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lbourne08's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
strawberryvee's review
5.0
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I couldn’t have asked for a better first book of 2019 than this, (although yes I started it in 2018)
From the get go I was hooked, the whole premise of All The Lonely People is sO interesting and well executed! I found myself getting stressed on behalf of the characters, especially Kat who I want to protect at all costs although knowing her she wouldn’t need my help!
Gripping, intense and an f/f romance I can’t get enough of, David has done it again!
I couldn’t have asked for a better first book of 2019 than this, (although yes I started it in 2018)
From the get go I was hooked, the whole premise of All The Lonely People is sO interesting and well executed! I found myself getting stressed on behalf of the characters, especially Kat who I want to protect at all costs although knowing her she wouldn’t need my help!
Gripping, intense and an f/f romance I can’t get enough of, David has done it again!
yozhuan's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lottie1803's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thecrazyreader's review
DNF
Motivazione: quando ho iniziato il libro credevo che sarebbe diventato uno dei miei preferiti, ma sfortunatamente non sono riuscita ad andare oltre il 15%. Quando il fantasy ha cominciato a far parte della narrazione il libro ha smesso di interessarmi e per quel punto già non sopportavo più il personaggio maschile.
Motivazione: quando ho iniziato il libro credevo che sarebbe diventato uno dei miei preferiti, ma sfortunatamente non sono riuscita ad andare oltre il 15%. Quando il fantasy ha cominciato a far parte della narrazione il libro ha smesso di interessarmi e per quel punto già non sopportavo più il personaggio maschile.
emleemay's review
2.0
Edit: I didn't realize until it was pointed out in the comments that I accidentally stated Kat's romance was "with a boy", which it was not. I'm sorry for misleading anyone who read my review. I can only assume that I'm just so used to writing about that trope that I did it on autopilot. My thoughts on the romance haven't changed.
I still think this book has one of the most fascinating premises I've read all year. It is timely, terrifying and - at least in my experience - completely unique. It's a shame it just didn't love up to it.
[b: All the Lonely People|41576526|All the Lonely People|David Owen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1535704327s/41576526.jpg|64890952] is about a girl called Kat who deletes her entire online presence after she becomes the target of cyber-bullies. Once her online self is gone, Kat's physical body starts to fade (I would call this a magical realism novel). It is an attempt to explore the loss of an online identity-- when this carefully-crafted public persona is gone, who are we?
Owen does a good job of showing the toxic side of the Internet and social media. He touches upon trolling, right-wing hate groups, bullying and anxiety. However, I think some aspects seemed too simplistic and juvenile. These are teenagers, but the book often feels written for a younger audience than I expected.
For example, I think the ultimate dismissal of online friends and relationships lacks nuance. It's absolutely fair to be critical of the Internet, but as someone who has made some very real and important friendships online, I disliked the way the author seemed to decide that they were not a part of reality. I think it's a dangerous thing in general when we start to believe that online life is not "real life". I think it's exactly this idea that allows people to disassociate and bully others. It's easy to do when none of it's real, none of it counts toward your "real life", when you pretend there's not an actual human reading your comments.
But most of all, I was disappointed that it took a love story to pull Kat back to reality. It's a pet peeve of mine when someone - usually suffering from anxiety or something similar - is cured, rescued or given reason to go on by a romantic relationship. I think it sends a terrible message.
Great premise; poor execution.
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I still think this book has one of the most fascinating premises I've read all year. It is timely, terrifying and - at least in my experience - completely unique. It's a shame it just didn't love up to it.
[b: All the Lonely People|41576526|All the Lonely People|David Owen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1535704327s/41576526.jpg|64890952] is about a girl called Kat who deletes her entire online presence after she becomes the target of cyber-bullies. Once her online self is gone, Kat's physical body starts to fade (I would call this a magical realism novel). It is an attempt to explore the loss of an online identity-- when this carefully-crafted public persona is gone, who are we?
