"Yeungs don't make a scene" is one of those rules in Nina's family that keep her being the top of her music class and just overall a good student. After her first love Ethan dies by suicide, she still tries to apply it by putting on a mask even though her inside is broken. She thinks she can handle it until Carmen, her all-star sister, comes home in an unlikely manner, shocking everyone. And when she discovers Carmen's relationship with Ethan, she needs to do something before it's too late.

The first chapters didn't entice me right away. They were jumbled, too 'right-onto-the-action' with very little context, so it was hard to connect with the situation and empathize with Nina's feeling. We find out that Ethan just committed suicide and Nina's crashing out by repeating 'not real' but the reason why he means something to Nina is told much later, back and forth from flashback to present days and vice versa. The confusion dissipated after chapter 10, and Carmen situation started to pick up the pace at chapter 21. This is where the real story starts.

After that, I could begin to enjoy and understand what it feels to be Nina Yeung with all the pressure and expectations, with love that's mistranslated and words that wait to be spoken. The writing style might be choppy for those who get used to long poetic sentences, but it helped me keep up with the flow. Clues started to pop up, dots were connected, and I personally liked the twist and the build up before that. It was saddening to see that parents can be blind to what happened to their own children, making me hope for the opposite for myself. It resolved quite neatly in the end.

The way Nina retrieves and receives information about Ethan, Carmen, or her family is embedded nicely with the plot. Maybe just one about her dad's start-up problem, because I don't think an employee or a business partner should disclose something about their work to strangers that easily. This is my first realistic YA after quite a long time so getting back to it feels like coming home, especially with the cover that resemblances late 2010s YA covers that I personally hold so dearly. It screams angst, and I expected angst, and it eventually delivered.

This Side of Falling tells not only about grief, but also finding a way to live again and face the music doesn't have to be on your own. As someone who grew up in Asian household, this book also serves as a reminder to break generational trauma and while it isn't an easy task to do, it is possible. I wish the first chapters were more accessible and organized, but thankfully the rest of the book made it up.

3.5 stars rounded down. Thank you to Soho Teen and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this novel, opinion expressed are my own.

Layered, complex, honest, real.

A wonderful YA novel from Eunice Chan, This Side of Falling follows Nina between the past and present after her “complicated” almost boyfriend jumps in front of a train.

Nina, expected by her family to be perfect - in the footsteps of her older sister - struggles with her grief, her relationships and what she wants music to be in her life. Her family struggles with what not succeeding means to a perfect on the outside life.

I devoured this book over a couple of days, and whilst the ending does feel rushed it’s a brilliant read and one I won’t hesitate in recommending.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Soho Press (Soho Teen) for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the story of Nina, a high school senior who loves violin who's life changes forever at the death of her boyfriend, Ethan. It also explores Nina's relationships with the members of her strict family, and what she chooses for her future.

I really enjoyed reading this book; I think it was paced really well and kept a nice balance of switching between the past and present. I hated seeing Nina go through such a sad time in her life, especially with problems with her family at home, so it was heartwarming to see her recover from these things throughout the book. She was a really likeable character that made me sympathise with her and become very invested in her story. I also liked how the author gave her an important relationship with music, and I think she described Nina's feelings while performing perfectly.

One thing I didn't love was that the ending seemed quite rushed to me: there were a lot of things that were revealed near the end that really could have been explored more to make the story feel more resolved, and instead, everything wrapped up quite fast and it didn't feel like a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, this book is a really good YA contemporary novel, and explores a lot of important themes with a story that flows really well.

A multilayered YA with complex themes, many of them quite dark and tragic. A snapshot in time of grief weaved with mystery as Nina wonders how much she really knew Ethan, her mysterious friend-but-more-than-friend. I enjoyed the subtle back and forth with past and present, which flowed rather than was jarring.

Wonderful, authoritative writing, leaving me excited for more Eunice Chan books! I read this in just under two days and the pace and plot was constantly intriguing. A really solid, heartfelt, and thought-provoking YA