Publishers Weekly
07/25/2022
Peñaflor (All of This Is True) chronicles a high school sophomore’s obsession with two fellow students’ relationship in this spine-chillingly disturbing novel. After dating for 10 months, Holy Family High School seniors Laney Villanueva and Nico Fiore have just had sex for the first time. Rafaela “Rafi” Wickham knows this because she’s been fanatically cataloguing their interactions (“I could watch them together all day, maybe forever. They’re that beautiful”). As punishment for a previous fixation, Rafi works in the school administrative office under the watchful eye of principal Father Philip. When she forges late passes for Laney and Nico, for which Laney declares her “the best,” Rafi—who feels that they’re now “in this together, the three of us”—begins inserting herself into their lives. She offers to babysit Nico’s younger sister and take the couple’s photos; they, in turn, invite her to parties and take her on joyrides. The trio continue growing closer, and it soon becomes clear that Rafi will do anything to maintain their friendship. Rafi’s matter-of-fact narration efficiently encapsulates her self-deception, boundless obsession, and increasingly delusional stalking, making for a compulsive read. Rafi and Nico cue as white; Laney is of Filipino descent. Ages 14–up. Agent: Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
[A] fast-paced psychological thriller” — Kirkus Reviews
“Rafi’s matter-of-fact narration efficiently encapsulates her self-deception, boundless obsession, and increasingly delusional stalking, making for a compulsive read.” — Publishers Weekly
“Both heart-pounding and troubling, this story is hard to put down and hard to shake.” — Booklist
“Quick-paced and suspenseful.” — School Library Journal
“An interesting, thought-provoking character case study à la The Talented Mr. Ripley…This is a book that will haunt [readers] for some time.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
School Library Journal
09/01/2022
Gr 9 Up—Peñaflor tells a tragic love story about a popular and beautiful Filipino couple, Laney Villanueva and Nico Fiore, who attend Holy Family High School. She does this through the perspective of Rafi, a sophomore girl who attends the same school and is dangerously obsessed with the couple. Rafi finds ways to insert herself into their lives (joining Laney's club, babysitting Nico's little sister, etc.) while fantasizing and stalking them, but when tragedy strikes the couple, she will do anything to keep them together. Rafi's personality is very disturbing and creepy as the title suggests, and it's clear that she suffers from severe mental illness that stems from childhood. Readers know that she feels guilt and abandonment surrounding her parents, but the plot lacks more of a back story on the subject. The author's writing is quick-paced and suspenseful, making it a very easy read, but the climax leads up to an abrupt ending that falls a bit flat, leaving readers with some unanswered questions. Students at the school are predominantly Filipino, with some Black, Latino, and mixed race students as well. VERDICT Recommended for teens who enjoy the obsessive love Netflix series You (based on the books by Caroline Kepnes).—Lacey Webster
Kirkus Reviews
2022-06-22
A love story between two teens, narrated by their stalker.
The cutest couple at Holy Family High School is definitely Laney Villanueva and Nico Fiore. They are popular, gorgeous seniors living a beautiful romance—and the target of sophomore Rafaela Wickham, the sole focus of her obsessive love. Drawn to them like a moth to the light, Rafi slowly but surely gets closer to Laney and Nico, conniving and manipulating events to ingratiate herself and find a way into every aspect of their lives. Her aim is to become one with them—one of their closest friends and the person they will turn to in their hour of need. And when challenges arrive, she does everything she can to help them stay together. It is, after all, the least she can do. This fast-paced psychological thriller is a disturbing, uncomfortable, heartbreaking journey into the mind of a young person who clearly needs help and attention; the text emphasizes this by showing the emotional fallout of her parents’ abandonment, including an alarming incident involving a beloved teacher. But this aspect is mostly bypassed in favor of creepy thrills, leaving a story that is often repetitive in its emotional beats and likely to leave readers craving more depth. Fans of stalker narratives may appreciate that element enough to enjoy the ride. Laney is Filipino American; Nico and Rafi are assumed White.
A creepy but hollow thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)
