How We Fall Apart

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The story begins with Nancy presenting to her school; when Jamie fails to make it, she thinks nothing of her ex-friend’s no show. However, this socio-economic difference between Nancy and Jamie does heavily frame who the former is and how that has impacted her education. Nancy Luo, the narrator, has an accessible voice that makes her the perfect person to bring people into the story. They each have their own secrets someone named the Proctor has gotten ahold of, and each of those secrets could bring them down from their place on the social ladder. There are already chapters including Jamie (who they were also once close with), which could’ve been perfect opportunities to flesh out them out, but ended up lacking instead.

This story includes scenes of drug use, excessive bullying, suicide, and a romantic relationship between a teacher and a student. I liked that it was about that secret, but I think someone else being the person behind it wouldn’t have stretched my believability so much. I would’ve liked more backstory with their friendship and how that fell apart, especially since it feels like an integral part of the story. How We Fall Apart is a look into Asian students at Sinclair Prep, trying to stay on top of the pack with perfect grades. While she may have an “accessible” voice, she is also an unreliable narrator and the person who competed most with Jamie, even being her closest “friend.With everything to gain, and so much to lose, Nancy is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her spot at the school leading her to increasingly ruthless choices as the novel progresses.

It’s everything that I could relate to growing up as an Asian American with immigrant parents: the pressure to be the best because of the sacrifices made, and the opportunities I’ve had my parents would’ve loved to have. At the same time, readers should be advised that mental health plays a major part in this story--and in the circumstances of Jamie's death. They seem to entirely be ignoring the fact that there’s a fifth person clearly involved and manipulating things.Nancy is even more shocked when word starts to spread that she and her friends--Krystal, Akil, and Alexander--are the prime suspects, thanks to "The Proctor," someone anonymously incriminating them via the school's social media app. When I slowly began to realise the plot wasn’t working for me, I was somewhat holding onto the characters, hoping they would carry the story on, but it felt like I was reading a story that wasn’t quite complete. HWFA is intense suspense as much as it is sharp criticism of the competition in schools, a fire that is fanned particularly in the Asian American community. How We Fall Apart has four main characters (Nancy Lou, Krystal Choi, Akil Patel and Alexander Lin), all of who were once close to Jamie Ruan, who is found dead. And Zhao extends this character development and backstories to so many of the other side characters.

She graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in English and a minor in political science; she also completed her master’s in accounting there. HOW WE FALL APART is a twisty academic thriller about the children of immigrants fighting to stay top of their classes as their former best friend dies – and they’re accused of the murder by an anonymous social media poster.Dark, deceptive, and deliciously deadly, How We Fall Apart cuts to the core of the Asian American experience through a fast-paced, twisty academia thriller. It is a critical commentary on the toxicity of American academics and the pressure to be more than the best at all times (especially coming from Asian families). Secrets shared on Tip Tap have real consequences, including ostracizing, suspensions, or even loss of scholarships.

I’m sorry you had a negative experience, but I also appreciate being able to see this side of this book. Katie Zhao’s YA debut is an edge-of-your-seat drama set in the pressure-cooker world of academics and image at Sinclair Prep, where the past threatens the future these teens have carefully crafted for themselves.

it seemed a little contrived that it could be that person – a lot of very extreme decisions had to be made back in the past (in an emotionally fraught time) and then none of those lies could be detected for a few years.