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minniepauline's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Racism
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Police brutality
evoniere'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
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Police brutality
Minor: Rape, Deportation, War, and Racism
maddielle's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Ableism, Death, and Bullying
sassyykassie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Ableism, and Bullying
Minor: Cancer and Injury/Injury detail
bella_cavicchi's review against another edition
- 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
In short: another Angie Kim winner. I'm pleased.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Ableism, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Murder, Racism, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Medical content, Xenophobia, Bullying, Cancer, and Kidnapping
Minor: Violence, War, Rape, and Colonisation
isabellamarg's review against another edition
- 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
Happiness Falls follows the ensuing investigation into the disappearance of Adam Parson and how the family and their secrets may have played a role in why he went missing. Eugene, the youngest son, is autistic and has Angelman syndrome which prevents him from being able to communicate verbally. This complicates the investigation as Eugene was the last person to see his father, and also makes the authorities suspicious of him as well as the Park family.
This book combined two of my favorite genres: mystery and family drama. There were plenty of shocking twists and the book posed many deep, philosophical questions about the assumptions we make about language, race, disabilities, immigrants, our family, and ourselves. I love that one of the reasons Angie Kim wrote this book was to highlight that "just because you can't speak doesn't mean you can't think or understand." Eugene and his disabilities play a large role in the treatment of the Park family throughout the investigation into the disappearance of their father. Eugene is labelled as "non-verbal" and the novel explores the implications of this title and how harmful it can be when thinking about how people express themselves and the limitations we place on others. This novel also focused on the aspect of happiness: what it means to be happy and how we can make ourselves and our family happier. As a family deeply affected by a child with a disability, how does this create guilt and resentment with the other siblings Mia and John as well as within their parents themselves?
Overall, I went into this novel expecting a really intriguing and dark mystery and I was not disappointed. I did not expect the novel to focus so much on the aspect of language and verbalization, but I thought it was unique and allowed me to learn more about different speech therapy methods and hopefully un-train any biases I have regarding oral fluency being equated with intelligence. Happiness Falls beautifully captured the complexity and love of a family that is still learning to communicate with each other.
Moderate: Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Ableism, and Violence
moriahleigh's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Police brutality, Racism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Cancer
jjones2208's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
smagzisreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Ableism, Death of parent, and Bullying
murve's review against another edition
4.25
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Graphic: Death of parent, Ableism, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Suicide