14 must-read new YA releases to beat the August heat
By Lacy Baugher
August 2021 release: How We Fall Apart – Katie Zhao
In this YA thriller that is described as part Crazy Rich Asians meets One of Us is Lying, students at an elite prep school are forced to confront their darkest secrets when their ex-best friend turns up dead.
How We Fall Apart is a story that feels familiar on the surface (Pretty Little Liars anyone?) but its predominantly Asian cast of characters sets it apart, as does its decision to wrestle with the hyper-competitiveness, strict upbringings, and myths about immigrant success that permeate their communities at home.
Set at Sinclair Prep, an elite Upper West Side high school that boasts multiple alumni who went on to become U.S. presidents, How We Fall Apart follows Nancy, a daughter of first-generation immigrants who was accepted on a full scholarship and is desperate to prove she belongs there. She often felt inferior to her former best friend Jamie Ruan, a cruel queen bee type who’ll do anything to get her way but who lived a glamourous lifestyle. (The girls had a falling out and the reasons for this are a part of the story that follows.)
But when Jamie is found dead and an anonymous hacker known only as “The Proctor” starts sharing the darkest secrets of Nancy and the rest of Jamie’s closest friends through social media, they realize that they’ll have to uncover the true killer before their own futures are ruined.
The official synopsis explains the story in more detail.
"Nancy Luo is shocked when her former best friend, Jamie Ruan, top ranked junior at Sinclair Prep, goes missing, and then is found dead. 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. They all used to be Jamie’s closest friends, and she knew each of their deepest, darkest secrets. Now, somehow The Proctor knows them, too. The four must uncover the true killer before The Proctor exposes more than they can bear and costs them more than they can afford, like Nancy’s full scholarship. Soon, Nancy suspects that her friends may be keeping secrets from her, too."
How We Fall Apart is available on August 17.