Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

66 reviews

weird_but_fucking_beautiful's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

This isn’t an easy book to try and review. In fact, it is a downright ugly book to try and review. There are no happy go lucky characters here. No happy endings. This story is about the unforgiving daily hardships a parent faces as the single care giver of a child with special needs. This story is about the lies we tell ourselves and others to fit a narrative that leads to the most suitable outcome. How far would you go to protect someone you loved? How much of something beneficial is too much?  These are some of the tough questions author Angie Kim poses as she skillfully balances the memories of the moralistically grey characters, barring one, regarding the event in question with scenes from the ongoing trial. The book relies heavily on the theory of The Butterfly Effect in which “the smallest of changes in one surrounding could leave drastic ripple effects at some point in the future”. It is a heavy, thought provoking story that does not cut corners in any of its topic debates including what is exactly the fine line between nurturing a child vs abusing a child. 

A potential 5 star read, I knocked a 1/2 star off due to a slight drag in the middle. 

 

 

 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Infertility, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Stalking

mairyhammoth's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Car accident

dlrosebyh's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-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

3.5

A group of people in a tiny town in Virginia know one other because they are members of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may heal a variety of problems ranging from infertility to autism. But suddenly the chamber explodes, killing two individuals, and it becomes evident that the incident was not an accident. 

 

As the tale progresses, a tremendous battle builds between people who may be be hidden secrets or concealing betrayals. We swap alliances and gather proof chapter by chapter: Was it a patient's thoughtless mother? Was it the proprietors, intending to profit from a large insurance payout and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester attempting to demonstrate that the therapy is unsafe? 

 

It took me a while to get into the book, but that's not my main concern because it's a page turner after that. My main concern is how one of the characters dealt with autism. The portrayal was actually rather nice, however there was one storyline flaw in one particular scenario. A mother attempted to do something to her autistic child, but it was never fully explained why she did so or why she believed it was a good idea. It wasn't brought up again in the following chapters, and as a neurodivergent person, it still bothers me. 

 

Overall, I felt this was an intriguing read. It is a really well-written and unique plot when compared to other mystery thrillers. The characters are flawed, but I did predict the plot twist and thought, "Oh, yeah, suppose that's it" — kind of defeats the purpose of a good mystery novel, doesn't it? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide, Infertility, and Adult/minor relationship

betsygrace's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was very popular and it’s been on my shelf for ages, so I finally decided to read it. I think it was overhyped. It’s a legal thriller, but there is this weird stigmatization of autism that I don’t like. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Blood, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual content, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Violence

outernetbex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

i was a little disappointed by the ending honestly. i think that may be the point of the book though.

it wasn’t the satisfying end that i had hoped for because no one that actually deserved it got punished? it felt a bit like… silly for it to just have been some horrible accident. i know that’s how things go in real life, but i’m still annoyed about matt’s involvement

i think the author did a great job capturing the reality of life and the entertainment of the court cases. i felt like maybe it was too long. i started feeling like impatient for the resolution instead of anticipating the end with all its reveals. i read it in two days though, good book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Child death

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Vomit

camz's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pedophilia

aprilnotmay's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Racism, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Child death, Ableism, Gaslighting, Child abuse, and Medical content

jesscoast's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’ma little floored after wrapping up this devastating, complex, horrific book. Yet I’m incredibly impressed by the feat accomplished by Kim in telling this detailed, structured, gripping story.

With elements of horror and family drama woven through the intricate threads of Miracle Creek, it goes further than any courtroom thriller could be expected to do. The character’s back stories, family dynamics, motives and claims all come into question and all play out over an emotional four day trial. The book is not for the faint of heart and I did have trouble coming back to it in the beginning, but I felt a commitment to the characters to see it through to the end. Each new peice of information is a clue and the mystery begins to reveal itself along the many intentions, misguided deeds, web of lies, cover ups, and guilty consciousnesses. Each new discovery makes the reader reposition their theories and redirects the jury, making everyone a suspect and truly playing into the spirit of mystery. The execution of this story, though heartbreaking and gory, is brilliantly designed. The focus on pain and suffering, the tragedy and fall out, deaths and injuries caused by the explosion were all focused on the impact on victims and survivors, parents losing children or children losing patents. The seemingly random decisions and actions that compounded down a path to a deadly accident and the chaos and devastation that followed. This book curable certainly left an impact on me, I’ll be thinking about it for a long time to come. Its heaviness will sit with me, as will the strength of Theresa, Young, and many of the women in difficulty situations, the sacrifice of immigrant parents, and the struggles of mothers of disabled children in this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Gore, Death, Medical trauma, Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, and Medical content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

katrinarose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was beautiful and heartbreaking. I definitely understand the comparisons to Little Fires Everywhere with the writing style, mystery stemming from a fire, intensely explored parent-child relationships, and overall themes. I loved both books (and they do have plenty of differences from each other). 

The author does an incredible job making fully developed characters. Reading her writing makes me feel justified for every complaint I’ve made for other books not having good character development, because THIS is what good character development looks like (and I’m not just picky, although maybe I am that too.) Kim definitely puts you on an emotional rollercoaster - you begin hating a character from another character’s viewpoint but then you get humbled once you get the other character’s perspective, backstory, emotions, and motivations. It truly is a study of “there’s two sides to every story”, and I think it gives the reader a lot to think about, not just in the book, but how we interact with the stories told every day by people we know and especially online.

The storyline itself was very engaging; it was very hard to put the book down. I really enjoyed all the POVs, for the reasons listed above but also for how it propelled the story along. I’m in awe of how she kept the mystery going even when we did get the the perspectives of the one(s) who committed the crime. I like a court procedural style. The back and forth was very satisfying to me, and reminded me a little of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. I think it was believable but I think that’s because I found the characters so believable, and I understand a few criticisms of the crime plot’s unbelievability. However I don’t think it was enough to ruin or even affect my reading experience. 

I’m in love with Kim’s writing style too. She gives her characters such grace while not shying away from the dark things they do too. In my opinion she is a master of similes, never before have I seen them used so often with such strong effect. 

I feel like I could talk about this book forever but I’ll leave it at that. I can’t think of anyone I wouldn’t recommend this book to, except maybe minors due to some tough subjects. It’s a new favorite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

apiora215's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Sexual violence, Ableism, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Vomit