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nataliecoyne 's review for:
Miracle Creek
by Angie Kim
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Complicated feelings! I will say that I found myself heavily invested in this book and did enjoy the experience reading it. I think the specific plot of this book was very unique, and so it kept me really engaged and wanting to read more, a true page-turner. But as some of the lower-star reviews point out, I do feel that this book has an issue of unaddressed ableism (and eugenics) that, as an Autistic adult, I can't really ignore (going to elaborate in next paragraph). :/
I knew going into this book that it dealt with a mom accused of killing her Autistic son, and that it covers HBOT therapy. But I guess I thought that it would be critical of things like ableism, eugenics, and medical misinformation around Autism. Instead this book almost played right into it. The only people who were shown as sympathetic to the Autistic/disabled characters were just "crazy," out-of-touch, potentially violent (there is heavy speculation throughout that one of them could've actually been the murderer), protestors. Not to mention the defense attorney's explanation of why IV chelation is totally normal (because ... vaccines).
Granted, I think this was somewhat the point. Not a single character in this book was really likeable (except maybe Henry, the one who, you know, died). On Storygraph, only 12% of readers said that this book has lovable characters. They're heavily flawed! Of course, they will say and do things that are messed up. But I just guess that I would've liked to see Angie Kim, in some way, address in the story that the fact is these things are wrong.
So that's something I was missing, and why this went from something that could've been 5 stars all the way down to 3.25 stars. Still, though, I could see myself recommending it to others for its unique plot.
I knew going into this book that it dealt with a mom accused of killing her Autistic son, and that it covers HBOT therapy. But I guess I thought that it would be critical of things like ableism, eugenics, and medical misinformation around Autism. Instead this book almost played right into it. The only people who were shown as sympathetic to the Autistic/disabled characters were just "crazy," out-of-touch, potentially violent (there is heavy speculation throughout that one of them could've actually been the murderer), protestors. Not to mention the defense attorney's explanation of why IV chelation is totally normal (because ... vaccines).
Granted, I think this was somewhat the point. Not a single character in this book was really likeable (except maybe Henry, the one who, you know, died). On Storygraph, only 12% of readers said that this book has lovable characters. They're heavily flawed! Of course, they will say and do things that are messed up. But I just guess that I would've liked to see Angie Kim, in some way, address in the story that the fact is these things are wrong.
So that's something I was missing, and why this went from something that could've been 5 stars all the way down to 3.25 stars. Still, though, I could see myself recommending it to others for its unique plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Infertility, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Classism