Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Miracle Creek

This was an interesting book with so many layers. It was really cool to watch the story unfold through the eyes of so many characters. The revelations came slowly and built on each other really well, keeping me wanting more. I think I’ll be pondering this book and what innocence and guilt means for a while.

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lottiegasp's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-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

3.0

The mystery unfolds in a compelling way. The ending wasn't particularly exciting, but the threads came together in a logical way.

The novel explores the experience of being a mother to a child with disabilities. While it's valid to recognise how difficult it can be for those mothers, largely due to a lack of spousal and structural support, I didn't feel like any of the children with neurodivergences were seen as fully formed characters, only vehicles for the story. Since there were multiple perspectives, it would have been nice to have the perspective of an Autistic person or a person with Cerebral Palsy. None of the protesters who were against people trying to cure Autism were Autistic adults, they were all also parents of Autistic children (and we didn't even get any of their perspectives). It was presented as a bit of a "both sides" argument, where the parents trying to cure Autism were given more sympathy than the proud parents of Autistic kids.

I recommend reading Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, a non-fiction book, to learn more from the perspectives of Autistic people.

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skbat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

The mystery was intriguing and kept me hooked. Horribly graphic though. The treatment of autism and disability was acidic, portraying flawed mothers pushing their children towards "normalcy" at any cost.

The worst offender realizes this is a mistake far too late.

No perspective from any of the actually autistic people - Happiness Falls is much better in that regard. The reveal was satisfying enough, but I'm sad for all the characters and a little scarred.

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sparklefarm's review against another edition

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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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