Creep: A Love Story: A Twisted YA Thriller About Stalking the Perfect Couple to Tragedy

by Lygia Day Peñaflor

You  meets  To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before  in this twisted, tragic love story that follows Holy Family High School’s cutest couple—as told through the eyes of the classmate who’s stalking them. Laney Villanueva and Nico Fiore are the perfect beautiful, popular, talented, and hopelessly in love. Everyone looks up to them at Holy Family High School. But Rafi doesn’t just admire them. She watches them. She’s drawn to them. Intent on becoming their closest friend, Rafi weaves her way into their lives. She starts taking photos of the senior class for the yearbook, joining Laney’s club, and babysitting Nico's little sister. And it works—soon they invite her to parties, take her on joyrides, and ask her for favors. Rafi’s actions quickly turn invasive, delving deeper and deeper until she’s consumed by their most intimate secrets. When tragedy strikes the young lovers, Rafi’s obsession spirals, and she will do anything to keep the perfect couple together. Anything . . .

Genres: Young Adult, Thriller, Romance, Contemporary, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Mental Health

272 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2022

Reviews

[Erin Entrada Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved so much about this book. It was creepy, as promised, but there were other layers, too: moments of humor and sadness. Rafi was incredibly well-developed and believable, with lots of texture. Some of the saddest moments were also the most powerful, in my opinion.

As a writer, I also appreciated the writer's craft. She did a wonderful job of balancing Rafi's interior monologue in the moment, while slowly revealing backstory, and telegraphing cues that we understand, even if Rafi doesn't.

Loved this.

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have posted this review a few days ago, but I've been slacking. I guess I also wanted to think about it, because this book raised some conflicting emotions in me. But when my book BFF Nenia finished and posted her review, I figured it was time for me to untangle my thoughts too.

This was an intense read. Rafi was the perfect unreliable narrator, because you can tell she believes everything she tells herself, but you, the reader, can see the truth of what's happening. Her fixation on Nico and Laney is so disturbing, but it's written so well that it's hard to look away. Some of the writing is actually so emotional and heartbreaking, and it surprised me in a good way.

The book didn't end the way I thought it would. It disappointed me, honestly. There was such a beautiful build-up, and the flap seemed to promise something crazy, that the ending felt anticlimactic. Still, I'm impressed with what the author created here.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review coming soon.

[laevenii · Rating 1 out of 5]

wow… where do I even begin…
I picked up this book because of the cool cover and interesting synopsis. HOWEVER,, there were just so many problems with this book that I couldn’t ignore

1. Pacing
The book is 264 pages and only starts to pick up in the last 60 or so. The rest of the 200 are the most gruelling, boring and repetitive events to read. From the very beginning, it is established that Rafi is a creep. She is obsessed over the school’s cutest couple and will do anything to see them together. great! We get it. Instead of diving deeper into this obsession, the same points and acts are repeated and repeated and repeated. Rafi is obsessed with this couple, she finds ways to talk to them, be near them, take pictures of them blah blah blah. After 200 pages of nearly the same events being beaten into the ground, I started to get incredibly bored. There wasn’t any suspense building up, no stakes being raised, nothing. For a thriller, there was a severe lack of thrill.

2. Character development
(Or lack thereof) SERIOUSLY?? Girl did not get any character development throughout the book. Rafi starts off as a creep and ends up as one too. Maybe it was intentional? But I feel like to not give her any character development seems like such a missed opportunity. She mentions towards the end of the book, how she is determined to be better than her mom and start to set things right at school. And her last encounter with Mr. Bryant seemed like she was finally acknowledging her stalking and obsession issues and the root cause of them. Instead of expanding on dissecting these problem , the author glosses over them and Rafi continues to breath down the couple’s necks.

