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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have been dying to reading this book since it first came out. Asian American dark academia? Literally all I could have dreamed of. But I'm sad to say that this book fell flat in all the ways it could have really shined. I felt that many of the more sensitive topics–namely mental health, academic pressure from immigrant parents, and classism–felt surface level at best.
The writing was easy to read, but felt mediocre and quite repetitive. I quickly grew tired of hearing about the whispers around the school and how poor Nancy was in comparison to everyone else. As a low-income, academically pressured, Asian American myself, there definitely could have been more to her character than a constant inferiority complex. Or at the very least, she could have used some subtlety.
I also was quite disappointed about the other characters–the four friends felt flat and their secrets were quite boring. The Proctor was quite cartoony and the notes they left did not make me feel anxious, but rather unimpressed. The narrative also focused a bit too much on Nancy and Peter's relationship for my liking. Alexander also just felt one-dimensional and grossly entitled to her feelings. There were some parts of the book that were funny and enjoyable; I was actually pretty intrigued by Jamie's character and how despite being cold, she often had moments of searing kindness. I also enjoyed the nice banter Nancy had with her mom towards the end. But those things didn't make up for the wildly unrealistic final reveal, and the surface level themes and characterizations.
I wanted to love this book so bad, but it just wasn't for me. Cheers to the author though, Katie Zhao, for spreading awareness surrounding mental health and the dangers of academic pressure. I love her content and will continue to support her journey!
The writing was easy to read, but felt mediocre and quite repetitive. I quickly grew tired of hearing about the whispers around the school and how poor Nancy was in comparison to everyone else. As a low-income, academically pressured, Asian American myself, there definitely could have been more to her character than a constant inferiority complex. Or at the very least, she could have used some subtlety.
I also was quite disappointed about the other characters–the four friends felt flat and their secrets were quite boring. The Proctor was quite cartoony and the notes they left did not make me feel anxious, but rather unimpressed. The narrative also focused a bit too much on Nancy and Peter's relationship for my liking. Alexander also just felt one-dimensional and grossly entitled to her feelings. There were some parts of the book that were funny and enjoyable; I was actually pretty intrigued by Jamie's character and how despite being cold, she often had moments of searing kindness. I also enjoyed the nice banter Nancy had with her mom towards the end. But those things didn't make up for the wildly unrealistic final reveal, and the surface level themes and characterizations.
I wanted to love this book so bad, but it just wasn't for me. Cheers to the author though, Katie Zhao, for spreading awareness surrounding mental health and the dangers of academic pressure. I love her content and will continue to support her journey!
This was a strong mystery thriller with a diverse cast and thoughtful conversations around money, class, race, and the lengths people will go to get what they want. I definitely felt the big twist was very left field, but overall I enjoyed this story and would pick up the sequel!
(3.5/5) In some ways, this is a trite dark academia YA novel. The plot is unremarkable. But it hit me hard. Because for a few years, I went to a school not dissimilar to this: a cutthroat academic environment, with the tiger parents, dysfunctional families, class/economic anxiety, immigrant hustle and guilt, drugs, mental health struggles, and more. How We Fall Apart got right at those feelings and brought up memories I thought I'd long left behind.
Thank you to Bloomsbury YA for sending me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
HOLY CRAP. This was so good! I couldn't put it down. It'd been quite some time since I'd read a YA thriller and I was begging for a good one. Not only is this good, it's one of the best I've ever read. It very well could be the best. I loved the group dynamic, the idea of grades and success being a motivator. It was like a combo of some of my all time favorite thrillers, Pretty Little Liars and One of Us is Lying! It was so dog gone good. I could not get enough of this.
Let me tell you, Nancy is one of my favorite YA protagonists to date. She's messy, brilliant, determined, but she's not afraid to be vulnerable if she needs to be. She's loving and learning. I loved the underlying growth arc throughout the whole book. I loved that she wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted, but learned what she deserved. Her relationship with Alexander was so precious and made my heart swell.
