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A review by meisbooknook
How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao
4.0
Review originally written September 16, 2021 on my bookstagram. I just realized I never transferred it here. This is my unedited review:
From the start, it is clear to me that Katie Zhao knew exactly what she was doing. I immediately felt like I was transported back to my time in high school. Through Nancy Luo, I felt how frustrating it was to be overlooked again, and again, and again in favor of someone who always managed to one up you. Her writing truly captured me & I was unable to put this book down for hours.
There are a lot of morally gray characters in this story, something that I love. Everyone is driven by one thing, ambition. Whether or not if it's their parents', or their own, for both the right and wrong reasons, ambition shines through and paints a horrific picture of what can happen when person goes too far.
I figured out pretty quickly who The Proctor was. I was a bit disappointed in myself that I did. However, I was still shocked when their side of the story came out. I don't want to spoil too much, but the lengths that they went to ... It is truly terrifying.
Ultimately, what struck a chord with me in this book was the focus on mental health. As a person who grew up in a mixed asian household with tiger parents, I think Zhao nailed it with depicting the unrealistic expectations parents can have...and the extent teenagers will go to avoid being a disappointment. Untreated mental health among teenagers is a huge problem in the world, and it's something that needs to be destigmatized. No one should ever be afraid to ask for help.
From the start, it is clear to me that Katie Zhao knew exactly what she was doing. I immediately felt like I was transported back to my time in high school. Through Nancy Luo, I felt how frustrating it was to be overlooked again, and again, and again in favor of someone who always managed to one up you. Her writing truly captured me & I was unable to put this book down for hours.
There are a lot of morally gray characters in this story, something that I love. Everyone is driven by one thing, ambition. Whether or not if it's their parents', or their own, for both the right and wrong reasons, ambition shines through and paints a horrific picture of what can happen when person goes too far.
I figured out pretty quickly who The Proctor was. I was a bit disappointed in myself that I did. However, I was still shocked when their side of the story came out. I don't want to spoil too much, but the lengths that they went to ... It is truly terrifying.
Ultimately, what struck a chord with me in this book was the focus on mental health. As a person who grew up in a mixed asian household with tiger parents, I think Zhao nailed it with depicting the unrealistic expectations parents can have...and the extent teenagers will go to avoid being a disappointment. Untreated mental health among teenagers is a huge problem in the world, and it's something that needs to be destigmatized. No one should ever be afraid to ask for help.