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Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao

52 reviews

dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The premise of this was so good. The execution was terrible. 
Four students are afraid that their big secrets will be revealed. These secrets are shockingly tame and consequence-free for how hyped up they are. I mean. For example, a character
takes Adderall as a study aid. Not great, but like... he's not the only student even in his school, I'm sure. Also, he references taking drugs "to forget" something he feels guilty for, but there's no discussion of him doing anything else!! Is he doing something more illegal? Because I don't think Adderall makes you forget your problems!

When a secret is revealed, the character affected falls over on the floor and starts convulsing like he's having a seizure. This is, apparently, what him having a panic attack looks like. This was such a terrible description it took me out of things completely.
Finally, the villain reveal was just bonkers. Even if you can't guess the villain, you should at least have them in the back of your mind as a suspect. They should NOT
literally come back from the dead, get plastic surgery, and somehow spend years at the same school unrecognized.  
There was no way the reader could've expected this "twist".
It was also so infuriating to watch the main character keep
going back to Peter. She knows it's a bad idea, know's he's manipulative, knows it's a power imbalance... but she keeps going back to him. Why??

Oh, also, the main character tells us she's a poet early in the plot and makes references to writing lyrics to someone's violin music. Why does she never even think about writing a poem/lyrics for the entire book? Beyond the big stuff, there were a few small things like this that killed me.


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Nancy Luo's former BF, Jamie Ruan, queen of Sinclair Prep, goes missing & is then found dead. Word quickly spreads that their friend group (Nancy, Krystal, Akil, & Alexander) are considered the prime suspects in Jamie's death thanks to anonymous social media messages by someone calling themselves 'the Proctor'.

'The Proctor' somehow knows the group's darkest secrets & threatens to tell all unless the guilty party admits they killed Jamie. The four friends race to find the true killer before they lose everything they've worked for.

I will say, right off the bat, that I am older than the intended target range so bear that in mind for my review. This was OK, the storyline itself was good, & I liked the setting in amongst the rich & privileged of Sinclair Prep School, but personally I thought that the characters, apart from Nancy, weren't particularly well developed. The ending wasn't great either & there was a lot of loose ends left unanswered - possibly a sequel? Still no sign of one as far as I can tell but you never know. 3.5 stars  - liked it but it was a little predictable/didn't 'wow' me. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The main character is fucking dumb 😒

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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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