Reviews with content warning for Bullying - How We Fall Apart

I liked the more realistic aspects of this book but the mystery aspect was disappointing and somehow I liked and disliked the ending in equal measure.

The main characters are a group of Asian American students at an exclusive private school, brought together through a mutual friendship of sorts with a popular girl and through what the pov character refers to as "The Incident": something that they had all participated in two years before and sworn to secrecy about. It's obvious what the thing was and the way the narrative dances around it is annoying. The popular girl dies suddenly, and suddenly the friends are being threatened via social media using secrets only the dead girl knew. The resolution to this is ridiculous and some of the secrets are a bit silly.

The better part of the story is the focus on the characters themselves, especially Nancy. As the daughter of immigrants who gave up everything to come to America there is immense pressure to perform, be strong, and reach that elusive American Dream. The way this plays out in Nancy's relationship with her mother was really well done. The other characters are less three dimensional but do illustrate this in various ways.

I liked the ending in the way that it demonstrated who Nancy was at her core - this isn't a game but she's going to win it - but it bugged me that the reader never gets to find out what the big secret is.

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saumya29's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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thereadingshelf's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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caidyn's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I would have rated this higher, but I thought the reveal and ending were a bit lame. I didn't like where it went. But, it's a solid read. Another great example of YA mysteries, plus it features an all Asian cast. Which was even better! I see that this is going to be a series and I have a feeling I'll tune into the next book to see where it goes.

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soljovis's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

0.25

I’ve thought about nothing for the past 24 hours except how angry this book made me. Every adult in this book failed every child. A 14/15 year old girl in a relationship with an adult man is a victim of a predator. This happens TWICE in this book with no consequences for either of the predators but both girls are publicly shamed and portrayed as the seducer. Fucked. Also the characters were shallow and unlikeable and the twist ending was like a bad episode of PLL. I understand what the author’s intent was with this book but all the messages were overshadowed by melodrama and overtly problematic plot points. I have so many more issues with this book but I will leave it here.

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