Matilda has only ever known her “family of two” including her mum and herself. They have moved around a lot, and as she’s grown, she’s wondered about her father. Her mum isn’t keen on that particular topic, so it’s never spoken of.

Completely out of the blue, Matilda receives an email from her father. He’s inviting her to his home on Beechwood Island and has a gift waiting for her. Her father is none other than Kingsley Cello, an artist whose works sell for millions of dollars. He’s been called a visionary, a genius, reclusive, mysterious, and is a God in the art world.

Now that Matilda’s mother has left her to go and live with her new boyfriend, and Matilda has broken up with her own – she decides that she has nothing to lose. Maybe meeting her father will give her the ‘something’ she is missing and help her explain her constant need to sketch and draw maps and designs for possible computer games? She sets off for the home of her father called Hidden Beach.

When she arrives after long flights, air sickness and the worry she’s made a terrible mistake, she meets a boy called Meer who is her half brother. His mum June lives in the seaside mansion too, along with two other guys near her age. But the one person she travelled all those hours for is absent.

Disappointed but fascinated by this huge house and the reasons the guys named Brock and Tatum are there, Matilda decides to stay. Seeing her father’s work makes her realise all his kudos in the art world is understandable. His work stirs something deep in Matilda, and she can’t wait to tell him in person.

However, Kingsley Cello is an enigma, not ruled by anyone’s rules but his own. He comes and goes where and when he pleases, and just because he wanted to see her last week, doesn’t mean he still wants the same a week later. This information is shared by Meer’s mum, June, and the tension between her and Matilda builds the longer she is on Beechwood Island.

Feeling increasingly unwelcome by anyone but Meer, Matilda wonders whether she should give up and go home. But this is her only chance to know more about her father’s branch of the family tree. Is she related to the wealthy Sinclair family who lost teens in a fire on the island? Why has her father painted a picture of her floating alone in a boat, and why won’t he return home when he invited her there in the first place?

As a huge fan of We Were Liars, I had to dive back into another ya novel by E Lockhart, not bothered whether it was linked or not. We Fell Apart can be read on it’s own, but there is a definite link to the Sinclair family tragedy. It’s interesting to see their plight from an outside point of view of people who lived nearby on the same island.

A warning though – if you read We Fell Apart, I guarantee you’ll want to know more about the gutted burnt shell of the mansion the characters visit, and who the Sinclair family are.

We Fell Apart is definitely intriguing, and more so the longer you read. It is a deep dive into one young woman’s discovery of family, self, past secrets and current lies. A surprising reveal is entertaining, with an enemies to lovers thread, and a satisfying ending.

Author – E Lockhart

Publisher – Allen & Unwin

Age – 12+

(2025, Allen & Unwin, Family, Blended Family, Secret, Betrayal, Mystery, Series, 2012, Sinclair family, Finding family, Father, Alternate lifestyles, Island, Wealth, Art, Discovering the truth, Paintings, Portraits, Seaside Mansion)