I’ve been sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for this book since I heard about it! It did NOT disappoint at all! FRTCIf you don't have plans to read this book, I'm going to need you to seriously reevaluate your life. I mean, the best way to describe this book is Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars but without all the white people.

HWFA is a thriller, yeah. But it's so much more than that. It discusses everything from the struggle to immigrate, the strain of immigration on familial relations, and the pressure children feel to live up to their parents expectations and make their struggle worth it. It discusses the classism that exists even among those that immigrate from the same area of the world. The jealousy, anger, and unwillingness to be vulnerable that many (if not all) immigrant teenagers feel.

I was thoroughly invested in HWFA. I finished it in a day and it definitely got me out of my reading slump. I am literally at the edge of my seat for book 2.

My only qualm about HWFA is that the pacing felt off too me. I feel like there wasn't enough time to digest every secret that was told. My other thing was that the characters didn't feel scared enough and so by extension neither did I. Which is semi disappointing because it is a murder mystery.

How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao was a well-rounded YA thriller, but it fell short for me in a few ways. In this book we follow Nancy Luo and her friends Krystal, Akil, and Alexander after the death of their former friend Jamie. Soon after Jamie's death, an anonymous person known as "The Proctor" begins to post all of their secrets on the school's social media app. Thanks to The Proctor, Nancy and her friends become the prime suspects in Jamie's death.

First of all, I loved the dark academia theme and fast paced nature of How We Fall Apart. I was intrigued by the mystery and was eager to find out how it was going to wrap up. Unfortunately, most other aspects fell flat. There was little to no backstory on each of the characters, we never really get information on how or why the friend group initially fell apart. The secrets revealed by The Proctor weren't thrilling and were slightly unbelievable. I was disappointed with the big reveal of the identity of The Proctor, you really have to suspend disbelief.

Overall, this book was a pretty average 3 star read. It was just thrilling enough to keep my on my toes, but I didn't get attached to any of the characters and the reveals were lackluster. Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC!

While I expected to enjoy this book, I could not get past the unlikeable characters and unrealistic relationships. It is unclear to me why any of the characters are "friends" or why they continue to allow the other students to treat them so poorly. The characters are cheaters and liars with very little emotional depth and no redeeming qualities. The story is decent but borders on ridiculous. The format of using "confessions" throughout is entertaining, but hard to understand. Where did the confessions come from? Who is 'Anonymous'? What does it have to do with the story? I like the genre, but this book did not come through for me.

This is a super interesting book. I loved the representation and I am already excited for book 2. This feels very Gossip Girl. It was everything.

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Although How We Fall Apart is marketed as a thriller, I think this book is so much more than that. It’s a story of the fight that so many immigrants have to make in order to ensure a better future for their children, as well as the blood, sweat, and tears that children of immigrants put into ensuring their parents’ sacrifice wasn’t for nothing. As the daughter of Asian immigrant parents myself, I definitely related to Nancy, Alexander, Krystal, and Akil’s journeys into guaranteeing that they were the best of the best for their parents. While I didn’t attend a private prep school for high school, the high school I did attend was equally as competitive as Sinclair and also had a predominantly Asian student population, so a lot of the conflicts that arise in Sinclair and the obstacles that Nancy, Alexander, Krystal, and Akil face were very familiar to me. I appreciated the discussions of Asian stereotypes, classism among immigrant families, child grooming, etc. Even though my high school definitely wasn’t as cutthroat as Sinclair, reading this book did really feel like I was back in high school.

As far as the actual mystery aspect of the story, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too invested in the plot. There were so many students and potential culprits mentioned that I had a hard time trusting anyone or even wrapping my head around who could potentially be The Proctor. I couldn’t even bring myself to trust Alexander, Krystal, and Akil because the story was told through Nancy’s POV and we were only given what Nancy knew about these three teens. This was a pretty unique way to tell the story, though, compared to the other thrillers I’ve read this year that have told the story through the POVs of all their main characters.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the pacing of the story. It's quite fast--with secrets unraveling in every chapter--and because of this, I don’t think I was able to process what happened before our characters were moving onto dealing with the fallout from a new exposed secret. Additionally, because there were so many main and side characters, each with their own motivations and histories with Jamie, I barely felt like I knew anyone and didn’t care that much about them either. I only knew them through what Nancy knew about them or interactions we saw them make with Nancy through the flashbacks provided. There could have been so many moments where we could have gotten a more nuanced take on each of their characters but everything was quite surface level when it came to their personalities. This could definitely be a it’s-only-the-first-book-in-the-series type of disconnect (which I have felt with other series), so I’m hoping the story and characters feel more fleshed out in Book 2.

Big thanks to Bloomsburry for the advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.

Overall: 4.5 ☆ but rounded up to 5 ☆ because I liked it so much.

CW - at end of review. So may allude to/be spoilers.

Katio Zhao takes readers into the world of elite academics and throws open ALL the doors. This book explores the powerful themes of parents who push their kids beyond the limits and students who are willing to do ANYTHING to reach the top.

Jamie Ruan, Sinclair Prep's #1 it girl (grades, looks, & finances) is found murdered. Soon, the Proctor, a mysterious entity, who seems to have all the answers, points the finger at four of Jamie's closest friends.

Nancy Luo (our MC) has always been Jamie's best friend...and second best to Jamie in every aspect of their lives.

Krystal is a fashion forward girl who always ranks in the top 10 but may have been a bit too close to Jamie, in more ways than one.

Alexander, like Nancy is a scholarship kid who's had to fight to get to where he is, and is maybe willing to do more to stay there.

Akil not only ranks academically but athletically as well. Some may wonder how he does it all, but not Jamie.

This was such an addicting read and I could not put it down and finished in less than 24 hrs.

Katie Zhao's writing is phenomenal and well, to die for (pun intended). I really liked the set up because we meet our cast of characters early on and immediately dive into the dark side of elite academics. Nancy is our narrator and her point of view not only walks us through the investigation of Jamie's murder but into their complicated friendship. Nancy and Jamie have been best friends their whole lives begining at Chinese school and ending a few months before the start of the book. Their entire relationship has been a mix of genuine friendship and a constant need to one up eachother, except Jamie has come second to absolutely no one. Jamie seems to have the perfect life and Nancy has envied her for it the whole time and Jamie never let her forget it either.

Not only is this book a murder mystery with a Pretty Little Liars vibe, but it also takes a very hard look at the push of Asian American parents on their children from everything they do FOR their kids to everything the do TO their kids for their ability and failure to reach the top of the academic ranks. This book also has chime coming out of its EARS and secrets that would make Gretchen Weiner's hair too big for her head. This was my first murder mystery book and I was genuinely impressed with it and how much I enjoyed it. I'm a HUGE romance reader and I'm not normally into this genre but the synopsis caught my attention and the book sealed the deal.

I think my only critique about this book was that part of the mystery was strongly hinted at/mentioned very early into the book and honestly, a bit too much. It made me feel like, "I get it, this is important to the plot but you're kind of giving it away".

Overall, I enjoyed this book so much and truly recommend to those looking for something similar to the Ivies & They Wish They Were Us (solely based off of what other people have said & the synopses of these books).

Content Warnings:
Murder (off page), drug abuse, verbal abuse, possible physical abuse, bullying, racism (one scene), student/teacher relationship (power imbalance), academic anxiety, financial anxiety

Oh wow! This book was definitely something.
I’m still very unsure of my rating because I don’t read from this genre usually but I’ve got to say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this one!

The story was pretty good and the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to just keep turning the pages, reading more to learn the truth.

I really enjoyed the way the story was told. The author had woven all the secrets to be revealed, plot twists and flashbacks so seamlessly into the story that nothing felt out of place.
The pacing was also pretty great! There was never a dull or boring moment.

Sinclair Prep and the students, especially our main characters did seem a bit too pretentious but I think that’s how it is with Dark Academia. I did love reading about them despite their questionable actions and the morally grey streak.

I also really appreciated that this book discussed what excessive pressure on children regarding their studies and future could do to them and why taking care of mental health is so important. The academic pressure is a real thing that so many students loose their lives to and it needed to be discussed.

Without spoiling the plot, I also have to say that the big reveal was a tad bit too much lol. I mean I can’t really imagine that ever happening, it wasn’t a possibility in my mind. But the plot twist at the very end was good though!

Thanks much to Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for the e-arc!

I think I overhyped this book in my head before I started reading it because I love alll things dark academia. I did enjoy this, but I wanted it to have better fleshed out characters and more of the dark in dark academia. I feel like a lot of YA thrillers seem to have the same plot line, which being honest I'm fine with as long as there is something unique. I did end up flying through this book because each chapter ends with you wanting to know more. I think this could have been great, but it just felt a little to familiar to all the other thrillers I've read.

