A review by megansmith
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I’ll admit, I was kind of skeptical on whether I was going to like this book or not, but it pulled through for me in the end! The first 75-100 pages had their moments that dragged, but it picked up in the later half. The overly detailed footnotes paired with cutting in family history for such long sections before getting back into the present, really took me out of the moment at times, although i kind of wonder if that whiplash was intentional and related to themes in the book. The narrator also comes off as slightly younger than her age, even though shes supposed to be in college I felt like I was reading a high schooler’s narration. 

But I like the way this book wrapped things up, and I do appreciate the author’s messages and themes throughout the book. I think this is a good take on the mystery disappearance genre, I would still recommend it but wouldve loved to see some condensing and leveling up on the writing at times.