Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

50 reviews

dixiecarroll's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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? No

4.75

this was such a surprise to me because I could NOT PUT THIS DOWN. It isn’t a thriller or all mystery, but it was a page turner. A father goes missing and only his non verbal son witnesses what happens… mystery ensues! Except so much more because it’s a portrait of grief, general family dynamics, etc. I loved it so much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

allisonstockslager's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Bullying and Racism

Minor: Car accident

boop123's review against another edition

it's a no for me I'm sorry. I came in here for some mystery and thriller and instead, what I got was a philosophy lesson. Not that there's anything bad with that, but I wanted more mystery and thriller. Not to mention, the main character was too annoying and arrogant even for me. There was a lot of rambling which I know is the point of the main character but I was still not into it

I gave it a chance though but I gave up until I reached just the half way point. If the book only started to pick up in the second half, I think I lost all energy to care about what's going to happen.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cancer and Xenophobia

maijanou's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

cc_shelflove's review against another edition

challenging hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Literary fiction (one of my favorites 🖤) + missing father + police investigation + legal proceedings + ANGIE FREAKIN' KIM.... you know you're getting a good book before you even start reading. Dad is missing, and we must find him. But what if the last person who saw Dad is our little brother, Eugene, who is nonspeaking due to his dual diagnosis of autism and mosaic Angelman syndrome. That's right. Our only witness to Dad's disappearance cannot even tell us what happened. Like that in Miracle Creek, the writing here is truly incredible. I can understand why it took four years for Kim to release another book, as you can tell this novel was a labor of love. It is packed with facts and experiences; Rome was not built in a day. There is a loose end that is never revealed, and although Kim clearly explains to the reader the reason for this conclusion, damn it, I wanted to know the truth! Hopefully we don't have to wait another four years for her next book, but I will if I have to. My overall thoughts: impressive and informational without being the least bit boring.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, and Blood

Minor: Cancer and Cultural appropriation

mysterymom40's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jialianyang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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

I see why this book is a bestseller! The narration is at times cerebral and fully in a teen voice, but eventually the character and plot developments twist and turn so rapidly that you can't help but flip page after page. This is a story about family, loyalty, secrets, respect, ableism, the limits of our public safety system, language, philosophy and more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and War

kerrygetsliterary's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Cursing, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

noladawnreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Racism, and Car accident

Minor: Rape, Suicide, and Police brutality

kimveach's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

Wow!  This is a hard book to rate.  By the end of it, I wanted to give it five stars, but at the beginning, I wasn't sure I would even finish it.  Compared to "Miracle Creek," this book is overly wordy.  I understand the artistic choice as the narrator is hyperlexic (I didn't even know that was a thing.)  It is like listening to a young adult/teen girl speak stream-of-consciousness.  Annoying and too much.  I think it would have been better if this book was from multiple points of view (like Miracle Creek.)  Then, we would have pauses/breaths between all of Mia's thoughts.

As the book went on, I became increasingly interested in the ongoing story of her non-speaking brother, Eugene.  Even though I have a son with ASD, I know very little about the world of non-speakers.  Learning about the progress of therapies since the turn of this century was fascinating.  The ramifications of trying to defend a child who can't tell their side of the story in our legal system were frightening.  And with all this, we still had the mystery of what happened to the father.

Reading the reviews, I can see that some people could not get past their dislike of Mia and her wordiness.  However, I'm glad I did.  I hope the author's next book will be a bit easier to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic