E. Lockhart’s “We Fell Apart” (2025, 305 pages in hardback format) is promoted as a YA (Young Adult) novel, but it’s really appropriate for any age, even younger teens as it is devoid of “adult” language and sex. Like the other YA books that I’ve reviewed over the years, it’s just a good story, well written.
This is book #3 in Lockhart’s “Liar” series, but it’s a stand-alone. Fans of her previous books will remember the Sinclair family, but the aristocratic members are only peripheral to the plot.However, it’s not surprising that at least one of the characters is a relation to the Sinclairs as it has been customary for members of the upper-upper class to marry only other upper-upper class people. As this social class is very small as compared to the other levels of society, this often results in complex relationships.
But “We Fell Apart” is really Matilda Klein’s story.She is young (18), intelligent (headed to University of California Irvine in the fall), a superior “gamer” who is designing a computer game of her own, and the estranged daughter of Kingsley Cello, a world-famous artist.She has grown up in a family of two, just mother and daughter, but mother has decided to follow her newest boyfriend to Mexico City, leaving Matilda behind.However, Matilda has received an email from a father she has never known. In fact, she has never even heard his name.