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hinkleh's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape and Medical content
kimveach's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Medical content, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cursing, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
lovelymisanthrope's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
I was very excited to picked up this book because I read and really enjoyed "Miracle Creek" by Angie Kim a few years ago.
"Happiness Falls" is an exploration of family, and about truly accepting everything about a person. When Mia's father does not come home with her autistic brother after hiking, the family is not too concerned. But, when they have not heard from him and cannot get ahold of him, they quickly begin to worry. Unfortunately, the only witness to what happened on the hiking trail is Eugene, and he is nonverbal. When the family bans together to try to find this father, they uncover years of secrets that may end up explaining where he went.
This was such an exceptional story about family and accepting people as they are. Eugene is nonverbal, and has been his whole life, but that does not mean he has nothing to say. He as a beautiful mind and is capable of great things, he just needs the right tools and support to encourage him to communicate. I think this is such a profound message. Communication is often what connects human beings to one another, and it is so important to encourage any and all ways of communicating.
This family, like many others, has secrets they are all keeping from one another. I think this book highlights the good that sharing the burden of your thoughts with those closest to you can bring.
I really enjoyed that this book was about more than the disappearance. Their father disappearing was just the catalyst to uncover more important thoughts and feelings.
I will definitely be reading more from Angie Kim in the future.
"Happiness Falls" is an exploration of family, and about truly accepting everything about a person. When Mia's father does not come home with her autistic brother after hiking, the family is not too concerned. But, when they have not heard from him and cannot get ahold of him, they quickly begin to worry. Unfortunately, the only witness to what happened on the hiking trail is Eugene, and he is nonverbal. When the family bans together to try to find this father, they uncover years of secrets that may end up explaining where he went.
This was such an exceptional story about family and accepting people as they are. Eugene is nonverbal, and has been his whole life, but that does not mean he has nothing to say. He as a beautiful mind and is capable of great things, he just needs the right tools and support to encourage him to communicate. I think this is such a profound message. Communication is often what connects human beings to one another, and it is so important to encourage any and all ways of communicating.
This family, like many others, has secrets they are all keeping from one another. I think this book highlights the good that sharing the burden of your thoughts with those closest to you can bring.
I really enjoyed that this book was about more than the disappearance. Their father disappearing was just the catalyst to uncover more important thoughts and feelings.
I will definitely be reading more from Angie Kim in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Violence, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
jj_tj's review
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Ableism
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Bullying, Suicide, and Cancer
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
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
i loved the narration. i understand why it isn't for everyone, but my brain works in the same way so i felt at home. i also appreciated how this book advocated much more strongly for the humanity of its characters with disabilities than Miracle Creek (Angie Kim's debut novel) did. and that it took place during covid times. my main issues were that, compared to Miracle Creek, the plot:
- wasn't as gripping. it started to drag three-fourths of the way through, and i got fed up with all the cheap foreshadowing of the form "looking back, i wish [x] hadn't happened".
- didn't feel as expertly-crafted. though i recognize that's kind of the point—
not all mysteries, especially missing person cases, have neat solutions; that's life —it was still somewhat disappointing. i'm trying tolearn the lesson Mia did and accept an open ending—i choose to believe that her and John's mind-meld recreating the accident was a display of fraternal jeong, just the tiniest bit of magical realism.
nonetheless, this has cemented Angie Kim as an author on my radar, and i'm looking forward to her next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Ableism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cancer, Violence, Infidelity, Police brutality, Sexism, Suicide, Bullying, Blood, Hate crime, Murder, Cursing, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual violence, Confinement, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Rape, Car accident, Deportation, and Gun violence
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