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ALL OF THIS IS TRUE

Name: ALL OF THIS IS TRUE
Author: Lygia Day Peñaflor
ISBN: 978-0-06-267365-7

A NOVEL

by Lygia Day Peñaflor ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2018

Utterly addictive and psychologically delectable—Peñaflor’s (Unscripted Joss Byrd, 2016) second novel will shock at every...

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Four privileged Long Island teens befriend their favorite YA author with disastrous results.

Soon after their first encounter at a book signing, the bewitching and charismatic Fatima Ro—23-year-old author of Undertow—takes four of her teenage worshippers under her wing. Snobbish Miri Tan is the self-proclaimed leader of their school’s Undertow Society, giddy fangirl Soleil Johnston carefully documents every one of her interactions with Ro, ditzy Penny Panzarella kindly helps out around the author’s house after being given a key, and socially isolated Jonah Nicholls harbors an emotional attachment to Ro’s story. But when she very obviously writes them into her next novel, The Absolution of Brady Stevenson, the teens’ rose-tinted glasses are shattered, painful truths are uncovered—and, most shocking of all, Jonah is attacked and ends up in a coma. The story is related via a mixture of formats, including video interview transcripts, magazine articles, and passages from Ro’s second novel, with each providing insight into the characters’ individual relationships with the author. The weight of grief, authentic human connections, and whether life offers do-overs are all explored here. A lack of physical descriptions requires readers to speculate about characters’ ethnicities based on the diversity of their names.

Utterly addictive and psychologically delectable—Peñaflor’s (Unscripted Joss Byrd, 2016) second novel will shock at every twist and turn. (Fiction. 13-18)

Pub Date: May 15, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-267365-7

Page Count: 432

Publisher: HarperTeen

Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
CREEP
by Lygia Day Peñaflor

- BOOK REVIEW
UNSCRIPTED JOSS BYRD
by Lygia Day Peñaflor

- PROFILES
Lygia Day Peñaflor

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THE WAY I USED TO BE

by Amber Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 22, 2016

Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)

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In the three years following Eden’s brutal rape by her brother’s best friend, Kevin, she descends into anger, isolation, and promiscuity.

Eden’s silence about the assault is cemented by both Kevin’s confident assurance that if she tells anyone, “No one will ever believe you. You know that. No one. Not ever,” and a chillingly believable death threat. For the remainder of Eden’s freshman year, she withdraws from her family and becomes increasingly full of hatred for Kevin and the world she feels failed to protect her. But when a friend mentions that she’s “reinventing” herself, Eden embarks on a hopeful plan to do the same. She begins her sophomore year with new clothes and friendly smiles for her fellow students, which attract the romantic attentions of a kind senior athlete. But, bizarrely, Kevin’s younger sister goes on a smear campaign to label Eden a “totally slutty disgusting whore,” which sends Eden back toward self-destruction. Eden narrates in a tightly focused present tense how she withdraws again from nearly everyone and attempts to find comfort (or at least oblivion) through a series of nearly anonymous sexual encounters. This self-centeredness makes her relationships with other characters feel underdeveloped and even puzzling at times. Absent ethnic and cultural markers, Eden and her family and classmates are likely default white.

Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)

Pub Date: March 22, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4814-4935-9

Page Count: 384

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WAY I AM NOW
by Amber Smith

- BOOK REVIEW
CODE NAME: SERENDIPITY
by Amber Smith

- BOOK REVIEW
SOMETHING LIKE GRAVITY
by Amber Smith

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SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND

by David Valdes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 2022

A great read offering entertainment, encouragement, and plenty to reflect upon.

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A gay teen contends with time travel—and homophobia through the decades.

All Cuban American Luis wants is to be prom king with his boyfriend, but tiny upstate New York boarding school Antic Springs Academy, with its strict, Christian code of conduct, won’t even let them hold hands in public. After a disastrous prom committee meeting at which his attempt to make the event welcoming of queer couples is rejected by the principal, Luis gets quite literally knocked into the past—specifically, ASA in the year 1985. There he meets Chaz, a Black student who attended the school at the same time as Luis’ parents and who died under mysterious circumstances after being bullied for his sexuality. Luis now faces a choice between changing the past to help Chaz and preserving his own future existence. Fortunately, he has Ms. Silverthorn, a Black English teacher and beloved mentor, who offers him support in both timelines. The narrative explores the impacts of homophobia and being closeted, remaining optimistic without shying away from the more brutal aspects. Luis is a multifaceted character with an engaging voice whose flaws are confronted and examined throughout. The solid pacing and pleasant, fluid prose make this a page-turner. Luis’ boyfriend is cued as Chinese American, and his best friend is nonbinary; there is some diversity in ethnicity and sexuality in background characters, although the school is predominantly White.

A great read offering entertainment, encouragement, and plenty to reflect upon. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)