A review by loribree83
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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

This book is fantastic. I almost skipped it. I didn't love Miracle Creek. But then when I heard more about the book, I had a feeling I would love it! This book is marketed as a mystery/thriller--and while a mystery is the crux of the plot, this isn't a typical mystery or thriller, and if you go in expecting that, you will be disappointed (which I think explains a lot of the negative reviews). There are so many layers to this story, and so much depth. The plot moves slower than a typical mystery, because it's filled with so much information that's relevant to the story. While I certainly cared about the mystery and what happened to Mia's dad, I also fell in love with the family at the center of this story. I loved Mia as a narrator, and her voice and narrative throughout the book felt very logical in my brain. My undergrad was in psychology so I found so much of the book absolutely fascinating.


"Now, in the olden days--before we knew about different parts of the brain and neurons and all that--we considered a person's speech and intelligence to bed directly related; in fact, the word dumb in Old Englsih means mute or without speech. We now know that's not true, but it seems to be a deep prejudice that won't go away. even to this day, if you can't talk, people automatically jump to the assumption that it's a cognitive problem: you're 'dumb' in every sense of the word, Angeli said, using air quotes, her voice taking on a passionate, almost evangelistic tone. 'It's incomprehensible, the complete opposite of what we should do, but we presume incompetence unless proven otherwise, unless you're someone like Stephen Hawking who lost his ability to speak after the world already knew he was brilliant."

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