3. Unexpanded storylines
Kinda related to the previous point but I think the fact that so many of Rafi’s issues stem from a lack of strong family bond, and parent issues were important elements to the story and they felt pretty neglected. There were basically no interactions with Rafi and her parents which make sense since they don’t live with each other. Aside from some texts we see from her mom there’s nothing else to go off of from their family’s relationship. But even so, I think the author still could have included more conversations with the grandparents? How they felt about Rafi’s actions, how they felt when their daughter was pregnant, etc etc. It was also said that the first time Rafi was caught stalking, her dad was notified. and yet we were not told of his reaction?? Which could help us better understand their dynamics? I think this hurts the story and just flattens it and makes it more superficial. Also the relationship with Jenna could have also been expanded on. I felt like she just randomly appeared in parts of the book and disappeared.

3.5. Dialogue
Idk man I feel like some sentences had nothing to do with the plot just went on and on. It felt so boring and unnecessary.

It took me 3 months to finish this book…and I only read it out of spite and because this was a library book and my hold was about to expire. The one positive thing I will say is that I think the author did a great job of making Rafi such a creepy protagonist… some scenes just felt so intrusive and gross that you can’t help from cringing and getting second hand embarrassment for Rafi. I think this book had the potential but it just fell flat for me.

[Living My Best Book Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creep is just as the title says. It's creepy and obsessive, yet I couldn't help but want to keep reading to see how it all played out. This is perfect for fans of 'You'!

Rafi is a teenage girl obsessed with her high school's 'It Couple'. The story is told from her perspective as she finds ways to get closer to the couple, Laney and Nico. This is more than just wanting to fit in for Rafi. She wants to feel love and belonging.

As I was reading, I kept thinking how eerily fascinating this book is. The writing is so engaging and creepy. It's a combo that few get right. And Lygia Day Peñaflor really hit it out of the park.

I think what was so interesting about this book was seeing the love story play out. Laney and Nico are high school sweethearts who I would root for too. They have their ups and downs but deep down you know that they are going to make it. That is one of the reasons that Rafi is so drawn to them. As she starts weaving her way into their lives, her obsession continues to grow. Rafi is such a complex character because as you understand some of her reasoning behind her choices you almost feel a bit empathetic. And then she does something that makes you think 'Oh this is crossing the line.' For me, I was constantly changing from feeling for her and thinking she was way passed obsession.

I give Creep 5 stars. It is a read that is a must-read for fans of the show and book 'You'. It gives off so many Joe Goldberg vibes. It's an intriguing read that I couldn't put down! The unexpected choices of the main character Rafi make everything so suspenseful. The author did a fantastic job of sucking you in and bringing you into this world of a teenage stalker.

[Caleb Roehrig · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Best Friend’s Wedding meets YOU, and in the most entertaining possible way. Rafi is one of the most compelling characters I’ve come across in a long time—someone you can’t help but like and feel sorry for, even when you can’t approve of a single thing she does. That’s a touch balancing act, but wow did I enjoy this!

[Christine Hazel Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof. To be honest, I wouldn’t have finished this book if I weren’t reviewing it.

Rafi is a sophomore in high school that finds herself obsessed with the senior “it” couple at her school: Nico Fiore and Laney Villanueva. A few pages into the novel, it’s clear that Ravi’s obsession quickly devolves into outright stalking. Throughout the school year, Rafi inserts herself as much as possible into Nico and Laney’s love story, ending in dire consequences.

I will give Lygia Day Peñaflor all the props for coming up with an original angle. I haven’t read anything like this before! I think what really bothered me was having Rafi as both the main character and narrator. The reader ends up feeling just as stalker-ish as Rafi, which is not something that I personally enjoyed. Maybe this is a critique on our obsession with other people’s lives in general, but I just felt too much of the ick factor as I was part of the stalking as the reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s Books for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoyed the show You with Joe Goldberg. You'd enjoy this book too.

[Dahlia]

This was creepy as hellllll and I absolutely devoured it while feeling queasy and dread-filled the entire time. Exactly as it should be.

