A review by starlightloving
How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao

dark mysterious sad 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

3.75

I read this for my YA Literature class and I definitely enjoyed the story, but it still fell flat and easily predictable/cheesy in some spots. Some characters had extremely wishy washy personalities that flipped on a dime and the romance/crush from a friend subplot was aggravating at best. This was a murder mystery and that friend’s crush felt extremely out of place to me. 

The pace was extremely quick, which I really loved. It made it easy to fly through the story, even when I’m normally an extremely slow reader. I also really enjoyed the supporting/expanding flashback chapters, I think they really added to the story. The Tip Tap confessions were also amusing and helped give dimension to unnamed classmates, building the student body’s details and struggles without taking away from the main characters. They were also a nice bit of outsider POV, which I always love.
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