I have one thing to say. And that is: Mass texting an entire school is not a thing. Why does it feel like so many mystery plotlines revolve around that? I just sit there like, "This literally cannot happen." And even if it could, how the hell would they all have this person's contact saved. Like literal bruh.

Okay, so this book basically follows a group of four high school juniors who are pretty much trying to prove their innocence in the death of their former friend. Sound familiar? Wonder why…*cough One Of Us Is Lying cough*. Anyway, as is expected, all these main characters have their fair share of secrets, some of which are just slightly over dramatic and more than a little unbelievable. I won't say them here because spoilers (I wonder if there's a way to hide spoilers on here like on Goodreads…), but let's just say Krystal? Probably could've dialed that down.

I definitely think some of the more interesting parts of the book came in the form of the struggles the main characters faced. For example, Nancy and how she's a scholarship student at a private high school full of rich kids (sans Alexander). Also, factor in that she's Asian American and the book really highlights pressures students experience against these barriers.

The plot. It was so dramatic that it was like GIVE ME MORE, but at the same time it was so extra that in the back of your mind you're always going, "really?" The dialogue. You could almost explicitly tell that it was meant for almost younger young adults, I guess. I'm sure a twelve-year-old could read this and enjoy it maybe more than a fifteen-year-old could. That's mostly because when the characters end up being the same age as you, you almost expect them to act and do exactly as you do, and when they do anything remotely juvenile-esque you're like okay maybe this isn't for me?

Also, the book was fairly short, only about 350 pages. Which left much to be desired. Especially regarding the suspense, I definitely could've used more. This had a severe case of, "Oh, your classmate was murdered? Well, okay. Get to class!" Hopefully, that will get better in the next installment, and hopefully at least one or two characters will become more attachment-worthy. Especially because Anon doesn't count.

Finally, the finale. The reveal was…meh. As soon as just about anyone starts this they'll dwindle from two to one options as to who the mysterious "Proctor" is, and almost everyone is going to guess right. That being said, the way the reveal went down was slightly surprising because we didn't really get any hints as to it being that way, but maybe that just adds to the intrigue. I'm sure if a reread happened, I'd find little tidbits that would be utter eye-openers.

All in all, How We Fall Apart was a pretty good mystery with a group of students out to clear their names, face secrets being revealed along the way, and full of over-the-top drama. No stress because the cliffhanger wasn't huge, but there are more secrets to be unveiled…

I...am not sure if I enjoyed this book or not. On one hand, it was really cool to read about Asians in dark academia. But on the other, it felt flat and incomplete? The story felt choppy and the main character had a lot of inconsistencies. I also felt as though the narrative of Asian American identity felt rushed and surface level.

If you’ve read any YA thrillers that have come out over the past few years, How We Fall Apart will likely seem familiar. There’s a missing student, a group of friends with hidden secrets, the clueless adults surrounding them and a faceless villain using technology to expose and cyberbully their intended targets.

It’s a formula that wasn’t ‘invented’ by One of Us is Lying, but sure appears to have been popularized by it. And why not? The biggest gaps between previous generations and Gen Z circle back to technology and social media, and even the distance between Zoomers and Millennials seems to be widening in this sense. So, yeah, even though a lot of these synopses are starting to sound the same, I can’t say it isn’t relevant to a modern teenage audience.

(I only have one note for authors—repeat after me: NO MORE PLOTS THAT REVOLVE AROUND EVERY STUDENT IN SCHOOL GETTING MASS TEXTS. It is silly and not how texting works. Also it seems more like a 20 or 30-somethings idea of how teenagers communicate. Just like……find a new thing.)

But back to the story, I think the more interesting aspects of this book lie in the specific struggles of each of the central characters, including their family wealth, ethnicity, mental health, etc. The plot, while engaging, doesn’t really offer anything groundbreaking within the genre. I wish the characters had been more fleshed-out for this reason, and the text overall felt starved in some places. I’m not sure what the final page count on this is, but my ARC clocked in at about 300 pages, so I know there was definitely space for some more development.

The dialogue, to me, seemed on the younger side of YA, a little more juvenile. Which isn’t a swipe at the book or author! I imagine a 15 year-old would enjoy How We Fall Apart more than, say, a 17 or 18 year-old, but it is going to be different for each person. Katie Zhao has previously written middle grade novels so I could see how this would be a natural extension for her now that she’s moving into a slightly older audience. YA books are not going to be written for me, nor should they be as I’m an adult woman. But those couple of years between ages during these formative years really do make a difference at that point in your life.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the final ‘reveal’ twist if I am being completely honest, but I am intrigued with the cliffhanger ending. As there’s already a planned sequel, I’m excited to see where the next book picks up after leaving us all metaphorically hanging. There’s still a few pretty big secrets up in the air and I’m expecting that the eventual unfurling of them will finally grant the level of satisfaction that was missing for me in this first installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books for the opportunity to read and review an advanced readers copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

Students at an elite prep school are forced to confront their secrets when their ex-best friend turns up dead.

I was so excited to read this book. It had all of the elements for an exciting thriller - dark academia aesthetic, upper class New York City setting, and a murder mystery whodunnit plot. There were some parts of this book I really enjoyed and some parts that left me feeling a little disappointed. Overall, it was a very entertaining read that I had me hooked from the beginning.

To start, I loved the gossip Tip Tap app aspect that gave me major Gossip Girl vibes. The petty drama surrounding Nancy and her friends was addicting to read about and left me wanting more. I do think the characters were overdramatized to the point where it seemed too unrealistic, like how some of the group's 'secrets' were more believable versus some that were way over the top (I won't mention who to avoid spoilers, but if you read this you'll know what I mean).

I did also really appreciate the author's descriptions of the major pressures that students, and especially Asian American students in private schools like Sinclair Prep, experience on a day to day basis. I think it's an important conversation to have, especially when introducing characters like Nancy, who do not come from money and face major barriers because of this.

What I didn't enjoy as much was the way some of the situations these characters found themselves in were too unbelievable. This friend group broke apart months before and are suddenly best friends again? The "incident" seemed to play out too conveniently to be realistic and the secrets exposed on the gossip app seemed almost glossed over? I couldn't really buy it, but the drama was still very addicting regardless.

This book reminds me a lot of Pretty Little Liars meets One of Us is Lying. If you're a fan of those types of stories, you will love this one! I really enjoyed it, but wish some of the situations that were a bit of a reach were more believable.

Jamie Ruan was the fiercely ambitious, pretty and popular queen of the highly competitive and prestigious Richard Sinclair Preparatory School. Whatever Jamie wanted, Jamie got, and if she had to use underhanded methods sometimes in order to secure her academic position or snag an extracurricular role, that was all fine by her. But when her wealthy businessman father was arrested for corruption, her school friends -- some more sincere in their friendship than others -- felt compelled to drop her, turning the queen bee into a social pariah.

When Nancy Luo, Krystal Choi, Alexander Lin and Akil Patel get a group text asking them to meet Jamie one afternoon, the four friends reluctantly show up, only to find that Jamie has stood them up anyway. The four feel some guilt over having ejected Jamie from their circle but are secretly glad that her father’s arrest has given them a reason to distance themselves from her toxic personality. Still, they’re shocked and saddened later by the news that Jamie has been found dead, apparently from an accidental drug overdose.

Sadness turns to fear when someone using the social media gossip app Tip Tap accuses them of having something to do with Jamie’s death. The Proctor, as the mysterious accuser calls themself, vows to expose a terrible secret about each of the four unless one of them confesses to murder. While the friends swear up and down that they had no involvement in their ex-friend’s demise, they are each hiding a potentially devastating secret that could ruin everything they’ve worked so hard for in their young lives.

Because life at Sinclair Prep is extraordinarily hard, especially with the expectations of their families pressuring them to be the best, to not be weak, to pursue academic and collegiate excellence no matter what the cost. Krystal and Akil come from privileged backgrounds while both Alexander and Nancy are scholarship kids: what they share in common is a drive fuelled by their families to overachieve. Our narrator Nancy tries to push down her pain and exhaustion as she pours herself into her studies, telling herself:

QUOTE
This was nothing. Nothing compared to what my parents had endured to rise to the top of China’s exponentially tougher educational system, only to come to the States and have to work in manual labor anyway. Nothing compared to what they’d sacrificed to bring me here, to this day, to this moment.

Everyone wanted to hear success stories about those who came from nothing, working hard to become something extraordinary.

Nobody would want to know the gritty, unpleasant details about what it took--what it <i>really</i> took--to get there.
END QUOTE

With The Proctor threatening to reveal the four friends’ worst secrets, they’ll have to team up to uncover their tormentor’s identity, and hopefully prevent their deepest shames from seeing the light of day. Otherwise, The Proctor promises to prove one of them guilty of murder. Nancy, Krystal, Alexander and Akil assure each other that this threat is false. None of them would ever think of killing Jamie… would they?

This twisty tale of dark academia is like Pretty Little Liars with a primarily Asian American cast and a greater focus on academic excellence leading to future success, with all the drawbacks that accompany that mentality. The pressure cooker our students are in is suffocating, even before they’re accused of their former friend’s murder. These terrible circumstances bring out both the very best and very worst of them, as when Krystal confides in Nancy about her past:

QUOTE
[“]I haven’t been truthful about who I used to be before starting school at Sinclair Prep. The person I am now is basically the <i>opposite</i> of who I used to be. I--I pretend to be good, but really I’ve done some <i>awful</i> things.”

Hadn’t we all? Done awful things to stay at the top. Horrible, twisted misdeeds, for the chance to have everything, everything this school had promised us.

“You’re not pretending to be good,” I said. Because I needed this to be true, needed to know that some of it was real. “You <i>are</i> good. It’s called character growth.”
END QUOTE

Katie Zhao dives deep into the psyche of kids who have to sublimate everything they naturally are in order to please their parents, as well as the lengths these kids will go to in order to achieve. It’s horrifying to watch this teenage cast bend and sometimes break as they try to navigate the poisonous waters of their teenage years, dabbling in things they know they shouldn’t but unable to think of any other way to survive. How We Fall Apart is a convincing plea for less pressure and for greater mental health awareness for young people, featuring a cast that’s refreshingly different from most of the high school thrillers out there. Mature readers may find the twists less than shocking, but they’re perfectly suited to the book’s YA classification.

My rating: 4.5/5 stars

If you are a fan of Gossip Girl, you will love this book. I consumed the majority of this one in just 8 hours and it was basically impossible to put down. There are very many content warnings, though, so make sure you check those out before you pick this up (I listed the ones I noticed at the beginning of this post).

We follow our main character, Nancy Luo, a scholarship student attending the prestigious Sinclair Prep. The action is present right from the very first scene, when the entire student body receives an ominous message about another student. Soon after that, the student, Jamie Ruan, is found dead. When an anonymous post on Tip Tap (basically an anonymous twitter for the students, think Creeksecrets tumblr from Simon vs) identifies Jamie’s four former bffs as the suspects, things get crazy.

The post identifies each student using their darkest secret, and it was a lot of fun figuring out who was who. It wasn’t too hard, though, at least for me. As the friends secrets are revealed one by one, the race to find this Gossip Girl wannabe, the Proctor, becomes more and more vital.

Though each of the main characters was hiding a dark secret, I still found them extremely likeable. My favorite was definitely Alexander, the other scholarship student and nicest person ever.

The book is filled with constant references to the Incident, which was mildly annoying and only slightly disappointing when I found out what the actual Incident was. Despite the predictability of the plot, there is probably no way you will guess the actual plot twist.

The one thing that kept How We Fall Apart from a 5 star rating from me was our main character herself, Nancy. She was slightly annoying, but the main thing that bothered me about her was all her boy drama. She is extremely indesicive and keeps making relationship desicions that almost had me throwing my kindle across the room, but ya know, it was expensive. One minute this guy reveals his true colors, and the next suddenly her best friend is way more handsome than he was 30 seconds ago (can you feel my eye roll through the screen?).

Despite Nancy being my second to least favorite of the group (I was not a fan of Akil, sorry), I still enjoyed this book immensely. There was just something about it that kept me reading, whether it was the dark academia vibes, or the fact that I was sitting in an airport with nothing else to do, I am not sure. Anyway, this is definitely one that will be on my mind for a while.

How We Fall Apart is a great book for getting out of a reading slump and dipping your toes into the waters of YA thrillers. Overall, I would recommend. Though maybe try for a physical copy that you can actually throw when the characters annoy you.

I would recommend this if: you like Gossip Girl, you need to get out of a reading slump, you are looking to read more YA thriller, you want a page turner

I would not recommend this if: annoying characters drive you crazy, you hate YA thriller, you are not in the mood to read about rich kids doing horrible things and their parents bribing people (this is 90% of the book)

HOW WE FALL APART has some strengths and also some weaknesses. In terms of the positives, I liked that Zhao did a really good job of showing the varied experiences of her characters, all of whom are Asian American students who are vying for perfection at a prestigious private school. There are the super privileged and wealthy, like dead girl Jamie and her cousin Pete, who seem to stroll through life with entitlement and ease. But there are also students like Nancy, who is on a full scholarship and whose mother is a maid for Jamie's family. The friendships between our main characters, especially between Nancy and Jamie in flashbacks, are complex and filled with the ills of classism and privilege. Zhao also incorporates the very real issues of racism that all of the main characters have to face from the white classmates, and how even the mega privileged like Jamie can never quite escape that. But in terms of a thriller novel, HOW WE FALL APART doesn't really do anything new with the material and premise. I was more interested in the class dynamics of the characters than I was in The Proctor, what really happened to Jamie, and what the 'incident' that Nancy was always worried about really was. We've just seen a lot of it before in YA Thrillers, from the fraught but falsely accused group of friends to the mysterious tormentor.

For those who are just starting in the YA thriller genre this book will probably be a good fit, but if someone has dipped their toe in a lot, it probably won't satisfy as much as other options. Overall, I'd recommend this to a very certain thriller fan, and that would be the burgeoning one.

Wowza, I really enjoyed this read! Found it to be the perfect amount of intense and fun! Was written in a stellar fashion, with such amazing character development that I couldn’t help but need to know more about the individual characters and the central problem! Kept me engaged from beginning until the end, with its great twisty turns, chilling chills, thrilling thrills, and shocks! I think it’ll be a great one in the YA thriller field, as it’s quite intriguing! Highly recommend!

Will buzz around platforms and use top Amazon reviewer number on release!

This book has a great premise and great descriptors: dark academia, Gossip Girl meets Crazy Rich Asians meets One of Us is Lying — sign me up. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me and was a bit of a slog to finish. The characters all felt very one-dimensional and there was very little suspense, despite repeated mentions of “The Incident” that sent them all on this path of betrayal. The final reveal was some straight up 80s soap opera business that felt sloppy and ridiculous. I think this is going to be the right book for some readers, but it was not a good one for me.

This was a 5 star prediction for me and one of my most anticipated releases of the year, but I feel like I have a tendency to overhype dark academia for myself because if it's done well, it's all time fave material.

This was by no means a bad book, but it's also not new fave material for me. All in all, I feel a little underwhelmed. In a dark academia thriller, I want psychological depth and suspense, and we kind of get neither here. I don't feel like I got to know the characters that well at all, even Nancy, who's the main character. Since they're friends, I wanted to see the bonds between them explored, but that didn't really happen either. We get told they're friends but it doesn't really show.

Overall, I did find this book enjoyable, and hard to put down. But it wasn't nearly as exciting as I was hoping it would be.

This book had such a strong premise--dark academia thriller with Asian-American cast--but it unfortunately petered out with its execution. The plot was trivial and predictable, and I didn't feel any aspects of the genre aside from the barebones structure of the plot. We have a gothic-esque school and murder, but what we don't have is the ante and theatrics that make shows like Gossip Girl work. Similarly, there really wasn't an exploration of Asian-American identity and the nuances that make experiences of first generation kids different from each other through their cultural backgrounds. I was upset that this book ended on a cliffhanger to make HOW WE FALL APART into a duology, because I saw little to no growth or maturity in its protagonist aside from a half-hearted epiphany that mental health matters.

I say this as a Vietnamese-American college graduate who has struggled with mental health and has experienced this pressure cooker education system, but I feel like despite the author's best attempts, she sorely underdelivered. Perhaps if this book was more in the adult genre (instead of YA) then there would have been more room to flesh out the circumstances that make this environment toxic--none of this stereotypical Asian parent "We sacrificed everything and were dirt poor and therefore your sole life purpose must be to pay us tenfold through your academic success". That's tired. I lived that life, I overcame that mentality, and given the destigmatization of mental health in the rise of Gen Z, I know it's possible for young Asian-American students can come to these realizations at an even younger age.

All of this to say, thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC. It was a very easy read and I finished this in a few hours. I will be keeping my review posted on Netgalley and Goodreads, as I truly do not want to do the author dirty and blast her on Instagram. I really do want to support and amplify Asian voices, because god knows that dark academia is whitewashed enough as is, but this just wasn't it.

How We Fall Apart is a fast-paced, YA thriller that focuses on four teens all hiding a dark secret. This book is perfect for fans of Gossip Girl and One Of Us Is Lying . There’s so much mystery and intrigue that I found myself eager to keep reading. I do wish some of the characters were explored a bit deeper. I also wished the ending wrapped things up a bit better.