Zhao did such a fantastic job weaving the plot within the romance, friendship and parental dynamics. I appreciated that Zhao was straightforward with tough subjects, but still gave a warning in the beginning of the book for triggering topics. I thought they were handled with care, but still in such a realistic fashion. As a former "gifted kid" who was always striving for more academically and wanting to succeed, I can relate to the pressure each of them felt and wanting to just give back to their parents by giving them success from you. Zhao crafted a masterpiece that will stick with you long after you've finished the book and be begging her the way I have been for the sequel. I'm ready to go back to school now!
HOLY CRAP. This was so good! I couldn't put it down. It'd been quite some time since I'd read a YA thriller and I was begging for a good one. Not only is this good, it's one of the best I've ever read. It very well could be the best. I loved the group dynamic, the idea of grades and success being a motivator. It was like a combo of some of my all time favorite thrillers, Pretty Little Liars and One of Us is Lying! It was so dog gone good. I could not get enough of this.
Let me tell you, Nancy is one of my favorite YA protagonists to date. She's messy, brilliant, determined, but she's not afraid to be vulnerable if she needs to be. She's loving and learning. I loved the underlying growth arc throughout the whole book. I loved that she wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted, but learned what she deserved. Her relationship with Alexander was so precious and made my heart swell.
Zhao did such a fantastic job weaving the plot within the romance, friendship and parental dynamics. I appreciated that Zhao was straightforward with tough subjects, but still gave a warning in the beginning of the book for triggering topics. I thought they were handled with care, but still in such a realistic fashion. As a former "gifted kid" who was always striving for more academically and wanting to succeed, I can relate to the pressure each of them felt and wanting to just give back to their parents by giving them success from you. Zhao crafted a masterpiece that will stick with you long after you've finished the book and be begging her the way I have been for the sequel. I'm ready to go back to school now!
Things I like about this book:
1) it’s a thriller and they are my favorite
2) interesting setting
Things I didn’t like this book:
1) the entire premise is so far fetched. Just, none of it is remotely realistic.
2) the twist did not naturally follow from what the author had set up in the first 3/4 of the book. It felt out of left field
3) most of the main characters are not likable.
This felt like a weaker version of One of Us is Lying.
1) it’s a thriller and they are my favorite
2) interesting setting
Things I didn’t like this book:
1) the entire premise is so far fetched. Just, none of it is remotely realistic.
2) the twist did not naturally follow from what the author had set up in the first 3/4 of the book. It felt out of left field
3) most of the main characters are not likable.
This felt like a weaker version of One of Us is Lying.
Actually 3.5
A great new addition to the bookshelf of any fan of One of Us is Lying. Not quite what I’d expect from a book labelled as Dark Academia but hoping that will become more accurate in book 2.
All in all this is a fast paced, easy read and a welcome story but not one that will set the genre ablaze.
I really enjoyed reading about the Asian American experience of the so called American Dream-Here’s to more own voices stories in the future.
You can kind of tell that Katie previously wrote middle grade and I think this story would have benefitted from being skewed a little older in the YA bracket.
Overall though plus points:
Own Voices
Secrets
Twisty
Cliffhanger
Easy to read
Fast paced
A great new addition to the bookshelf of any fan of One of Us is Lying. Not quite what I’d expect from a book labelled as Dark Academia but hoping that will become more accurate in book 2.
All in all this is a fast paced, easy read and a welcome story but not one that will set the genre ablaze.
I really enjoyed reading about the Asian American experience of the so called American Dream-Here’s to more own voices stories in the future.
You can kind of tell that Katie previously wrote middle grade and I think this story would have benefitted from being skewed a little older in the YA bracket.
Overall though plus points:
Own Voices
Secrets
Twisty
Cliffhanger
Easy to read
Fast paced
First, I want to say that I appreciate the all Asian cast of characters. I think it's really cool to see that. I will say that this story fits well with the others of its genre. The issues I had with it is that I wasn't really attached to our main character. She felt just like a narrator, rather than someone I had a connection with and cared about. I think that can be said about alot of our characters, there wasn't really any depth to them. I also didn't see the twist coming but it seem like it came from left field a little bit.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes