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A review by kamin8882
When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"Sometimes at night the darkness and silence weighs upon me. Peace frightens me; perhaps I fear it most of all. I feel it is only a facade hiding the face of hell."
I loved this book so much. I have been obsessed with all things Asian culture lately, so when I saw this book was set in Korea, I knew I needed it. This book was told form two POV's -- Min in present day third person, and flashbacks form Yu-Jin in the first person. I loved this style of writing because while Min was in the present day trying to figure out what why Yu-Jin would take her own life, we were getting the back story from Yu-Jin explaining her upbringing-- being an only child, a female, daughter to the minister of defense in Korea-- and how that affected her actions and feelings leading up to her suicide. I loved that Wiley explored a LGBTQ relationship in Korea and how it is not acceptable in Korea.. This explored the conflict between respecting your parents and honoring your family, and being true to yourself and feeling free to be who you really are, which was not easy for Yu-Jin at all.
Everyone in this story-- Min, So Ra, Yu-Jin, Misaki-- all were looking for themselves and trying to discover who they were outside their families and the restrictions of their culture. It was a beautiful story of love, identity and honor.
I loved this book so much. I have been obsessed with all things Asian culture lately, so when I saw this book was set in Korea, I knew I needed it. This book was told form two POV's -- Min in present day third person, and flashbacks form Yu-Jin in the first person. I loved this style of writing because while Min was in the present day trying to figure out what why Yu-Jin would take her own life, we were getting the back story from Yu-Jin explaining her upbringing-- being an only child, a female, daughter to the minister of defense in Korea-- and how that affected her actions and feelings leading up to her suicide. I loved that Wiley explored a LGBTQ relationship in Korea and how it is not acceptable in Korea.. This explored the conflict between respecting your parents and honoring your family, and being true to yourself and feeling free to be who you really are, which was not easy for Yu-Jin at all.
Everyone in this story-- Min, So Ra, Yu-Jin, Misaki-- all were looking for themselves and trying to discover who they were outside their families and the restrictions of their culture. It was a beautiful story of love, identity and honor.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Outing, and Suicide