I really enjoyed this book. Teenagers get the chance to meet their favourite author and spend time with her, only to find out that she has been using them as "inspiration" for her new book. I thought it was a fascinating concept, and the format was different, but not so different that I found it hard to follow. Each time I picked up the book I would be sucked right back in. As the students get to know the author, we do too, though she still felt mysterious and like a third party who wasn't entirely there. It kind of felt like one of those TrueCrime shows where you get interviews and then dramatized flashbacks. I liked the way the author showed the prevalence of social media, without resorting to text speak.

I was so intrigued with the plot—four teens befriended their favourite author which for book lovers is pretty much like befriending your favourite celebrity. I was hooked right from the very beginning, I went in this story with no expectations whatsoever, without knowing firsthand even a glimpse of what this book is about and I finished it with my mind blown out of proportion. This book was that good.

Right from the start, the characters have been hinting about something terrible that happened with Jonah and that made me even more eager to find out what had happened to him. Jonah is an interesting character who seeks a second chance, got it but then it was taken away from him.

Miri is someone who when she gets obsessed with something, especially something that she loves, she would never let it go and will continue to stand with her stance and her beliefs.

I'm sorry to say this but Penny, you really are a side character. You're just not interesting enough to be one of the main characters. She's just basic.

Soleil was too dependant on Fatima. She asks for her advice for everything she does and everything that she's about to do. Yes, Fatima was like a role model to them but she's a human being too, an identity of her own and I'm sure she's very much capable of making her own life choices.

I would like to know if there was a hidden motive behind Fatima Ro as she gets closer to these four teens beside for gaining inspiration out of them. I wonder, what made her chose them instead of other people. She just seems suspicious to me.

I cannot recommend you this book enough. It's so entirely different from anything you will ever read and it'll make you crave for more.

A smart structure and an intriguing mystery - multiple narratives centred on a shared experience is always interesting to me, and this book is clever and gripping.

I don't know why, but I liked this more than loved it, which was unexpected. Definitely worth a read though!

This was such an unexpectedly good read!
I've never been one for thrillers/mysteries, but this was truly entertaining.

First of all, the setup and presentation sort of reminded me of a contemporary Illuminae. There was a variety of different forms of writing - interviews, journal entries and novel chapters. This made the storyline that much more interesting. It also helped in separating the voices of all of the main characters which I think was a great idea.

Another interesting thing to note is that it felt like the author put forth the first girl's perspective, Miri's, and as readers we are wired to root for the first narrative voice we hear from. As the storyline progresses you get a shock because you start to realise that maybe you want to root for on of the other girls in the group. This definitely posed a great idea for discussion, that I would encourage many other readers to think about, particularly if you choose this book (and I highly recommend that you do) to be read in a book club, to discuss.

The atmosphere was extremely chilling and eerie. Not in a horror/slasher-sense, but it was like being on the edge of a cliff not knowing where the story was going. I know that that is supposedly how most novels are meant to go, but this storyline was truly unpredictable.
I kept trying to relate the atmosphere of this book to others forms of storytelling and I have to say it's like Spring Breakers meets, Castle, meets Kill the Boy Band. That's the best I can explain it anyhow.

I don't think I can put into words how truly eerie, discomforting but overall how very intriguing this book was as a whole. I think it's something that you just have to read for yourself, because I do think that this is a must-read for all.

Thank you NetGalley.
A group of teens go to a book signing and end up being befriended by the author. They are given unlimited access to her home and time, and she seems genuinely interested in getting to know them. Except, then her latest book is published and it is - in fact - the story of their lives.
The book idea itself was fascinating. I liked the inclusion of excerpts from the fictional book. Unfortunately, the group of teens were not particularly interesting characters. They had potential to be, but they were focused on in relation to the fictional book so we don’t see much beyond the surface.
Stylistically it feels choppy. We cut from interview to interview, to messages, to novel excerpts and it’s difficult to get a sense of quite where it’s going. It always felt like we were second guessing events/characters and those I’d really like to have heard from we’re not given a voice.
An intriguing idea, but one which didn’t quite come together for me.

