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rsagarin'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Misogyny, Cancer, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Cursing, and Sexism
skbat'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Ableism
Moderate: Car accident, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Cancer
Minor: Suicide, War, Confinement, Bullying, Racism, Blood, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Rape, and Police brutality
kristapeters's review against another edition
4.75
Moderate: Death and Cursing
jaimc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Cursing, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cancer, Grief, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Minor: Bullying, Racism, Car accident, Rape, Suicide, and War
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Racism, Car accident, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Ableism, Death of parent, Cursing, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
readingwithmeredith'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? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Cursing and Bullying
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Xenophobia, and Racism
kimveach'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
4.0
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.
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
annoyedhumanoid'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
- 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.
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
- 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
- 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.
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