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j_ace131 's review for:
How We Fall Apart
by Katie Zhao
Omg, it was so good. Spoilers lie beyond, read at your own risk.
How We Fall Apart is a young adult mystery book about Jamie Ruan's death, and how it affected her four "friends." When someone named The Proctor shows up on social media, with information that Alexander, Nancy, Akil, and Krystal would never share, it's a race to figure out who the Proctor is, how they know their secrets, and to stop them before all their lives have changed, and for the better? Or not?
This book was action-packed and so full of twists and turns. I loved how each chapter was titled "Confession number" Plus, the backgrounds after every chapter or so really gave us a better insight into the past. Sometimes books told in the present tense are harder to follow, though I think mysteries do present tense very well.
I think the characters' secrets were all very thought out and written and incorporated into the story very well.
Akil's secret- drugs. I didn't know what drug he did use, so when I looked it up, it said something about ADHD, so at first, I figured, "Oh, he has ADHD, that's not bad, but maybe mental disorders aren't okay at Sinclair." Then, I realized once his secret got out that he was in fact, a drug addict. I wish that bit was clearer. But other than that, it was very well written. The trembling of his hands, Krystal thinking he was just hyper... etc.
Alexander's secret was his brother. Accused of something (which I believe he did not do) Eric Lin was expelled from Sinclair and his life turned upside down. Alexander could've gotten into a lot of trouble for harboring a criminal. I thought it was really sweet though, what he did for his brother, giving him money (that he probably worked really hard for, as Alexander is also a scholarship kid) I also believe that Alexander deserves better , better than Nancy and how she broke his heart. She never noticed him, not the way he did, not until the whole P.S. vs A.L. debacle.
Krystal's secret was a girl. She was neglected as a child, and she lashed out. She wanted to be noticed. I do see this in a lot of books, TV shows, and movies, honestly. The gist of this is that when children don't feel wanted or they feel neglected, they lash out and do rash things to try and get their parents' attention. But here, Kyrstal almost killed a girl, and that girl has been in a coma ever since. Krystal was sent to a rehabilitation center and realized she wanted to be a better person, so that's what she became. Everyone makes mistakes.
Nancy's secret was a boy. Or man. Her secret was Peter. And honestly, I don't really know what to say about it. It's downright pedophilia . I don't care if they're two and a half years apart, it's still wrong, and it's still illegal. But Nancy was like Jamie, she was pushed so hard to be the best, she became ruthless at times just to get there. I get the whole being in love with someone who's older than you thing, I mean *cough* Tom Holland *cough* I did like her character development towards the end when she crushed Peter's heart into pieces as he deserves. She deserves better than him. She doesn't however deserve Alexander.Not yet, because she doesn't feel the same way, or she's not sure of how she feels, not right after the whole Peter thing. She deserves some time to understand how she's feeling and worry about herself. Not her grades. Not boys. Not her parents' expectations. Herself. Taking care of herself is the best possible thing she could do.
I do have one question though. This isn't meant to be offensive in any way possible and if it is I apologize, I am simply curious. Why do parents push their kids so much? Like I get they want their kids to do well, but if you failed school, or you're cleaning houses, how can you put so much pressure on your kid. A healthy dose of pressure, sure, stress and pressure are both healthy, but too much, could cause another Jamie. Suicidal thoughts. And suicidal thoughts lead to actions and actions lead to death or severe injuries. The Asian representation in this book though was really great.
I think Katie did a fantastic job writing this book, and I love all of the key elements she put into it. I did, at one point think that Emily was still alive, (though I never would've guessed she was Louisa in disguise) At first I thought it was Jamie, but she wasn't actually dead, or Nancy since I didn't know her secret, and it seemed no one else did either.
I'm looking forward to reading more of her books, because I'll definitely be looking into that. This book is a definite 5 out of 5 stars.
How We Fall Apart is a young adult mystery book about Jamie Ruan's death, and how it affected her four "friends." When someone named The Proctor shows up on social media, with information that Alexander, Nancy, Akil, and Krystal would never share, it's a race to figure out who the Proctor is, how they know their secrets, and to stop them before all their lives have changed, and for the better? Or not?
This book was action-packed and so full of twists and turns. I loved how each chapter was titled "Confession number" Plus, the backgrounds after every chapter or so really gave us a better insight into the past. Sometimes books told in the present tense are harder to follow, though I think mysteries do present tense very well.
I think the characters' secrets were all very thought out and written and incorporated into the story very well.
Akil's secret- drugs. I didn't know what drug he did use, so when I looked it up, it said something about ADHD, so at first, I figured, "Oh, he has ADHD, that's not bad, but maybe mental disorders aren't okay at Sinclair." Then, I realized once his secret got out that he was in fact, a drug addict. I wish that bit was clearer. But other than that, it was very well written. The trembling of his hands, Krystal thinking he was just hyper... etc.
Alexander's secret was his brother. Accused of something (which I believe he did not do) Eric Lin was expelled from Sinclair and his life turned upside down. Alexander could've gotten into a lot of trouble for harboring a criminal. I thought it was really sweet though, what he did for his brother, giving him money (that he probably worked really hard for, as Alexander is also a scholarship kid) I also believe that Alexander deserves better , better than Nancy and how she broke his heart. She never noticed him, not the way he did, not until the whole P.S. vs A.L. debacle.
Krystal's secret was a girl. She was neglected as a child, and she lashed out. She wanted to be noticed. I do see this in a lot of books, TV shows, and movies, honestly. The gist of this is that when children don't feel wanted or they feel neglected, they lash out and do rash things to try and get their parents' attention. But here, Kyrstal almost killed a girl, and that girl has been in a coma ever since. Krystal was sent to a rehabilitation center and realized she wanted to be a better person, so that's what she became. Everyone makes mistakes.
Nancy's secret was a boy. Or man. Her secret was Peter. And honestly, I don't really know what to say about it. It's downright pedophilia . I don't care if they're two and a half years apart, it's still wrong, and it's still illegal. But Nancy was like Jamie, she was pushed so hard to be the best, she became ruthless at times just to get there. I get the whole being in love with someone who's older than you thing, I mean *cough* Tom Holland *cough* I did like her character development towards the end when she crushed Peter's heart into pieces as he deserves. She deserves better than him. She doesn't however deserve Alexander.Not yet, because she doesn't feel the same way, or she's not sure of how she feels, not right after the whole Peter thing. She deserves some time to understand how she's feeling and worry about herself. Not her grades. Not boys. Not her parents' expectations. Herself. Taking care of herself is the best possible thing she could do.
I do have one question though. This isn't meant to be offensive in any way possible and if it is I apologize, I am simply curious. Why do parents push their kids so much? Like I get they want their kids to do well, but if you failed school, or you're cleaning houses, how can you put so much pressure on your kid. A healthy dose of pressure, sure, stress and pressure are both healthy, but too much, could cause another Jamie. Suicidal thoughts. And suicidal thoughts lead to actions and actions lead to death or severe injuries. The Asian representation in this book though was really great.
I think Katie did a fantastic job writing this book, and I love all of the key elements she put into it. I did, at one point think that Emily was still alive, (though I never would've guessed she was Louisa in disguise) At first I thought it was Jamie, but she wasn't actually dead, or Nancy since I didn't know her secret, and it seemed no one else did either.
I'm looking forward to reading more of her books, because I'll definitely be looking into that. This book is a definite 5 out of 5 stars.