Owen does a good job of showing the toxic side of the Internet and social media. He touches upon trolling, right-wing hate groups, bullying and anxiety. However, I think some aspects seemed too simplistic and juvenile. These are teenagers, but the book often feels written for a younger audience than I expected.
For example, I think the ultimate dismissal of online friends and relationships lacks nuance. It's absolutely fair to be critical of the Internet, but as someone who has made some very real and important friendships online, I disliked the way the author seemed to decide that they were not a part of reality. I think it's a dangerous thing in general when we start to believe that online life is not "real life". I think it's exactly this idea that allows people to disassociate and bully others. It's easy to do when none of it's real, none of it counts toward your "real life", when you pretend there's not an actual human reading your comments.
But most of all, I was disappointed that it took a love story to pull Kat back to reality. It's a pet peeve of mine when someone - usually suffering from anxiety or something similar - is cured, rescued or given reason to go on by a romantic relationship. I think it sends a terrible message.
Great premise; poor execution.
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jennnaa_'s review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
patchworkbunny's review
4.0
Kat's whole life is online, so when she is targeted by trolls, she faces deleting her entire existence. Little does she know that feeling invisible to the world, is the first stage of the fade. Can she find a connection to stop her fading away for good? And does she want to?
The concept behind this reminds me a little of a Buffy episode where a girl is ignored so much she turns invisible. But in All the Lonely People, the forgotten slowly fade from existence too. Kat meets another girl fading at the same time as her, someone who might be her first real offline friend.
This is the first book I've come across that has attempted to explore the reasons why young men start trolling. It's very easy to have a knee-jerk reaction and say they are just bad people, but often they are lonely and vulnerable to the real bad guys. I think we all know there are ringleaders, who manipulate their followers whilst keeping plausible deniability when things goes wrong.
Wes just wants somewhere to belong, unfortunately the only place he can find that is an online community harbouring women-hating trolls. His father and older brother abandoned his family, leaving his single mother scraping by, relying on handouts and the kindness of strangers. He thinks that his father left him because he wasn't man enough, and he is determined to look after his mum and sister. David Owen does not make excuses for Wes, and his actions aren't absolved, but it does show how society is failing young men, leaving them open to indoctrination.
This book gets a lot about loneliness right and it's kind of heartbreaking that this reflects a huge chunk of society.
The concept behind this reminds me a little of a Buffy episode where a girl is ignored so much she turns invisible. But in All the Lonely People, the forgotten slowly fade from existence too. Kat meets another girl fading at the same time as her, someone who might be her first real offline friend.
This is the first book I've come across that has attempted to explore the reasons why young men start trolling. It's very easy to have a knee-jerk reaction and say they are just bad people, but often they are lonely and vulnerable to the real bad guys. I think we all know there are ringleaders, who manipulate their followers whilst keeping plausible deniability when things goes wrong.
Wes just wants somewhere to belong, unfortunately the only place he can find that is an online community harbouring women-hating trolls. His father and older brother abandoned his family, leaving his single mother scraping by, relying on handouts and the kindness of strangers. He thinks that his father left him because he wasn't man enough, and he is determined to look after his mum and sister. David Owen does not make excuses for Wes, and his actions aren't absolved, but it does show how society is failing young men, leaving them open to indoctrination.
This book gets a lot about loneliness right and it's kind of heartbreaking that this reflects a huge chunk of society.
alongreader's review
4.0
I wasn't expecting this to take the fantastical twist it did, but that's my own fault for not reading the whole blurb; I was too excited at seeing a new David Owen title. I've been a fan since Fallen Children last year. This one, despite its fantasy overtones, is just as gritty and real as Children, and, like it, manages to shine a light on problems that have become so common place in the last few years that we rarely think of them as problems anymore. The characters were real and relatable, including the side characters, which isn't easy. This is a brilliant read and I'll be eagerly awaiting the next novel Mr Owen graces us with.
Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.
Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.