[Soph Sadoulak · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. Her obsession was wayyyyy to weird and the book was very hard to follow

[Katie Crawford · Rating 1 out of 5]

The biggest mistake I’ve ever made was picking this book up at the library. With every page I read there was only one thought “what the f***”. For 200 pages, it was just this horrible creepy girl (who I think was supposed to be painted as a morally grey heroine???) stalking these poor people. Reading these 200 pages was nothing but secondhand embarrassment because the main character was just so pathetically horrifying and I cringed every time she spoke. Then at the end it was really intense in the worst way, and the fact that there was even a third party involved in the tragedy these people were going through was ludicrous. The way it ended flat out sucked. It did not sum anything up, it was completely pulled out of the authors ass.

All in all, I can’t imagine how this book isn’t a satire. It was done with no taste and felt like something that I was in the wrong for reading. The only reason it even gets one star is that at times it was so ridiculous it was comical.

[hpboy13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted so much to like this book. Heck, I did like this book when I was reading it. Penaflor hit a wonderful mix of pitiable yet creepy in her protagonist. Who among us hasn’t hero-worshipped somebody, and tried to be friends with someone who wasn’t very interested? I cringed so much at certain parts, even as I couldn’t help feeling like I was rooting for Rafi at times.

The problem is there is zero resolution. The book gets to its climax – Obsessions are revealed! People are confronted! There’s lots of blood! – and that’s it. No resolution, no denouement, absolutely nothing that serves as payoff for the 250 pages we’d just read. Just a creepy epilogue that makes it seem like we are leaving this story in the middle of it.

I resent stories that don’t have endings, and really felt let down by this book.

[Jenni · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not the story for me, I'll just say that off the bat. I was excited for a book that maybe would be similar to The Obsession, but this one fell way short for me. Yes, the title says it all. The main character Rafi is a creep.; worse than Joe Goldberg in You creepy, and this kid is a teenager. She is obsessed with the "it" couple of her high school and stalks them, then kind of puts herself into their lives.

There were a lot of unfinished storylines, ;like the friend who was not a friend of Rafi's anymore--I never caught the WHY of why they weren't friends anymore, but she did mention it several times. But the ending. That's all I'll say about it other than the fact that my rating went lower because of that ending.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super dramatic until the end, where it sort of quietly tapers off into a non dramatic ending.

I wish someone would have put Rafi into a mental hospital or taken her to a therapist and I also thought that Laini was a little overdramatic at certain points at the end. Good story, okay ending.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

stalker stories my fav genre fr

[Alexia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

✔️spoiler free review✔️

✔️synopsis
creep by lygia day peñaflor, follows rafi wickham as
she lives through high school watching others. specifically, laney villanueva and nico fiore who is seemingly the holy family high schools “it” couple. rafi is obsessed with them so obsessed she will do anything to watch them and keep them together.

✔️opinions
the main character raif’s flaws make her interesting enough to keep reading. the book has a few slow chapters but as soon as laney and nico re-enter the story it always speeds back up for me. i would recommend this book to anyone like me who likes to be in the eyes of a stalker, and doesn’t mind a slow descriptive story.

this concludes my spoiler free review. scroll down for the spoiler review. :)

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✔️spoiler review ✔️
rafi wickham is twisted. just enough to get you into it, not so much the book leaves you feeling guilty. it
has an eerie always watching feel. at times i would get annoyed when rafi would guess what the couple was saying. i couldn’t always keep up with what they actually were saying and what rafi pretended they were. this book had a chokehold on me there was something so interesting about it. i did find however, that i would get less interested when it talked about rafi’s family. i felt like nico, laney, and rafi were the only characters with a personality at times. i know it sounds odd but i would be fine with that had there not been chapters with focus on other characters. i was obsessed with laney and nico, they were like the cutest couple ever. there were a few moments i laughed out-loud at that i don’t know if i was supposed too. there were also a few questions about her parents and things with her old friends and her former teacher mr. bryant, this slightly bothers me and i can see this being a big problem with some readers. little things like rafi trying on nico’s shoes was so small and yet so creepy. the epilogue was a bit of a let down and i think i would’ve preferred the boom without it. i felt it ended in a shocking way and it could’ve kept the reader wondering if laney would live. i have to say though the last chapter (excluding the epilogue) was insanity. it really the reader have all of rafi’s personality. when nico was crying over laney and she looked at him and said you’re welcome, i was in shock. it lets us know she’s truly not okay it wasn’t just an obsession out of hand, she needs help. and the most eerie part is, she never received it.

