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missbear's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I'll preface this by saying that this kind of courtroom thriller is not my preferred genre - it's not that I don't enjoy them at all, but that I rarely find them memorable enough or personally appealing enough to rate them more than 3 stars. So essentially, by my standards for this genre, Miracle Creek was a quite enjoyable example for me.
I found Miracle Creek to be pretty compulsively readable (and I was reading it alongside Man's Search for Meaning, which though short, is a bit dense, so it was an enjoyable diversion.) I read a bit more about Angie Kim after reading this book and I learned that she had firsthand experience with many of the elements of this story (the HBOT treatment, being a parent to a child suffering from a longterm illness, being an immigrant to America). I think her experience, passion, and familiarity with the topics really did come through in her writing to good effect.
My main issue is that I am not particularly fond of a particular trope seemingly common in mystery/thriller novels, where the story is told from the perspective of characters who "keep secrets" from the reader. I don't mean unreliable narrators, exactly, because in this case the characters are not narrators - it's just that we're in their heads, being told their feelings and thoughts, except for certain key feelings and thoughts that would reveal the mystery. It just bothers me, though I will happily concede that this was not as egregious a problem in Miracle Creek as it has been in some other similar books I've read (like Jodi Picoult's novels).
I found Miracle Creek to be pretty compulsively readable (and I was reading it alongside Man's Search for Meaning, which though short, is a bit dense, so it was an enjoyable diversion.) I read a bit more about Angie Kim after reading this book and I learned that she had firsthand experience with many of the elements of this story (the HBOT treatment, being a parent to a child suffering from a longterm illness, being an immigrant to America). I think her experience, passion, and familiarity with the topics really did come through in her writing to good effect.
My main issue is that I am not particularly fond of a particular trope seemingly common in mystery/thriller novels, where the story is told from the perspective of characters who "keep secrets" from the reader. I don't mean unreliable narrators, exactly, because in this case the characters are not narrators - it's just that we're in their heads, being told their feelings and thoughts, except for certain key feelings and thoughts that would reveal the mystery. It just bothers me, though I will happily concede that this was not as egregious a problem in Miracle Creek as it has been in some other similar books I've read (like Jodi Picoult's novels).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Suicide
emeraldelephant's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Infertility, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Car accident
habertoes's review against another edition
The book did not address satisfactorily the inherent ableism in the plot. The MC owns a hyperbaric chamber company and multiple mothers bring their autistic children to 'treat' their autism. The children are young and not given any voice by the author. There is a group of protestors who see the problem and false promises with this hyperbaric treatment, but they are not given any credence and are treated like the villains. Unfortunately, this was enough to turn me off the story despite the quality writing and own voices depiction of a family of Korean immigrants.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, and Adult/minor relationship
Ableism against autistic children.theresablue's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This book is incredibly ableist against autistic people. It perpetuates harmful stereotypes and promotes abusive behavior towards autistic children, framing it as 'a mother's love'. It also perpetuates the myth that vaccines cause autism and promotes the use of autism 'cures' like Miracle Mineral Solution (BLEACH). Both autistic characters within this book are young boys, one of whom is killed in a incredibly horrific way, the other's defining characteristics are that he smears his shit everywhere and ends the book institutionalized. None of this is substantially addressed in narrative and the book continually perpetuates the idea that autistic children are a burden to their parents, that the parents of autistic children are somehow special and worthy of admiration for loving and caring for their children despite them not being 'normal' and that autism can and should be cured.
I think the one redeeming factor of this book is the mother/daughter relationship between Young and Mary, but beside that, even ignoring the harmful and offensive ableism, this book's plot and characters are boring and repetitive. I don't know why it's so popular or why so many reviewers are so blind to the ableism within it.
I think the one redeeming factor of this book is the mother/daughter relationship between Young and Mary, but beside that, even ignoring the harmful and offensive ableism, this book's plot and characters are boring and repetitive. I don't know why it's so popular or why so many reviewers are so blind to the ableism within it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
greyetal's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, Infidelity, and Infertility
peeshpish's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Differing POVs & unreliable narrators help keep the mystery going until the end without completely misleading readers or being too obviously a misdirection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicide, Child abuse, Ableism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic friendship
Minor: Vomit and Addiction
beauty_andbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I had such high expectations for this book since it's been recommended so much over the past few years. I can't say it was a bad book, but it just didn't keep my attention like I expected. With such a dark premise, I thought that it would keep me wanting more as I read. It's a heart-wrenching story and I think it deserves all the accolades, but it just wasn't my favorite. I love a much faster paced thriller story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, and Child abuse
professorbadger's review against another edition
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Miracle Creek would make a GREAT choice for book clubs. The characters and their motivations were all complicated, opening up a range of topics for discussion and leaving room for divergent views.
Other than that, though … I found it well written but a little dull. The characters were complex and the plot was complicated, so in theory it should have been great. But it felt like a slow read all the same. I would definitely try another book by the same author, though.
Other than that, though … I found it well written but a little dull. The characters were complex and the plot was complicated, so in theory it should have been great. But it felt like a slow read all the same. I would definitely try another book by the same author, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
elisabethsshelf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Sexual assault
gabbo's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Sexual content, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, and Child death
Minor: Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse