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jjs1001's review against another edition
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Death
Minor: Child abuse and Alcohol
sarah984's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Minor: Blood, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Racism
deadbookishsociety's review against another edition
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
4.0
Trigger warnings : death, overdose , drug abuse , racism , classism , murder, underage drinking, grooming , arson
This book left me shook , I couldn't really write or speak about it and I had to gather my thoughts before I even thought about what happened in the book, it was so fast paced and perfect that I didn't even realize I read the whole book in less than 24 hours , it was griping , shocking and very entertaining.
I have read so many thriller in the past few months but I never saw the twist coming in this book , they always were foreshadowed but I didn't really spotted them until that actually happened .
For this book the mystery was just a part of it, it wasn't the main thing or theme of the book , this book showed us a part of how it is it be a person of colour in a place where the systemic racism is so deep rooted how a poc has to go through so much to prove their worth and the fact that they deserve to be there and so is the situation for classism , how there is a vast barrier between people just because how much they earn or what position they hold in society.
How we fall apart is about friendship , love , identity , betrayal and how far you are willing to go to make a place for yourself in a place where you feel an outsider .
Jamie, Nancy , akil , Alexander, Krystal and every single character that were shown in the book were flawed, they were humane they made mistakes and faced the consequences in the same way or some other . Jamie who is a rich popular queen bee who is the best at everything and has everything she ever wanted has secrets , dark ones and those ultimately catchup to her one day and it's over for her and then it created a loom over her ex friends who have betrayer or have been betrayed by her .
I don't know how to explain this book expact that it's totally worth your and my time and that I'm looking forward to the next book .
This book left me shook , I couldn't really write or speak about it and I had to gather my thoughts before I even thought about what happened in the book, it was so fast paced and perfect that I didn't even realize I read the whole book in less than 24 hours , it was griping , shocking and very entertaining.
I have read so many thriller in the past few months but I never saw the twist coming in this book , they always were foreshadowed but I didn't really spotted them until that actually happened .
For this book the mystery was just a part of it, it wasn't the main thing or theme of the book , this book showed us a part of how it is it be a person of colour in a place where the systemic racism is so deep rooted how a poc has to go through so much to prove their worth and the fact that they deserve to be there and so is the situation for classism , how there is a vast barrier between people just because how much they earn or what position they hold in society.
How we fall apart is about friendship , love , identity , betrayal and how far you are willing to go to make a place for yourself in a place where you feel an outsider .
Jamie, Nancy , akil , Alexander, Krystal and every single character that were shown in the book were flawed, they were humane they made mistakes and faced the consequences in the same way or some other . Jamie who is a rich popular queen bee who is the best at everything and has everything she ever wanted has secrets , dark ones and those ultimately catchup to her one day and it's over for her and then it created a loom over her ex friends who have betrayer or have been betrayed by her .
I don't know how to explain this book expact that it's totally worth your and my time and that I'm looking forward to the next book .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
rb2706_123's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
"Back then, I did not understand what Mama was asking for, what granting her wishes would cost me. Then, I did not know a debt of life could only be repaid with life. With blood"
How we fall apart is set at Sinclair Preparatory School were students fight tooth and nail to stay at the top of the class.
Jaimie Ruan has always dominated the school, always at the top, she was the queen. Untill, she's found dead leaving her 4 friends: Nancy Luo, Krystal Choi, Akil Patel and Alexander Lin the main suspects as the mysterious proctor continues incriminating the main 4 via an anonymous app called tip tap.
This book was fast paced, mysterious and maintained a tense atmosphere throughout. I finished it in 1 sitting and was delighted with the novel in general. My only problem was that the plot twist at the end was sprung out of the blue.
There was no foreshadowing, no red herrings or a good climax leading up to it. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and anticlimactic
Secondly, I absolutely adore our cast of characters. Nancy Luo is an amazing protagonist and the author has done an amazing job in writing her! She is a relatable character and perfectly embodies how parental expectations derail the life of children.
3.25/5, I recommend this book to fans of ya thrillers, this is absolutely unputdownable.
How we fall apart is set at Sinclair Preparatory School were students fight tooth and nail to stay at the top of the class.
Jaimie Ruan has always dominated the school, always at the top, she was the queen. Untill, she's found dead leaving her 4 friends: Nancy Luo, Krystal Choi, Akil Patel and Alexander Lin the main suspects as the mysterious proctor continues incriminating the main 4 via an anonymous app called tip tap.
This book was fast paced, mysterious and maintained a tense atmosphere throughout. I finished it in 1 sitting and was delighted with the novel in general. My only problem was that the plot twist at the end was sprung out of the blue.
There was no foreshadowing, no red herrings or a good climax leading up to it. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and anticlimactic
Secondly, I absolutely adore our cast of characters. Nancy Luo is an amazing protagonist and the author has done an amazing job in writing her! She is a relatable character and perfectly embodies how parental expectations derail the life of children.
3.25/5, I recommend this book to fans of ya thrillers, this is absolutely unputdownable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicide
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