four stars, this book had me hooked but i would say it’s far from perfect. it was a bit too slow at times when focusing on unimportant characters. some unanswered questions, and i didnt love the epilogue.

[Julia McPhillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I happened to stumble upon this book along with the last one I read and I couldn’t resist picking it up. It was definitely more than I was expecting.

My biggest issue is that the major conflict doesn’t occur until about 50 pages from the end. The whole book is building up the relationship between Nico and Laney, and it is clear that something has to occur to split them up. However, the thing that ends up happening is something I think they could have worked through. The loss of a baby is shattering, especially for a young woman, but she loved Nico and I felt it was out of character for her to completely cut him off. Then, to really finish them off Rafi pushes her into of Nico’s car?? To what?? Have them hug one more time?? That part really turned me off, and left me feeling just gross. To me, it seemed like a cheap ending for such a complex story.

Another thing I didn’t like was Rafi’s ending. I think she is very well written and you can understand why she is doing what she is doing. To her, Laney and Nico are supposed to be what her parents couldn’t be. What made me mad was the fact that despite her already having multiple stalking and obsessive charges under her belt; she just walks free in the end??? And not only is she free to do whatever she pleases, they let her get close to Laney again. Why did not one press charges, she literally admitted to everything in a hallway full of witnesses. That was very frustrating for me as a reader.

However, there were a lot of parts I did enjoy. Laney finally snapping at Rafi was a good moment of justice. I also enjoyed the way the storyline is written. Rafi’s past is revealed slowly, but enough so you constantly feel off put by her actions and thoughts. I also really liked Millie, she brings some good moments into a very heavy story.

[Kristi Betts · Rating 2 out of 5]

CREEP lives up to the title of the book. It is an extremely unusual account of a teenager obsessed with the relationship of two others in her high school class. As she imposes herself into their lives, at first through an incident where they become "friends" to a very uncomfortable intrusion.

The storyline was intense at times making the reader even more distraught with anticipation. It reminds me of a teenage version of Fatal Attraction, the movie starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close in 1987. There is no homicide in CREEP, but the tenacity of Rafi to embed her life into the dating life of Laney and Rico is alarming and disconcerting.

CREEP is recommended for Teens and Young Adults. It would be enjoyed by readers who enjoy psychological thrillers.

The audio for this book was not produced with the final production voice(s), therefore I cannot comment on the quality of the narration.

[Emily Nemecio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah this was fucked up. Definitely needs to actually talk it out with someone and resolve some childhood trauma

[Kelly-Ann McFern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ooof, une chance que ce roman ne fait que 330 pages car j’étais sur le point de décrocher. Je referme ce livre avec un très grand sentiment de malaise,ce qui me rassure, car je ne suis clairement pas une “stalkeuse”. Ce roman est très malsain et pour ça j’en félicite l’auteure car elle a réussi son but. Dès le départ on sent que Rafi est un peu à côté de la plaque et des indices nous révèlent qu’elle n’en est pas à sa première fois. C’est intéressant et très malsain de se retrouver cette fois-ci du côté de l’agresseur: habituellement on lit des histoires sur les victimes qui se font suivre. Cette fois-ci c’est l’inverse.

