Reviews with content warning for Addiction - How We Fall Apart

I quite enjoyed this, the relationship dynamics were really good. The dialogues and the ending felt a bit less smooth, overall the plot seemed less consistent towards the end. Still entertaining!

(One thing I found really infuriating: the book shoving the school motto down my throat every few pages - I would definitely have remembered with much, MUCH fewer mentions, too. 🙃)

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bitesizedbeet's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.5

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racheldkidder's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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

2.5

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aargot1's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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sarahmreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I received this novel as an e-book advanced readers copy by NetGalley. Any and all thoughts are my own.

I think I might have found one of my fave new mystery novels? How We Fall Apart follows Nancy Luo, a scholarship student at one of the most prestigious private institutions in the country, and her friends as they discover that their spoiled "friend" Jamie is now dead. While trying to discover who had done it, another threat of the anonymous Proctor looms over them, threatening to let loose their secrets to the school and ruin their reputations. Will Nancy and crew discover the truth, or will their truths destroy them?

This story left me gasping and close to throwing my Kindle across the room in the best ways. There were some good twists that left me shook, but others that I did end up predicting. I can say that I definitely did not guess the identity of the Proctor though. The other main mystery of Jamie I did end up guessing after halfway through the book or later. And I do think it was foreshadowed in the best ways, which I sadly can't get into because of spoilers, but it was a mystery I'm glad was done the way it was.

One of my favorite aspects of the story wasn't the mystery or the thriller, but about the important discussions that resulted from the narrative. There was a LOT of inner dialogue and description throughout the story about cultural expectations on kids that don't come from typical American families. There's a push for them to be great because of what the family went through to get to where they are at this point in the story and what downfalls may come from such a push. We see this primarily I believe in Jamie, who always thought she was better just because of her status. But there is always so much more happening under the surface and it was shown beautifully in the most painful ways.

I also really liked the relationship dynamics between characters. There was Peter and Nancy, which highlights the toxic dynamics that can result from teacher and student relationships. But my favorite had to be with Nancy and Jamie. Their "friendship" and the tension between them is exactly what I experienced from a toxic friend, now ex-friend. There will always be those moments that will try to convince you that this person is good deep down, but their actions and their way of "excusing it" reflected a lot in what I dealt with. You want to help them, but sometimes you can't, and they need to be the one to realize that they are in the wrong and they need to learn from that on their own. Nancy and Jamie's past showed the highs and lows, not just the bad, and really emphasized the brutality of a toxic friendship.

I will admit that a few of the flashbacks felt a little unnecessary as they rehashed some points already made, but most of them felt pretty helpful to understand characters more, especially when it came to Jamie. On another point, there was also a content warning as well as a huge dedication to book influencers at the end, which really made me feel valued at both the beginning and the end of this novel.

How We Fall Apart is the diverse, jaw-dropping, powerhouse mystery that we have needed for so long, and I cannot wait to dive into more of this world!

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