"There's that fine line between genius and batshit crazy"

* * *
3 / 5

What a wild, bold, confusing, ethically provocative, crazy, page-turning, and somewhat unsatisfying book. It's rare that a book can evoke so many emotions in me, but All of This Is True made me run the whole gamut - interest, anger, joy, frustration, eagerness, and annoyance. I reckon this is going to be a hit and it deserves it.

"We befriended Fatima because she's a writer. You can't hug a lion and then he surprised when he bites you"

Miri, Soleil, and Penny are the holy triad of friends; previously united by their love of parties, the trio are now bound by their love of YA book Undertow. Together with their new mysterious friend Jonah, they plot to meet the book's author Fatima Ro. Imagine their surprise when not only is this charming, delightful, and captivating young woman interested in chatting to them, she actually invites them into her lives!

It is only later, when they are enraptured by her theories about human interactions and forming relationships, when they have spilled their secrets to Fatima, that her darker nature becomes apparent. Then Fatima writes a book about them, about all of them, in a meta/inception-like fashion, and it has darker consequences than any of them might have imagined. The friends now divided, the book weaves together the narrative from interviews and journal entries from the three girls after the events have already happened, alongside excerpts from the book that Fatima writes.

"For months I wanted to know: What are you thinking? What are you hiding? What are you weighing? But now that he's told me, I can't unknow"

Honestly, it was such a cool idea. And even better, it really kind of worked. All of This Is True was such a page-turner, I desperately wanted to know what secret had ripped the friends apart, what had Fatima done, what was the fallout from this novel? Why was Miri so defensive of Fatima, why was Soleil so heartbroken, why was Penny so upset? Why? There was something so intriguing and authentic and creepy about Fatima Ro, a woman who got close with a bunch of seventeen year olds, who seemed kind and honest and then took their lives and wrote them into a book.

So what didn't work? First off, about half the book consists of excerpts from Fatima's book: The Absolution of Brady Stevenson. This book is crap. I would not have read that book. It read so empty and fake compared to the "real" characters, which may very well have been the point, but it was annoying to read. Then, each character is doubled: there is the "real" person - Miri, Penny, Jonah, Soleil, Fatima - and their book-within-a-book counterpart - Marni, Brady, Sunny, Thora, and Paloma - so it never feels like you can really connect with each character.

"He was desperate to be rewritten"

Added to that, when I finished the book there was this sense of being unsatisfied. I still had so many questions! Who was Fatima? Is the question at the top of that list. Obviously, part of the point was to leave the reader to have their own answers, but as a reader I do want to feel like the book has given me some answers, some conclusive ending.

All of This Is True is a wonderfully original, bold, wild, ambitious book. I've never read anything quite like it. But it also manages to be a bit too pretentious.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.

I was so intrigued by the premise of the book. I love teen books which a self-aware and are able to poke fun at the generic conventions of the genre. However, sadly I did not feel the potential of this novel was maximized. For me, the format of the novel didn't work, I didn't get a chance to fully be pulled in. I found the characters a little hard to differentiate and slowly began to lose focus.

That being said, the voice truly felt like that of a bunch of teenage girls. Those who are trying hard to be seen as more than what people see. That was really well done.

I really wanted to like this book. It has such an interesting concept but unfortunately, the whole thing just fell totally flat for me.

For one, I was very disappointed with the supposed "twist" in this novel. It was obvious to me from the very getgo, and was less of a twist than just... lack of communication? Convenient assumptions on the part of the characters? Naivety of the characters? It just seemed really convenient that none of the character ever thought to question what they were told, even though time and again it was obvious (not just to me, as a reader, but just OBVIOUS OBVIOUS) that lies were being told. Even if they were white lies or whatever.

The characters were also... difficult to connect with. At least for me. I didn't understand Miri's motivations at all, nor her devotion of Fatima. From the way she acts, it seems like Miri wants to be the center of attention, she wants power, and her connection to Fatima was something that got her that. So why is she so defensive of Fatima after everything happens? Being defensive of her is not getting her anything? And they never really had that much of a real connection, anyway!

Soleil, Penny, and Jonah kind of got on my nerves a little as well. I felt like they were all a bit one-track, and they didn't feel very fleshed out to me as characters.

Also for a group of "friends" we basically never see them act like they're friends. They seem to legitimately dislike each other most of the time, and not like... in an interesting way. But to get invested in friendships falling apart, I need to see that a friendship exists? Even if it's a complicated and messy friendship. But honestly, Soleil, Penny, and Miri barely seemed like friends at all.

Maybe it was a me thing, but honestly, I ended up skimming most of this book. I would have DNF'd but I was hoping that there really was a surprising twist at the end. But, unfortunately...

Content warning: manipulation, discussion of a sexual abuse scandal, bullying.

In my notes for this book, I’ve written (amongst other things) “this book is strange and uncomfortable” which is entirely true. It sounds very negative, but I can’t say I enjoyed reading this book because it isn’t enjoyable to read about characters being manipulated and in some ways emotionally abused. However, this book was engaging from the start, the multiple points of view made the story play out in many ways and you get the sense of mystery and intrigue that the title belies.

Part of the reason this book is so timely is in the context of the world as we know it today and the publishing world where certain allegations of inappropriate (and/or illegal) behaviour are being brought to light. The dangers of idolising individuals have never been more apparent and this book pulls one potential scenario out into a harrowing tale of misplaced trust. They say never meet your heroes, and this book just proves it.

This is a very meta story, at one point you’ve got characters within a book, referred to within a book that is itself in a book. Those layers could get a little confusing, but I think it adds to the general question of what is true (what is the truth?) within this book. There are so many conflicting ideas and storylines that as a reader you must pick apart the words within the dialogue and work out what you think is the truth. The way these stories are told (a fiction book, serialised diary entries and recorded interviews) also adds to that sense of things not quite being told as they were. It is through the contradictions between the different stories that you begin to piece together what might have happened.

So, you can see, by how hard a time I’m having writing about it, that this is a complicated book. To add to that, it also has complicated characters. At first, I was utterly convinced that the girls in this book were the most inane teenagers that could ever have existed and I wasn’t overly fussed by what happened to them. However, as the degree to which they were manipulated starts to become apparent, you do gain a new appreciation for the subtleties of their characters. Again, the way the story is told is important. Through little asides in interviews you can see through the façade the character is presenting, adding a dimension that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

As I say, I don’t have a huge amount of experience for this genre, and someone who has read a greater number of thrillers than me might have a completely different experience. While I won’t say I enjoyed the book because it’s a difficult subject to explore, I was engaged throughout and it certainly drew me in.

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the different format of this book. The writing was good and seeing the story from multiple different opinions added depth. My one complaint was that I saw the majority of the big twist coming a long way out, though I still enjoyed the journey to get there.

Thanks Netgalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those books that you've heard whispers about, and there's a bunch of hype, but you don't really know what the book is about. I'd seen it on Netgalley and requested it out of curiosity, but it wasn't until I was at the Orphan Monster Spy launch, listening to an agent describe the book to another blogger, that I became eager to read it.

I have to say, I have very mixed feelings about the novel. Part of the problem is most definitely with the e-book ARC I got. The book isn't straight prose, the way most novels are-- instead it is a blend of interview portions [giving us Penny's and Miri's perspectives], published diary entries for Soleil's POV and excerpts from the 'published' controversial book written about the characters. Which really appealed to me, except for the fact that my Netgalley copy did this weird thing where it frequently split sentences into one line per page and then I got about six blank pages before the next sentence. There were times when it mixed up the order of lines, such as telling me halfway through the 'excerpt' sections that it was an excerpt, by which point it was obvious, and there were two instances where there seemed to be a page missing. No big deal considering there's usually a couple of teething problems with Netgalley copies, but it was pretty frustrating after a while, and I'd be uncertain about ordering a finished kindle copy since it seems a difficult format for an e-book. 

Anyhow, the format was kinda cool, with all the different sections. I liked how it gave you lots of characters' perspectives of events without doing the usual thing of plain narrative. It was quite important to get all the different views, because each of the characters has a different outlook on the events unfolding in the book. Miri still idolizes the author, while Soleil has distanced herself from the whole thing. Penny's perspective was perhaps the most interesting-- she's shown as a bit of a ditz, caring more about clothes and looking good and socializing rather than being interested in the author or her work, but she actually has what might be the most intelligent opinion about the whole controversy. She shows a lot of hidden wit in her sections, and she was probably my favourite character by far.

I think what bothered me most about this book is what it could have been. I was interested in seeing how the relationship developed between the author and the students, and I liked the sound of a book which explored the relationship between writer and fans. After all, there's a sense of responsibility there, a sense that the author has to be careful of how they influence others, and the impression they leave on their readers. It's a really great concept for a book. Except, here, I think it falls a bit flat. For a start, I didn't really like how quickly the relationship developed-- from what I recall, the author meets them at an event, ends up getting coffee with them and then suddenly she starts inviting them to parties at her house. I know this is probably the dream of many readers obsessed with their favourite authors, but I couldn't help but cringe a bit. These are meant to be high school kids, and the author is in her mid-twenties. Their parents all know about their relationship, and mostly encourage it despite having never met the author in person, but I'm left thinking that that's really bad parenting? If I started hanging around with a 24 year-old adult at sixteen or seventeen, my parents might have been okay with it, but they would have definitely insisted on meeting that person first, and might still have been a bit hesitant at the thought of me hanging out in their home. It just didn't seem all that believable to me. I suppose part of the problem is that I had read the synopsis, and I knew those kids were going to be manipulated, which made me doubt every move she made to appear kind and friendly to them. Which in turn, made me question why they couldn't see her actions as sketchy too. I guess hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The other problem I had, which is really the same issue, is that the reader finds out pretty much all of the plot at the start of the book, by reading a few pages and reading the synopsis. There's a couple of twists thrown into the mix, but I couldn't help but feel a bit let down that it was all over about three chapters in. We find out very early on that Jonah is in a coma, having been attacked by a bunch of guys. Sure, we don't know why they attacked him exactly but we do know people think it's the author's fault because of what she wrote about him. It's as though All of This is True is trying to be a YA version of The Secret History, since it's more of a why-dunnit than anything else, but it doesn't quite hit the mark there. The Secret History was much more satisfying, in my opinion. There was depth to it. This novel, as interesting as the concept was, gave too much away too early on.  We knew Fatima had essentially stolen their story and turned it into a novel, using all their secrets and lies. And although there were a few twists, they didn't leave me reeling in shock. I merely shrugged and turned the page.

I'm giving All of This is True a 6.5/10. I loved the idea of the novel, and I thought with a touch more subtlety it could have opened up a very interesting debate about the role and responsibility of authors to their fans, but overall I thought too much of the plot was given away by the synopsis and the first few chapters.

All Of This Is True is a book that has the same problems as Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell. This problem is that you cannot write a book inside a book that has the same narrative voice. Fatima Ro’s novel sound exactly the same as Miri, Soleil, and Penny’s voices, and why should I be interested in a separate book that is exactly the same as the book I’m currently reading? If Fatima’s work is so amazing, why is it written in the same childish YA tone?

I had troubles with this book because clearly, Miri, the girl we are meant to hate, is right. She has no sympathy for Jonah, and the disgusting horrible things that he did, and we, the reader, shouldn’t either! He forced someone into a horrible sexual situation! He is practically a rapist! In no way am I going to be like ‘yes, he’s changed!’. I was pleased when he was brain dead! He was a horrible person! Miri is the only fucking girl who made any sense!

