Read this around publication - A stunning, albeit terrifying look at social medias role in the world. I have so far enjoyed everything David has written and this is no exception.

THIS BOOK IS QUEER. The central romance is an f/f romance. The boy and girl narrators do not get together. All the Lonely People is a warning about the internet and social media's propensity to attract bad seeds, the blurring of the line between reality and perception, and identity.

So at first I was hooked into this book but at some point began to loose interest, but I was determined and decided to finish it. Overall I did enjoy it but it was one that I flew threw.

So at first I was hooked into this book.
Then I reached a point where I got lost, then I found myself again.
I liked this twisted take on social media.
Definitely one to give a try

Read July 20

This was a really interesting book with a really unique concept. We follow Kat who lives her life largely online until cyberbullying forces her to delete everything, including inadvertently herself thanks to something called “The Fade”. Wesley, thanks to family troubles (which are only ever glossed over), is also very lonely and finds himself drawn into a toxic friendship with Kat’s cyberbullies and even helps them. But he starts to have doubts when his new “friends” join forces with an online gamer known for pranks and a stern anti-woman stance.

The Fade concept was interesting and well done but it seemed inconsistent in what can cause it, prevent it, or treat it. There’s a group that Wesley meets that want to Fade for some inexplicable reason. The leader, Safa, is already Fading and has chosen which life to piggyback based on the girl being further on in life, not unexpected as she’s older than Safa. The ending was a little disappointing though, love saves all is a little tired. Although the fact that it was a same sex pairing was nice but I’d have like to have seen more of Kat talking about her sexuality and how she felt about it. Also her final conversation with Wesley was disappointing. I can understand how Kat felt about everything but it would have been nice to see them overcoming everything and becoming friends. Or even acquaintances rather than “I never want to see you again”.

David Owen has become one of my favourite YA authors in recent years so even without hearing the synopsis of All The Lonely People, I was excited about his next book. When hearing the synopsis, I was even more excited as the plot was right up my street. It's safe to say that I loved All The Lonely People and it is definitely one of my favourite books of the year!

Although I loved the book by the end, I was really apprehensive about it in the beginning. I don't really know why but something really wasn't clicking. Maybe it was something to do with the narrative but I quickly got over it and came developed into the story.

I think that one of the reasons that I enjoyed the book was due to the story being told with two characters in mind, Kat and Wesley who were both well developed and both had complicated backstories. I think that both of them show the impact that the internet and social media can have on people. While I really empathised with Kat and loved her progression in the book especially coming to terms with herself, Wesley was a really interesting character. Also, David does not shy away from making his characters from working-class backgrounds and giving them hardships which again was a nice touch.

I think that it would have been so easy to make Wesley a really dislikable character but David Owen does not do this, he makes him a more complex character. I think that I was just blown away by what he did with the character and although a flawed character, he does explore the ideas surrounding toxic masculinity which is still everpresent in our society and which David explored more at YALC which I was lucky to attend.

I also think that the more speculative aspect of this book is surrounding the Lonely People which although not being real, reinforces the idea of loneliness that we all feel and how harming it can be. I also do like those in the club and especially like how Wesley was incorporated into the narrative. I also loved Safa and her relationship with Kat as it was an f/f relationship but it was slowly built through the novel and I really loved the end of the book.

It's safe to say that I loved this book. I devoured it mostly in the lead up to YALC so the long train journeys were a great help but I have to say that I was bewitched but the story but the ending definitely changed the book from a strong like to love. By the end, I was so wrapped up in the world and the characters that I was racing through the story and it just made me feel all the feels. What's better is that I haven't really stopped thinking about this book since so it's safe to say I love it!

The Verdict:

All The Lonely People is yet another great book by David Owen, perfect for those who feel lost in the world and feel the need to escape, delete and disappear and telling us that life is really worth living.

I had heard of David Owen for quite a while now, proving why YALC is such a success and that kind of breed of marketing. I had have heard some good things, saw Nicola's (Fantastic Book Dragon) tweets about his last-child, The Fallen Children, and had heard him talk on panels (quite funny actually, ten out of ten would recommend his events).

