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zamzamzebra's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Infertility and Medical content
Misinformation about Autism/ASD PTSDdezembrluft's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Death
Moderate: Murder and Ableism
kleaf's review
- 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
1.0
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Infertility, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Rape
meisqr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Miracle Creek focuses on the point-of-views of the people that that were somehow, in some way, involved in tbe tragic accident that caused the death of a mother and a child.
At its core, Miracle Creek was quite hard to read. It was hard because of its realistic qualities; it made you forget that this was fiction. Each character's problems were open and bare, for every reader to see. Their flaws and their challenges, leading up to the tragedy, and even the trauma that they kept with them after it. They all suffered in one way or another, and it was hard to read a piece of fiction that was so real in its portrayal of characters. It showed the difficulties the parents go through, how a teenager coped with being forced into a new life, and how every decision and lie snowballed into the tragedy.
The hardest parts to read would be those of the mothers' perspectives, because it lets you in their mind. How they are just as human as we all are, that they too have doubts in their mind, but it doesn't ever mean that they hadn't loved us at all. That, although they loved their children and had wished them to have been born normal, or remained the way they were, they still loved them to their very core.
I cannot comment much on the autism aspect of the book as I am not that knowledgeable in that area, but I had hoped that there was more to the kids than what was portrayed. I wish there was a better way to tackle the "autism has to be cured" ideology kind of thing.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infertility
alicelalicon's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Ableism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Toxic friendship, Blood, Child death, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Minor: Excrement
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
hot take, i'm not that big a fan of Shakespeare because so many of his plots (at least, his tragedies) are like, if any one thing in this series of unfortunate events had gone differently then we wouldn't be in these tragic circumstances, except the series of unfortunate events is ridiculous and arbitrary. best example: in Hamlet (spoilers), when Hamlet stabs and kills Polonius, who was eavesdropping behind a curtain, because Hamlet thought he heard a rat. that's just undeniably stupid for a major plot point. Miracle Creek has the same concept—if anything had gone differently we could have avoided tragedy—but pulls it off expertly. Shakespeare could never??
could this be considered southern gothic? it's set in Virginia, nearly everyone is a grotesque character, and there's some truly disturbing content, plus themes of racism, sexism, and poverty.
this review has been completely shaped by my English class experience
cover design review: ★★★★½. love the colors, the scenery, and the burn holes, but it starts to feel crowded with the addition of glitter and stars. not a big fan of the typeface, makes me think of Papyrus 😬
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Ableism, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Confinement, Excrement, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Stalking, and Vomit
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rating: 4/5 stars (boosted 0.5 stars from my original rating)
Told through the frame of a murder trial, Miracle Creek is a literary courtroom mystery centered on the fallout from an explosion and fire at “Miracle Submarine,” a hyperbaric oxygen treatment center owned by a Korean immigrant family and primarily catering to children with special needs. The mother of one of the patients stands accused of murdering her son…but everyone has secrets, and the trial just may reveal them all.
I generally shy away from courtroom thrillers because, frankly, they’re rarely well-done or realistic, and, as a lawyer, they can be downright painful to read. Fortunately, Miracle Creek is written by a former trial attorney, and the courtroom scenes are realistic, riveting, and the absolute best I’ve come across in a book to date. This second read managed to impress me even more, because the many heartbreaking but beautiful moments of the narrative really shone through on a reread, including insights into the immigrant experience, parenthood, and surviving trauma.
I want to flag that this is by no means an easy read, and you should absolutely check content warnings before diving in. But it is memorable and beautifully written, and I’m so glad I read it twice.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: courtroom dramas; first generation immigrant stories; literary thrillers.
CW: Ableism; child abuse; child death; murder; fire/fire injury; sexual assault, suicide.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Ableism, and Adult/minor relationship
habertoes's review against another edition
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.emmareadseverything's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
I have a thing for books where the characters share thoughts that society deems inappropriate. Similarly to The Push, this novel takes these incredibly raw characters and emotions and puts them in vulnerable, high pressure situations. What is created is so powerful.
If you want a breakdown of what I love about this novel, checkout my review of The Push, as I love this story for all the same reasons.
This is what Where the Crawdads Sing wishes it could be.
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Murder and Racism
Minor: Suicide
darthizzy's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, and Ableism
Moderate: Infertility, Suicide, and Cursing
Minor: Car accident