This book was a chore to get through, and combined with my Kindle App’s bad rendering of the text, I found myself skipping pages and pages to get to anything interesting. Soleil and Penny were boring and pathetic, and Fatima was a bitch. Honestly, very disappointing.

A good book, a bit slow at start but i enjoyed it and i could not put it down. I found it interesting, i havent read a book like it before as it is not the kind of book i normanly read.

Not often do books shoot straight to the top of my TBR, but the description was just too amazing.
This is literally the next read for anyone who loved Big Little Lies; this novel is a post trauma puzzle piece that will consume you completely.

Wow, what a book. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect when I picked this up, and I’m glad I didn’t – this is one of the most unique young adult novels I’ve read in years.

ALL OF THIS IS TRUE follows four teenagers – Miri, Soleil, Penny and Jonah – as they meet and befriend famous young adult author Fatima Ro, who wrote the smash hit novel Undertow. The story is told through magazine articles, television interviews, emails, diary entries, and excerpts from Fatima Ro’s sophomore novel, The Absolution of Brady Stevenson. And it’s this second novel that is so important – it quickly becomes apparent that it’s based off the four teens (as well as Fatima herself) and as such has become infamous for being part of a pretty major incident involving Jonah…

If you keep up on YA Twitter at all, you have probably been privy to drama involving authors and their readers (especially bloggers) – I’m not even talking about just one incident, there’s probably too many to count. Some of these incidents have involved authors and readers getting quite close – I’ve heard plenty of stuff about people being manipulating, or toxic, or controlling, or harassing. ALL OF THIS IS TRUE feels particularly relevant as it deals with a form of this toxic relationship – a theme of the novel is how Fatima manipulates and uses the teens for her own creative purposes, and the fallout from this.

Like all good gritty contemporary dramas, ALL OF THIS IS TRUE features some great twists, and unreliable narrators. I’ll admit sometimes I got a little confused and had to re-read pages because I didn’t know who was speaking (or if the events were happening in “reality” or in “fiction”) but this is where the book gets quite clever – once you’re about halfway through and it’s become clear who in The Absolution of Brady Stevenson is based off who, then the narrative starts alluding to events that we’ve only read parallel versions of. A bit hard to explain, but I’ll try: something happens in an excerpt of The Absolution of Brady Stevenson to fictional!character, who we know is based off real!character. The next chapter is told through emails involving real!character, who alludes to events that happened in the excerpt – we never saw the events unfold featuring real!character, we only saw them told with fictional!character.

Bit of a mind screw, but it makes sense when you’re reading it.

So, if you fancy something a bit dark, and a bit meta (some great commentary on writing and young adult fiction and fandom here), then you should give this a try. I will also mention that there’s quite a few mentions of a horrible incident of sexual assault, so tread carefully if you find this to be triggering.

A fantastic novel that gripped me from page one and refused to let go days after I'd finished...An intriguing mystery mixed with the mysterious real life/fiction of a group of friends who fall in with a best-selling author but as they discover, not all is a glamorous as it seems. Could not recommend highly enough!

A strange, meta novel about a novel, written in interviews, journal extracts and samples of the novel. I didn't mind the format, it's interesting, but the story itself didn't grip me, especially when I was basically getting it twice; the novel-within-the-novel mimics what's happening in the interviews and journals down to the word. I skipped about thirty percent in the middle and didn't feel I'd lost anything. It's interesting from a moral standpoint, though.

Enjoyable but not fantastic.

Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.

Couldn't finish. This is so boring and the characters are extremely annoying. I thought it was going to be more suspenseful or psychological but it's a bunch of rich teen girls speaking and typing in "OMG"s. Apparently there is something shocking and/or twisty coming, but I have no interest in finding out what it is.