Reviews

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

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purduerx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

pearlsugar's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

bookwormmelissa's review against another edition

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3.0

Thanks to Hogarth and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. I read and enjoyed Miracle Creek, so I was looking forward to this new Angie Kim title about a father going missing while his nonspeaking son appears at the family home bloody and alone. This reminded me some of Miracle Creek + Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project + True Biz by Sara Novic. The references to COVID moved the story along at key plot points without becoming a pandemic novel. This is a slow burn suspense about crisis, philosophy, family secrets, assumptions about others, race, and ableism. I myself got bogged down in some of the philosophy (the project the father was working on) and the very introspective writing style; however, at the same time those deep dives were so thought-provoking. Literary fiction fans and fans of Angie Kim will enjoy this and find much to discuss in book clubs. 3.5 stars.

abbielisabeth's review against another edition

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5.0

There’s so much to say about this book that it feels a little overwhelming to even start.

I read miracle creek and enjoyed it, but this one was a noticeable step up in my book. Beside a couple of nitpicky things like some of the dialogue feeling contrived and some humor not landing, it was a perfect book for me. What makes it a 5 ⭐️for me, is that it succeeded at what I think the narrative was trying to do, it changed my perspective on humanity and what intelligence means.

I was invested in the mystery from the get go and ended up reading the book in one sitting.
The stream of consciousness narrator never got old, allowing my hyperactive analyzing brain - much like Mia - to always have something to chew on.
It also allowed the author to bring everything together - philosophy, family, disability, and mystery - in a thoroughly thoughtful and holistic way.

I can tell Angie Kim is already a master at storytelling, specifically when it comes to knowing her audience. The way I was at a point of frustration towards the end, waiting for the resolution, and then she calls me out on it. I was in awe.

Will absolutely be picking up everything else she comes out with.

wendys_lit's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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

4.75

a fantastic mystery that really focuses on the impact loss does to family, and how having a special needs family member is so much more than people on the outside just assume it to be.

we follow mia, a type-a, cynical twenty year old half-korean, half-white girl and what seems to be just another day in her life. when her special needs brother eugene returns in a frenzied rush from a park visit without their father, mia and the rest of her family begin to wonder what happened, and where to go from here. with eugene being autistic and having angelman syndrome, it is not possible for him to communicate the events verbally, and it is already difficult enough for his family to read his cues. mia and the rest of her family begin to piece together what could have possibly happened at the park to have left eugene so traumatized, and find out where her father is.

kim did an incredible job here. i loved, loved miracle creek and had this idea that it would be her single banger--boy, was i glad i was wrong. happiness falls focuses more on the family aspect: twins trying to outdo one another, to connect, to gain some sort of attention from parents that are sort of busy trying to connect and understand their child who is "non-verbal" (a term kim describes with great disgust for the word). the mystery is obviously the meat of this story, but the conversations between mother and kids, between therapists and patients, friends and family...these are all the delicious vegetables and spices in this who-dunnit broth. ALSO: kim does a great job of describing what it's like to have a special needs family member be treated by society and their family (as someone who has a sister with autism!) instead of coddling them, making them feel inadequate or babied at a grown age, they should be respected, given a chance to speak for themselves, in any way possible. a big sense of suspense throughout the chapters, ALWAYS felt like i was holding my breath. incredible.

i will say the ending was very, very good, but i wanted a bit more from it. i feel that with many mysteries, a lot of authors purposely leave questions unanswered, but i wanted more for and from mia. this was such a tiny bit of my own personal preference though. incredible audiobook, sweet author's note, loved reading this.

jumpyreader's review against another edition

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challenging informative mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I picked this book for the mystery, but loved it for it's thoughts on happiness and observations on non-verbal discrimination. The narrator was bright and thoughtful. I liked everything to the point that the mystery became background action