Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

74 reviews

sparklefarm's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I'm glad I read Happiness Falls before this one because I did not enjoy this read. Some small quibbles, but enough serious concerns that I do not recommend. Thoughts in no particular order below.

• Could have done without the entire
  Matt-Mary
  storyline. It's not like it was portrayed in a good light, I just prefer my books without that kind of yuck.
• Relatedly I never want to hear the word
  penis
  again.
• In general this book felt overwritten. So. Many. Similes.
• The writing on autism felt borderline offensive. So much talk about wanting kids to be ~normal~ and the only characters who had a different outlook were vilified. I did not get this sense from Happiness Falls, which also deals with autism, so I hope there has been some learning in the meantime.
• Incredible audio narration.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death, Child death, Ableism, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, and Rape

Minor: Grief

ariana3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to like this book, but it took me a while to get into it. It didn't capture my attention right away, as I could tell this was sort of a whodunnit mystery but it was a slow-moving pace. Overall I really did like the ending! It's bittersweet and resolves itself entirely.
Plot summary:

The Yoo family moved feom Seoul, South Korea to the US for a better life for their daughter Mary. But Mary hated the US, felt alone and alienated from her peers and her parents. Her parents eventually open a HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen treatment) center to help treat all sorts of patients. In this case, the patients are centered around a doctor, Matt, whose wife is obsessed with having a child and claims he's infertile (he's the only adult being treated), Teresa's daughter with cerebral palsy, Kitt's son with autism, and Elizabeth's son, Henry, also with autism. A fire breaks out at the center, which also happens to be on the Yoo's property, and Kitt and Henry both die. Matt's hand becomes deformed, Mary is scarred, and Pak is paralyzed. A trial begins for who set the fire, and all eyes are on Elizabeth. Prosecutors say she intended to kill Henry because she couldn't deal with life as a mother to a child with autism. It was hard and robbed her of herself. The evidence is seemingly staggering against her. The story of the characters plays out, and turns out she's totally innocent. However, she becomes convinced throughout the trial process that she's a terrible mother and she decides to end it all by committing suicide. She drives her lawyer's car off a cliff. Now the real story comes down to Matt. His marriage wasn't great, and he started spending time with Mary who was 16 at the time. On her 17th birthday, he forces himself on her - a misunderstanding/accident on his part, but definitely assault....his wife thinks Mary is basically stalking Matt, so she confronts her and says she's a whore and to leave Matt alone. In a fit of rage, Mary sets the fire by the barn to hopefully make it so that their family can leave this terrible place and go back to Seoul. Her dad had put cigarettes and matches near the oxygen tank to frame some protestors but he put it out just to make it appear to be a stopped fire. She doesn't know this, doesn't know that people were inside, and it's too late when she finds out. The bittersweet part is that her mother convinces her to confess. To help clear her conscious, deal with the consequences of her actions, rather than let it slide and place blame elsewhere just so she can avoid jail time. In the end, the money from Elizabeth's will goes to fund a daycare/camp for special needs and autism kids. So it's a terribly tragic and sad story, but has a somewhat slightly feel-good ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Terminal illness, Child death, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual content, and Child abuse

Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Infertility, Alcohol, Car accident, and Infidelity

jensnow's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, and Suicide

amorg2013's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Ableism

Minor: Car accident and Suicide

cigarettelouie's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

The author’s cultural connection to the characters was very authentic and compelled me to keep reading. However, this book read very sensationally about autism. As a neurodivergent person, it was pretty triggering and I can’t say I’d recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Death, Ableism, Chronic illness, and Child death

justaprilann's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This started really fast for me and then slowed down, almost too slow. Loved the resolution, even though it was all so devastating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Sexual assault

tracikennedy25's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Medical content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Infertility and Suicide

megan_martha_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

Warning: child abuse, death, suicide, sexual assault

This book read fast because it is a courtroom / family drama. But it’s really heavy. I felt sad and disturbed after finishing it, like you feel after watching law and order SUV or multiple episodes of criminal minds. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

honestlysean's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Ableism

Moderate: Suicide

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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

5.0

This was an amazing debut for the author. Took some very heavy subjects and unfolded then one at a time. Loved the court scenes. The defense attorney’s questioning and questions were so entertaining. Lots of triggers: immigration impact on children and parents (affects them differently), autism, parents of autism, sexual assault, suicide, coma, infertility, infidelity, arson, Asian fetish, and so much more. So beware before you read, but also know it’s great storytelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Infidelity, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Racism, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia