Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - How We Fall Apart

I read this book in one night and it was worth being tired over the next day. A bonus is that I commented praises on Zhao’s TikTok and she actually replied back to me, which was incredibly special.

This book is so good! It was fast paced with short chapters (my favorite kind of read) and the plot was exciting and kept me hooked the entire time.

Its plot is very similar to One of Us is Lying, but I personally liked this book better. It probably was the setting that did it for me - who doesn’t love dark academia?

My favorite character was probably Krystal or Akil, but I pretty much liked all of them equally. They weren’t necessarily the most interesting characters I’ve ever met, but I liked them nonetheless.

I would recommend this book to people because I personally enjoyed reading it a lot and I think that it’s a quick and easy read for anyone who wants something exciting.

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beca_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

Great fast paced book, looking at the toxicity within the education system. Fans of Ace of Spades would enjoy this.

Content Warnings

sarah984's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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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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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nicolibby's review

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dark mysterious medium-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

1.5

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