Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - How We Fall Apart

This mystery is incredibly tantalizing and will leave you frustrated, angry, and maybe even a little set on revenge.

How we fall apart is a tale of how destructive it can be to be the child of immigrant parents. It forces you to come to terms with all the ways your parents may have harmed you despite their love for you. And it puts a mirror up to the delusion immigrants drink in when coming to the United States.

Though I enjoyed this book, I was quite disappointed with the ending on how it was left with two of the characters. One particular character deserves to be in JAIL. And the other let their minimal character development flush down the drain.

Katie Zhao did an amazing job with her descriptions, attention to detail, and a shocking twist at the climax of this story. Where Zhao and possibly the editors have fallen short, is the character development for the main characters. There was a lot of potential to have certain people grow by the conclusion of this book. Though I love the theme of revenge throughout this book nonetheless.

If you are someone who thinks about revenge fantasies and loves a murder mystery, this novel is for you!

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tahsintries's review against another edition

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1.0

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ao3simp's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-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

3.75

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

It's giving Gossip Girl, Ace of Spades, Pretty Little Liars, all of Karen McManus' YA books but set with a predominantly Asian cast. So if you liked any of those, this could be right up your alley. I enjoyed it although it was a little predictable. I connected a lot with the whole "Asian immigrant family expecting the best" thing because I experienced that in my school years. Like ridiculous expectations of being the best and not talking about your mental health struggles because you have to be strong and look at the sacrifices your family did so you could grow up in America. So some of it hit real close to home.
I wish at the end we knew the secret of the Golden Trio but it was still a fulfilling (although maybe a bit frustrating) ending.
F in the chat for Alexander tho. Man shot his shot.

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blueberry0531's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

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yogyaa's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

it was a nice book but I felt like a lot of things were drawn from one of us is lying

em being the protactor was kinda predictable but Louisa being em, it wasn't

overall I just didn't feel really connected to the characters and I REALLY didn't like Peter. Altho I will be intrested to read the whole "secret of the golden trio"

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