Zhao sometimes falters in her execution, relying too much on literally explaining the atmosphere she’s capturing for her audience. This is a fresh spin on the previous tropes of the thriller/YA genre. In fact, How We Fall Apart sometimes feels like reading a dystopian twist on growing up Asian American, where the “sins” of each character aren’t so much cheating on a boyfriend, but more about cheating on tests to get ahead. Jamie’s mental health and her obsessive desire for perfection serve as the most compelling arc of the narrative. Jamie is also emblematic of the story’s exploration of dark academia as it intersects Asian American pressures. She wields her power with such subtle yet straightforward honesty that it’s easy to see why she’s the centerpiece of the crime. As a character, Jamie is complex and terrifying.

Zhao does an excellent job mythologizing her characters, particularly the striking and mysterious Jamie, who assumes a role larger than herself as the “dead girl” that this story revolves around. It falls on Nancy Luo, a scholarship student and Jamie’s former “friend,” to figure out who the murderer is, in addition to who’s been sending the mysterious messages threatening to expose Nancy and her friends’ secrets. Years of backstabbing and betrayal culminate in the murder of Jamie Ruan, the “It” girl at Sinclair High.

How We Fall Apart is a murder mystery with a vivid atmospheric setting reminiscent of Gossip Girl. Tearing them apart only results in the realization that there was nothing there but mere images in the first place.

In Katie Zhao’s debut YA novel, the students at Sinclair High fall apart through lies and deception, though their lies are built upon so many more. For some, falling apart comes with the acknowledgement that there had to be something concrete to begin with.

How we fall apart katie zhao