After reading his latest novel, I have to confirm that I, Lauren of ACityofBooks, will be purchasing David Owen's other two novels and will devour them (not literally, I'll just have to use my eyes).

Feeling lonely is something I feel like we can all relate to. Everyone at some point in their life will have that experience of what it is to be lonely and how disassociated it can make us feel, especially during our teens as we move schools, lose our rose-tinted specs, have friends drop and change, as well as having to deal with the chemical war-zone development of your body and mind. David Owen has written about loneliness as I have never seen before in YA, or in any book for that matter. It's the abstract captured onto the page that will entice you to keep turning the pages.

I find the idea of "fading" a horrifying one. Absolutely terrifying. In that way that I find horror films with the most mundane threats to be why I won't sleep at night. I really liked the way the portrayal of the fade was put across and having that experience in All the Lonely People. It was an intriguing way to explore the central themes within a liminal space.

This and the way Owen writes teens is something my brain can barely comprehend. They're flawed, and making stupid decisions - as we all have - but ultimately, they're relatable as we see these two protagonists, Wesley and Kat, scramble to find somewhere to fit in and be accepted.

I just want to make a little footnote and say: there's a small f/f romance involved that I didn't know was a thing until my heart was soaring. It's not a spoiler and I just wanted to briefly mention it. Another reason why this book was great - a small dose of LGBT+ rep.

Wasn't able to read and review book before it was removed from my e-reader


Everyone tells Kat that her online personality - confident, funny, opinionated - isn't her true self. Kat knows otherwise. The internet is her only way to cope with a bad day, chat with friends who get all her references, make someone laugh. But when she becomes the target of an alt-right trolling campaign, she feels she has no option but to Escape, Delete, Disappear.

With her social media shut down, her website erased, her entire online identity void, Kat feels she has cut away her very core: without her virtual self, who is she?

She brought it on herself. Or so Wesley keeps telling himself as he dismantles Kat's world. It's different, seeing one of his victims in real life and not inside a computer screen - but he's in too far to back out now.

As soon as Kat disappears from the online world, her physical body begins to fade and while everybody else forgets that she exists, Wesley realises he is the only one left who remembers her. Overcome by remorse for what he has done, Wesley resolves to stop her disappearing completely. It might just be the only way to save himself.

I found this book hard to read. I know that the topics it deals with are real, they happen everyday, but something about this book felt overly..."edgy". That said, I still enjoyed it!

This was quite different to how I anticipated it to be. In a good way, I think.
The protagonist is Kat, and young feminist who loves <em>Doctor Backwash </em>and the YouTuber Tinker. As a fan of Tinker, Kat becomes the victim of a lot of online abuse. Slowly, she has to delete her entire online presence, including her YouTube account and her personal, custom-designed website. For so long, the online communities have been the only place she really felt she belonged. Now it was all gone.
The 'fade' that Kat experiences is very interesting. Suddenly nobody remembers her. Except one of the boys responsible for her disappearance, Wesley. He's determined to find out what happened. Even if it's just to alleviate his own overwhelming guilt.
There are a lot of important messages throughout this book, mostly about feminism and masculinity. The theme of sexism and abuse is huge. I did feel like it was maybe a bit exaggerated in places, but actually it does happen like that, sadly.
Kat also finds herself building a vital relationship during the fade, with another girl who is fading. Safa was one of a group of people, called 'the lonely people', who actively <em>tried </em>to fade. Like Kat, she is all but forgotten by the rest of the world.
The magic realism was great. It really felt like this was <em>possible</em>, if rather improbable. It was intriguing and exciting, especially when Kat discovers that a extremely sexist YouTuber is planning something bad. How is she going to stop him when no one can even see her?
I really enjoyed this book. It had emotional moments, funny moments, and plenty of endearing moments. Wesley is a problematic character but he learns from his mistakes, and definitely grows more mature throughout the book. I'm giving this 4 to 4.5 stars.

