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A surprising low for me.
No spice, this isn’t the kind of book for that.
If you liked Pretty Little Liars, you’ll love How We Fall Apart. This was such an interesting take on the secrets and experiences high pressure and high society puts on teens. I loved the exploration of and commentary on mental health and the surrounding stigmas common in society. It was such a beautiful and necessary addition to the plot of this book that took the characters and their actions from being a moderately-paced thriller to a psychological deep dive into why it could have truly been anyone and the lengths someone would go to be the best, as well as how we cave under pressure and the consequences of unhealthy coping mechanisms and a lack of support.
The mystery of this was easy to get into and believable when it came to Nancy and her friends’ attempts to solve it. It was interesting and the way we see the group piece things together alongside flashbacks that offer more background information and subtle hints to who The Proctor could be. It was also fun to see the Tip Tap messages at the beginning of each chapter and the slight sense of magical realism and scrutiny they added to the rumors and ghost stories. The ghosts see everything, so, of course, Jamie and what they did can haunt them.
The characters were beautifully nuanced and I liked that Nancy was somewhat morally grey. Reading this from her perspective was great because we got to see how her mind worked and what motivated her throughout. However, it does make for a somewhat unreliable narrator because we see it as no one understands her because she doesn’t believe anyone feels the same pressure she does or herself the way she does. Overall giving this an amazing perspective that added to the feel of the narrative and a sense of urgency.
I really liked the way this was written. It was entirely binge-able: just so easy to get into and then all of a sudden have read thirty pages. No complaints, just excited for book two!
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Drug use
Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse
Minor: Bullying
(One thing I found really infuriating: the book shoving the school motto down my throat every few pages - I would definitely have remembered with much, MUCH fewer mentions, too. 🙃)
Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming
I think I might have found one of my fave new mystery novels? How We Fall Apart follows Nancy Luo, a scholarship student at one of the most prestigious private institutions in the country, and her friends as they discover that their spoiled "friend" Jamie is now dead. While trying to discover who had done it, another threat of the anonymous Proctor looms over them, threatening to let loose their secrets to the school and ruin their reputations. Will Nancy and crew discover the truth, or will their truths destroy them?
This story left me gasping and close to throwing my Kindle across the room in the best ways. There were some good twists that left me shook, but others that I did end up predicting. I can say that I definitely did not guess the identity of the Proctor though. The other main mystery of Jamie I did end up guessing after halfway through the book or later. And I do think it was foreshadowed in the best ways, which I sadly can't get into because of spoilers, but it was a mystery I'm glad was done the way it was.
One of my favorite aspects of the story wasn't the mystery or the thriller, but about the important discussions that resulted from the narrative. There was a LOT of inner dialogue and description throughout the story about cultural expectations on kids that don't come from typical American families. There's a push for them to be great because of what the family went through to get to where they are at this point in the story and what downfalls may come from such a push. We see this primarily I believe in Jamie, who always thought she was better just because of her status. But there is always so much more happening under the surface and it was shown beautifully in the most painful ways.
I also really liked the relationship dynamics between characters. There was Peter and Nancy, which highlights the toxic dynamics that can result from teacher and student relationships. But my favorite had to be with Nancy and Jamie. Their "friendship" and the tension between them is exactly what I experienced from a toxic friend, now ex-friend. There will always be those moments that will try to convince you that this person is good deep down, but their actions and their way of "excusing it" reflected a lot in what I dealt with. You want to help them, but sometimes you can't, and they need to be the one to realize that they are in the wrong and they need to learn from that on their own. Nancy and Jamie's past showed the highs and lows, not just the bad, and really emphasized the brutality of a toxic friendship.
I will admit that a few of the flashbacks felt a little unnecessary as they rehashed some points already made, but most of them felt pretty helpful to understand characters more, especially when it came to Jamie. On another point, there was also a content warning as well as a huge dedication to book influencers at the end, which really made me feel valued at both the beginning and the end of this novel.
How We Fall Apart is the diverse, jaw-dropping, powerhouse mystery that we have needed for so long, and I cannot wait to dive into more of this world!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury