Page Count 437
Publication date May 2018/ Publisher Bloomsbury YA
Price £6.16 Purchased From: Amazon Kindle (10/08/18)
*****
“MIRI loves the novel Undertow like it’s a living being. So when she and her friends get the chance to meet the author, Fatima Ro, they plot a way to get closer to her. As for what happened with Jonah … Well, obviously none of that was Fatima’s fault.
SOLEIL wants to be a writer herself one day. She can’t believe it when Fatima asks them to hang out with her – and having Jonah there makes it even better.
PENNY is more than the party girl everyone thinks she is, and she’s willing to share her darkest secrets with Fatima to prove it. But what will happen when Fatima finds out about Jonah?
All of This Is True is a story of obsession and revenge, betrayal and forgiveness, and the devastating result of a secret that didn’t stay buried.”
*****
Switching between past and present in the form of interviews, memories, book excerpts and emails All Of This Is True tells the story of three student girl friends, the mysterious new boy (What’s with Jonah?) and their relationship with the author they idolise.
The story revolves around the characters more so than events, I found it slow going and repetitive at times. I’d guessed the entirety of the book before I was halfway through which always takes some of the enjoyment away for me. I was invested enough to keep turning pages though. In fact I finished All Of This Is True within 24 hours but it felt like a lazy Sunday watching trash tv, enjoyable but predictable.
On the surface the MCs are what you’d expect from generic teenage stereotypes; the jealous whiner, the love struck sensitive, the self-centred bossy type, a master manipulator and the quiet, mysterious newcomer. Thankfully as the story progresses so does their complexity and it was this alone that held my interest.
All Of This Is True explores themes of friendship, co-dependance, forgiveness and obsession in young adults and the lengths they will go to to fit in.
If you’re looking for an easy going read at a comfortable pace this is it, but if you’re looking for an eventful plot or a big reveal this may not be for you.
Have you read this book? What were your thoughts?
Roxanne’s Reactions:
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An Average Life 
I read this a while ago. I thought the idea was great but the way it was written could have been improved. I felt like there needed to be some narrative between all the media to make it less disjointed.
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