How We Fall Apart ~ Katie Zhao

How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao was bought for me by Claire for Christmas, so I decided to keep it aside to ensure it would be my first read of 2023. I flew through this book quite quickly which was definitely the kind of read I needed to kickstart the new year as I had been in a really bad reading slump towards the end of 2022.

In this Crazy Rich Asians meets One of Us is Lying read, we follow protagonist Nancy Luo stumbling her way through junior year at Sinclair Prep. When her former friend Jamie is found dead it is soon revealed that Nancy and her three friends, Alexander, Akil and Krystal, are the prime suspects. Thanks to the school’s social media app and an anonymous poster called The Proctor the group’s deepest and darkest secrets soon become well known by all. The four band together to try and find the real culprit whilst also trying to rebuild their reputations at Sinclair Prep.

I felt like this book covered some really important topics whilst also being a much lighter-hearted thriller than I am used to. From the illusion of being a perfect student, toxic friendships, mental health to the pressures of parental opinion this book definitely highlighted a culture that I haven’t really read much about. However, I felt Jamie’s bisexuality was sort of skimmed over at times and could have been delved into far deeper. Especially, how this would affect her coming from an elite Asian family and how her parents felt about this. Also, I did not find myself very attached to the characters as they felt a little one-dimensional at times but the mystery of the plot and wanting to know who Jamie’s true killer was, was what kept me hooked page after page. I gave How We Fall Apart a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating.

M🌸