive entries regarding her cocaine use. I eventually just scanned the rest of the book. I am glad to have it as part of an overall collection of Twin Peaks stuff though.

Tormented small town high school honor student and homecoming queen gets turned into a cocaine addict and prostitute by her boyfriend and others. One of many sad stories of the Eighties and the drug epidemic. With the added supernatural influence of "BOB", an ancient evil that dwells in the nearby woods and possesses people. especially Laura's father, Leland Palmer, inducing him to commit incest with his daughter, while drugging his wife.
Young woman had great potential, college bound to a good school. In the sequel. .I see her revived (that was her previously unknown twin sister, Lisa) who was murdered while Laura was in a private psychiatric hospital in Seattle, arranged by Dr. Jacoby.) and teaching special education at the local high school, married to James and with a teenage daughter of her own.

Jennifer Lynch was either still in high school or just graduated when she wrote this book, and her inexperience shows. The "Secret Diary" is considered canon, but it is so cut and dry. The "diary" starts out when "Laura" is about twelve and ends when she's about eighteen. There is no change in the style, vocabulary, and sentence structure. A more polished writer would have taken on the voice of a twelve year old at the beginning and allowed "Laura" to grow up. Had Jennifer not been the child of David Lynch, this manuscript would never have seen the light of day!

Laura Palmer is such an easy-to-identify-with character for me and Jennifer does a fantastic job of channeling her most jarring moments and exposed fears and letting us drown in them for a bit. As the Twin Peaks revival approaches, its pivotal to examine the true eye of the storm and Laura's secret diary helps us to do that and also to see with true clarity the eyes within our own storms. This is a very good exploration of a tragic soul's struggle to be...never easy in such a messed up world. Essential reading for Twin Peaks fans!

I ordered this, mistakenly thinking it was another DVD in the after-market series following the end of Twin Peaks. It's a book and although it is well-written from an adolescent girl's point of view, it's basically a review of the Twin Peaks saga, and so unless you're just into teenage girls' diaries, I wouldn't particularly recommend it.

** Review of Audio Format **

I am probably very close to the age Laura Palmer was and would be today if she had made different choices. I got married very young, though, and was too busy to watch the new sensational show Twin Peaks. This is the first I've read or seen about the show. Now I need to go back and watch the whole thing and watch the movie and then listen to this again! I'm sure I'll get much more out of it then I did this first time.

This was a really well done narration by Sheryl Lee. Yes, there is whispering which is hard to hear if you're commuting in a car (when I mostly listen to audiobooks) but her performance outshines any small defects. Her voice, tone, inflection and cadence are all spot on for the material. Her voice goes from a seemingly happy 12 year old who gets the best gift in the world for her birthday to a strung out prostitute whose life is coming unraveled. And then there's Bob. Her voice for Bob is incredibly creepy and she goes back and forth quickly and seamlessly as Bob and Laura have their conversations.

Can't wait to find out more.

I listened to the audible version. Sheryl Lee's performance is spot on. Which makes sense considering she's the actress who plays Laura Palmer in the show. Anyway, as for the book itself, it was very disturbing. Laura Palmer was clearly a very troubled girl. I do feel like the sex scenes get a little too graphic at times, but at the same time I also feel like if it was written by an actual girl in an actual diary it probably would be that graphic. This book really helps you understand the town of Twin Peaks better, although I thought some of the stuff didn't add up with stuff in the show. Also the book felt a little slow at times to me. Not a bad read though and I really recommend it to people who are fans of Twin Peaks. (And I wouldn't read it if you haven't seen Twin Peaks because you probably won't understand what's happening)

I love Twin Peaks. LOVE IT. Poor, poor Laura Palmer. She lived a sad, dark, depressing, torturous life. This was an interesting read as a fan of the series, but towards the end it starts to feel rushed and you can tell Ms. Lynch just started throwing in every beat she needed to hit with very little context. Oh! Laura has to start the Meals on Wheels program! Oh wait, she has to tutor Josie Packard in English! Oh crap! She has to fall in love with James Hurley, I better add a diary entry that mentions him. ONE ENTRY. One entry about James Hurley??? That seems incongruous with the series. My favorite part of the diary was when Laura has her strange encounter with the Log Lady. I would have really liked more of that in this "diary." After awhile the sex, drugs, BOB, sex, drugs, BOB gets tiring.