This was my first David Owen book and I just know I will be going in for more in the future! I loved the queer romance, as well as the whole premise of the story. The story was real and interesting and thought provoking and had me staring into space thinking about it after every chapter (this is a good thing). More, please!

Yes. Just yes to all of this.

f/f romance that's friendship turned to more, oddly poignant metaphor for when you're so attached to how you perceive yourself online vs. offline you disconnect from the real world, subverting expectations of main boy and girl getting together, a sweet side-quest mystery! This whole book is masterful, and made me stop and think about personas and living more online than off.

Everything works so well, and I was so invested in these characters lives, and honestly moved by the story David Owen told. Seriously, his best yet.

I really liked this one a ya contemporary about loneliness amongst other things. The words just flow of the page, emotional at some points and satisfying.

The book captures the pain of finding oneself and ones place in the world during puberty. I think it is a very good add-on to all the books about online-harassment, living in a digital world, feminism and finding ones voice.

It was fantastic to read a book which looked at the effects of toxic masculinity on both a female and male character.
Wesley has found himself drawn into a world of trolling and misogyny just to feel less alone, to be part of a group. Kat has found herself isolated due to the attacks from Wesley and some other boys. The book focuses upon the effects that loneliness can have in this digital world.
I absolutely loved the magic realism of the plot- a really subtle Sci Fi. This is the first book by David Owen that I have read but I’ll certainly now be seeking out more by him.

An interesting concept which really made me dwell on how much we all use social media. I love it and use it daily but what if all that was taken away. It was a great read which made me think.

This is a book that makes me so glad that social media wasn't around when I was growing up. Even as an adult I often feel freer and more myself online than I do in person, so it is easy to see how an online presence can become all-consuming for a shy teenager. David Owen's premise that a person's online life can be so encompassing that without it you just fade away out of existence is a thought-provoking one, which also highlights the damage that can be done through cyber-bullying. There is a lot of debate that could be had about the contents of this book. I found it interesting that as well as showing the effects of the bullying on Kat, Owen also chose to include the story of Wesley, one of Kat's tormentors, and the remorse he shows when he realises what has happened as a result of the cruel "tricks" his friends had played on her. The book addresses the importance of being comfortable in your own skin and not losing sight of who you are, and this is reflected in both Kat and Wesley's stories as they struggle to find their place in the world.

his book blew me away! It is a sci-fi/magical realism book that is emotional and just really addictive. I instantly connected to the main protagonist, Kat, as the life she has built online is struck down and she is left with a literal emptiness that has her starting to fade from the world. I could not have seen how the book would end when I first read it but I really loved how it did. While this book touches on so many topics - online life, feminism, male violence, marches, etc - the main theme it focuses on is finding a reason to leave in the world - finding your people. If you're not aware, I absolutely love friendship books and at the heart of it, this is a very strong friendship book so this is just another reason I loved it!
Honestly, this book is just such an amazing and unique read that I would highly recommend! I will warn you though, there is quite a bit of male authoritative moments (or anti-feminism) in it so if you really can't read about that, avoid this book. It's important that this is in the book but I know it may be a bit of a trigger for some.
So... Do go pick this book up!

I am loving the surge happening in the YA/Teens/Children’s Fiction genre that is purposely trying to lift young people up. Trying to make them see real life, see themselves, see each other. To be kind, not only to yourself, but to others. To understand that yes, life isn’t a bed of roses, but hey you can get through it. To try stay strong even when you don’t think you can. And not allow your fears to pierce deep enough to ruin you! It is so fucking amazing! And I am so inspired by the authors giving us books like this to read. Making a bloody difference!! You are all superstars!

David Owen is one of those authors I’m praising. All The Lonely People is everything and more I have mentioned above. He has given us a poignant, startling, fascinating and heart wrenching take on self-identity, feminism,

online bullying, trolling, right-wing hate groups, anxiety, depression, fear and friendship…. no seriously, the list is on going. It is more than just good.

Now you will know what I’m like and that I’m seriously hard to please so of course I have to be honest with you and me here. I defo heard the groans then from you all 😂 so I enjoyed the book immensely. The premise is remarkable. It’s original. It’s giving out love and hope to the world, it’s true and it’s living, but and it’s a big but mind, I needed more. I know, I know 🤦🏻‍♀️ It’s two small things do nothing excessive or damning.

Why? So without going to much into it and spoiling the book here because I really do recommend you read it and I’m not being responsible for spoiling anything.

1) It lacked depth of character. I wanted to know more about Kat and Safa. Their back stories are very important especially Safa’s who we don’t get told anything about which is frustrating.

2) I also found that dismissing online friendships and just concentrating on the toxic side of the internet was very harsh. There are going to be a lot lot of people who will read this book because of the pull of loneliness. I’m guessing that they may just question themselves, if like Kat, they spend more time online with friends that they do in what I suppose is real life. Real life is the internet too though and friendships are made every single day. They should never be dismissed.

This is so hard to explain. I’m not dissing this at all, I think Owen has portrayed the twat side of the internet perfectly, he really has. However, for someone who writes with such care and honesty that could have been incorporated into the read somehow.

Now I’ve got that of me chest back to the good!

I honestly recommend this book to any age group, gender, sexuality, anyone who has ever felt lost, lonely, insecure or/and afraid. So obviously the whole world then. It has the same message to us all. You are you and you should be proud of that. You should always relate kindly to others, but most importantly to yourself. Be empathetic, be courteous, be love and be loved. You are important no matter what anybody says or does! You have something to offer this world. You are the only one of you and the only one who can offer that uniqueness and light inside you to others. It’s a great book. In fact, it is a wonderful book and I honestly with all my heart hope it gets the recognition it deserves. Even though I’m a bad tit who took a point away from it. Sorry David 👎🏻

A rambling mess of a review for sure but it’s 4am I’ve just finished reading and I’m a tad bit angry at the world right now for the shit inside it and the horrors that take joy into being dismissive, volatile and horrible. Be kind people, you never know what’s happening behind closed doors and in people’s lives.

Can I just say here as well that as a mother of two teenage boys who used to read a lot and now don’t I’m going to try my absolute best to get them to read this because I think it would be extremely beneficial to them. I’m also going to be speaking to their school too. I am going to see if I can donate copies to their library so the children there who may never get a chance to see or hear about it, do. I am so glad I didn’t grow up in a digital world that’s for sure.

Go buy this book! It’s a small light of hope for the forgotten and a whole lot of love for the world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5

All The Lonely People is a book that so many readers will be able to relate to. It deftly explores the effects of social media in a way that I’ve not seen in YA books before and ultimately takes a close look at how lonely people can feel in this modern world. I loved how honest the portrayal of Kat’s fading from the world was. So many of us have built up our online profiles but how different are they to our real life? Do we live vicariously through our own online personas? I thought this book had some really thought provoking messages and it definitely left me thinking and questioning my own online profiles and social media usage.

I loved the idea of your existence literally fading without your online profile being active. The fact that without your online profiles you could easily fade out of everyone’s lives and go totally unnoticed to the point where you are completely forgotten about is both terrifying and thought provoking.

Whilst this book had an interesting spin on the extent to which social media can affect a teenagers life, it also took a glimpse at the much darker side of social media. The side where young boys (especially) can be indoctrinated by online alt-right communities and how this can affect their lives and choices too. There is more to the online trolling in this book than you first think and it shows the quite shocking lengths to which some young people may go to in order to be part of the ‘in crowd’.

I really liked both of the main protagonists. Kat, who is fading from existence after being trolled online, was a strong willed and fierce protagonist. I could easily empathise with how she was feeling having lost her online life and really would like to give her a big old hug. I also really liked Wes, for all his faults. I liked the way the story between the two played out by the end and also getting to read the contrasting complexities of their individual lives but how their choices ended up taking them down quite different routes.

Overall I thought All The Lonely People was a brilliant read. A timely and thought provoking novel that will leave your mind pondering your own relationship to the Internet.