Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

34 reviews

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, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Suicide, and Physical abuse

Minor: Cancer and Cultural appropriation

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

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

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: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, and Ableism

Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, Bullying, and Racism

Minor: Police brutality, Suicide, and Rape

emily_pns's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Unique perspective on special needs families, a topic I am not at all familiar with. Especially how it can intersect with immigration. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Suicide and Cancer

Minor: Rape and Racism

soobooksalot's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective 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

It's somewhat ironic that a book dealing with communication is hard to describe. 
At it's base, Happiness Falls by Angie Kim is a missing-persons story. But it's so, so much more.
The story is uniquely told by 20-year-old Mia, a Korean-American whose father Adam goes missing while in a park with her brother Eugene.
Eugene is nonspeaking, being afflicted with both autism and Angelman syndrome. Gathering information about Adam's disappearance proves a challenge.
We as readers come to know so many details about the Parson-Park family from Mia's perspective - not only of Adam and Eugene, but also her twin brother John and mother Hannah. Their family history, their challenges and backstories.
The story takes place during the height of Covid, which serves as a parallel to being closed off from others, and finding alternate methods of relating and communication. 
While there is a mystery to uncover in Happiness Falls, it's ultimately a story of acceptance, diversity, connection, and what can make us truly happy.
It's a book to be experienced - recommended! (And also her debut Miracle Creek, if you haven't already read it.)

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Content Warnings

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

jj_tj's review against another edition

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

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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:

1. 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".
2. 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 to
   learn 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.

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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

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.75

Thanks to Hogarth Books for the free copy of this book.

 - With HAPPINESS FALLS, Angie Kim once again gives us a page turner, this one a legal drama, missing person case and possible murder mystery all wrapped up together.
- I was so intrigued by Mia as the narrator of this story. She's bratty and bitter and thinks she knows everything (at first, at least). Her unique voice and the frequent detours to tell us important backstory made the book feel like a friend was relaying the story to the reader personally.
- There are some aspects of the book I wish were different - the pacing slowed way down in the second half, the footnotes felt mostly extraneous, etc. - but overall I was invested in the mystery.
- A through line of Kim's work is to make clear that disabled people are people, not childlike burdens to be pitied, which is sadly often rare in novels, especially mysteries and thrillers. I will be interested to see what disabled and neurodivergent readers have to say about this book, since I am neither of those things and neither is Kim, though she is the parent of a disabled child. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, Police brutality, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer and Racism

Minor: Suicide and Rape

laura_berger's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Blood, Cancer, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, and Grief

ktdakotareads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Cancer, and Medical content

Minor: Car accident