The book is read by Sheryl Lee (the original Laura Palmer actor from the show). I wish her performance was a hint less emotional, but it is pretty good anyway. The diary is very interesting and involving.

I really enjoyed this "diary". It was written by Jennifer Lynch, who is the daughter of "Twin Peaks" director David Lynch. It's really racy and captivating, as Laura reveals everything in her diary--the mysterious "BOB" who visits her at night and who she can never get away from (is he real or just in her mind?); her awful drug habit; her sexual experimentation; her close friendships with Bobby and Donna; her struggle to find help and redemption from God; pages ripped out of her diary by someone, and then death just days later, when she's just 18. This is the diary of a troubled and tumultuous life cut short by tragic circumstances. The dead body of prom queen Laura Palmer was found washed up along the shore. Who killed her?

David Rehak

author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

The book was released between the first season & the second season. No one was ready for such a twisted, sorid, and honest page-turner. It isn't some knock off meant to cash in on the television show's popularity. It works as a stand alone novel. The book's twist to viewers was Laura's incredible possession by BOB. At this point in the show's run, Twin Peaks was normal murder mystery with some supernatural sprinkles on it's doughnuts. But this book signaled that perhaps, the little town of Twin Peaks was a spirit-filled dream land, with reality sprinkled on top. Fire Walk With Me.

The thing's that are revealed about Laura in this book are like 10 times more f'd up than anything you learn from the actual show; seriously messed up sexual fantasies and stories of abuse... more explicit than I'd imagined it'd be. You get a much better understanding of who she was and her entire situation. Definitely a worthy read for fans of Twin Peaks, but I can't say I'd recommend it for someone who's never watched the show. Jennifer Lynch isn't so great of a writer, but it kind of adds to the believability of the material since a 12-16 year old girl writing in a diary probably wouldn't write, or care to write, too well. Overall though, this book adds a good deal of depth to Laura as a person and sheds more light on relationships between those she interacted with... very cool things for fans of Twin Peaks.

I believe Twin Peaks premired August 9, 1990. I was twelve. I turned thirteen August 12. What an incredible birthday present Mr.Lynch and Mr.Frost. My mother and I were glued to the television for that pilot episode. So I completely digressed... I picked up the diary, I thought yeah!! I can really read about my girl, Miss Laura. I did. wow Bob Wow. You learn almost everything. What a beautiful tortured soul. She gets this pony for her birthday (her 12th) she gets the diary. She is so innocent. Her and Maddie her cousin make out with boys, Donna Hayward is her best friend. Then a man named Bob starts to come in thru her window at night. She is so scared. If you are/were into this show/movie at all check out this great book. You'll be let in on some secrets, from the girl who is "filled with secrets."

The thing's that are revealed about Laura in this book are like 10 times more f'd up than anything you learn from the actual show; seriously messed up sexual fantasies and stories of abuse... more explicit than I'd imagined it'd be. You get a much better understanding of who she was and her entire situation. Definitely a worthy read for fans of Twin Peaks, but I can't say I'd recommend it for someone who's never watched the show. Jennifer Lynch isn't so great of a writer, but it kind of adds to the believability of the material since a 12-16 year old girl writing in a diary probably wouldn't write, or care to write, too well. Overall though, this book adds a good deal of depth to Laura as a person and sheds more light on relationships between those she interacted with... very cool things for fans of Twin Peaks.

this is a wonderful tale of innocense spinning out of control into a firey mass that explodes and then fades into darkness. i finished this book two days after it came out, which was in september 1990, at the tender age of 14. it forever changed my life. her experiences may be extreme, but this is a peek into any adolescent girl's diary and soul. this is a must for any twin peaks fan, but anyone would enjoy it even if they've never heard of twin peaks. it stands alone wonderfully and is a must as a companion.

Yes, I am familiar with the whole Laura Palmer story, but even so, I was not that impressed. I will admit that it grabbed me, and I ended up finishing the entire book in a few hours. The BOB dialogue bugged me, and I thought it was sort of cheesy. It made the whole idea of it being a "real" diary sort of unrealistic. I can, however, appreciate the way the story was about how drug/sex addiction and child abuse are interwined. So, for that I give it TWO stars, instead of one. (Oh, and by the way, to the person who mentioned the book "Go Ask Alice" --- it was a fake diary.)