Mis à part cela, l’histoire fini par se répéter: Rafi cherche à se rapprocher de Laney et Nico par tous les moyens possibles. On fini par connaître l’histoire de ce couple à travers les yeux de notre personnage principal et narrateur. C’est dérangeant et vraiment bizarre cette obsession qu’elle a pour eux. Le livre tente de l’expliquer un peu, mais on ne va jamais plus en profondeur ce que j’ai trouvé décevant. Le personnage principal n’évole jamais vraiment et la fin m’a plutôt déçu. On dirait effectivement que l’auteure ne savait plus quoi faire pour terminer son livre. Le tout se passe en moins de 30 pages et soudainement il y a un saut dans le temps totalement déstabilisant.

Bref, un roman quand même unique de par son point de vue et son côté malsain, mais qui fini par tourner un peu répétitif et vide. J’aurais voulu plus de profondeur, même si le côté émotionnel du livre est bien exécuté. C’est principalement la raison qui lui a valu ma note. À vous de voir.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

As creepy as this book was, I found it more sad than anything else. The details of Rafi's backstory are really only hinted at and occasionally slightly teased out, but it's clear enough that she has attachment and abandonment issues because of what she's gone through. Because of that, it's very easy for her to get obsessed with what she views as perfect couples, perfect families, etc. It's also very easy for her to misinterpret basic kindness. The way she's written is both unnerving and tragic. As another reviewer noted, reading the book was like watching a car crash in slow motion--you know it's not going to end well, but you can't look away.

Disclaimer: I won a signed copy of this book from the author in an Instagram giveaway.

[Francesca Donati · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!!

I think it was very well written (although there are a few spelling mistakes). I think that the author did a great job at portraying a stalker who is seriously deranged.

Reading this at night definitely creeped me out.
I was interested the whole way through.

The only thing I didn’t love was the ending, I think it could’ve been a bit more interesting (I also think she should’ve ended up in jail).

I highly recommend this book.

[Cheistina · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book was good but the thing that didn’t make thsi a 5 star resd was that there wasn’t any character development and it wa slike she almost had some with the mr breyer last house meeting she finaltl iglnowlged it was didnt sos y thign the end was so weird like she could’ve made it rafi getting the help she needed or seomthing

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight]

Just you and me.

And me.

I have no idea how to rate this. I read the summary of this book and instantly wanted to read it - I've missed that excitement for a book. It was a pretty quick read, since it's around 250 pages, and the story is fascinating enough that it keeps you reading.

This is the story of Rafi, who is desperate to know her parents better. She does this by fixating on a popular couple in her school, becoming determined to keep them together forever - the way her parents weren't.

All of the creepy details and the ways in which Rafi inserts herself into Laney and Nico's lives are very well done, but this was a depressing read - you can tell exactly where Rafi is coming from, and she has many glimpses of loneliness and humanity that made me yearn for a happy ending for her - although that probably would never have been entirely possible. Either way, this is one heck of a read.

[Sophia Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the show "You". The pacing was a bit weird at times with the book speeding up right at the end. The blurb discribing the book is also feels a little inaccurate as well, but if you read it as though the main character, Rafi, wrote it, it makes more sense. I would love a prequel to this book as there are references to another instance happening with the main character that I would enjoy reading more about. I also wish I could learn more about Nico and Laney in general and would like to read something from their POV. Overall a fun and pretty short read.

[Sydnie Nova · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novel of obsession. The main character is delusional and caught up in her fantasies of living vicariously through the love story of a couple she has brief interactions with. It's chilling and well written and getting inside of Rafi's head is terrifying, I wish some parts were more flushed out and explained(the stuff with her teacher and former friend), but I enjoyed this book.
I received an arc from NetGalley but all opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this out thinking it would be more of a campy horror story but it was actually a much sadder and more layered issue. It was definitely uncomfortable to read but well written.

[alexis ࣪ ˖ 𖦹°⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOOO cause this was crazy😭😭😭 the ending line was perfection. Rafi is actually psychotic and this was amazing LMFAOOOOO

[Sophia Barsuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great. I thought the ending was a little anticlimactic.