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theengineerisreading 's review for:
How We Fall Apart
by Katie Zhao
Richard Sinclair Prep is America's best performing high school in all aspects and students from different background fight tooth and nail to remain on top of this prestigious institute that promises a brighter future.
Nancy Luo, a full-scholar, always strives for the best but wasn't able to exceed Sinclair's queen bee, Jamie Ruan.
Until Jamie was found dead and whispers start in the hallways about who Jamie's killer is. Then came the mysterious messenger who named themselves The Proctor and they are here to unveil all the secrets of Sinclair including the dark past of the academe's brightest students which list Nancy and her friends Krystal, Alexander, and Akil - all were Jamie's former friends.
Okay, don't expect a decent review from me because mystery-thriller is not my main cup but I really enjoyed this one. Imagine a dark academia storyline with life-changing stakes featuring an ensemble of BIPOC characters and you have this book.
I enjoyed the writing style - it gave me the atmosphere of how intense the competition in Sinclair Prep is and the mystery of who killed Jamie Ruan.
Nancy Luo, Alexander Lin, Krystal Choi, and Akil Patel may be the best students of Sinclair after Jamie but their characters were written well in a way that they feel like morally-gray characters whom you are unsure whether to cheer or snitch on as the story move forward.
The story was going well until the reveal of who The Proctor is. I'm not a big fan of the twist because it felt a bit unrealistic but anyway, I'm still looking forward to the second book especially with the way things ended (*coughs Jamie's father + Sinclair's Golden Trio)
What's in this book: Asian-American rep (second generation children of Chinese, Indian immigrants)
I highly recommend if you enjoy: Dark Academia books
Trigger warnings: Abuse, Self-harm, Violence, Parental neglect, panic attacks, drug use, mental illness, inappropriate student-teacher relationship, racism, suicidal thoughts
RATING: 4 stars
Nancy Luo, a full-scholar, always strives for the best but wasn't able to exceed Sinclair's queen bee, Jamie Ruan.
Until Jamie was found dead and whispers start in the hallways about who Jamie's killer is. Then came the mysterious messenger who named themselves The Proctor and they are here to unveil all the secrets of Sinclair including the dark past of the academe's brightest students which list Nancy and her friends Krystal, Alexander, and Akil - all were Jamie's former friends.
Okay, don't expect a decent review from me because mystery-thriller is not my main cup but I really enjoyed this one. Imagine a dark academia storyline with life-changing stakes featuring an ensemble of BIPOC characters and you have this book.
I enjoyed the writing style - it gave me the atmosphere of how intense the competition in Sinclair Prep is and the mystery of who killed Jamie Ruan.
Nancy Luo, Alexander Lin, Krystal Choi, and Akil Patel may be the best students of Sinclair after Jamie but their characters were written well in a way that they feel like morally-gray characters whom you are unsure whether to cheer or snitch on as the story move forward.
The story was going well until the reveal of who The Proctor is. I'm not a big fan of the twist because it felt a bit unrealistic but anyway, I'm still looking forward to the second book especially with the way things ended (*coughs Jamie's father + Sinclair's Golden Trio)
What's in this book: Asian-American rep (second generation children of Chinese, Indian immigrants)
I highly recommend if you enjoy: Dark Academia books
Trigger warnings: Abuse, Self-harm, Violence, Parental neglect, panic attacks, drug use, mental illness, inappropriate student-teacher relationship, racism, suicidal thoughts
RATING: 4 stars