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A review by booksbytheglass
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
angie kim is the QUEEN of representation!!! seeing an biracial Asian family actually talk about their life without white washing (a concept!!!) and a non-speaking autistic character who is a star …. it really got me in the feels from that alone 🥹🥹
while the premise leans into the mystery aspects, this is 100% a lit fic family drama with a minor missing person side plot (which was widely unsatisfying) 😅 and while I wished I had known that going in, it worked for the story as a whole. by focusing more on the science and communication behind the story, it really opened up a ton of discussions! I can see why this is a fabulous book club read!
of course, there’s a morality to this one - which I expected but would have loved to see wrapped up more. the ending was ambiguous as heck and left me feeling super unsatisfied… especially as the entire story shoved the missing person subplot aside and then gave a discontented ending to the neglected story.
another aspect that would have solved the problem in my book were alternating POVs!! I loved going through the story with mia’s POV, but it would have been fabulous to get a last minute POV from hannah or john to answer those needed questions!!! 😰😰
however, I absolutely will be going down a rabbit hole into research about new technology allowing advancement in non-speaking communication, as well as the idea behind a happiness baseline. mia’s footnotes were so fascinating!!!! 🤯😯
a huge thank you to netgalley and hogarth for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: south korean soju
while the premise leans into the mystery aspects, this is 100% a lit fic family drama with a minor missing person side plot (which was widely unsatisfying) 😅 and while I wished I had known that going in, it worked for the story as a whole. by focusing more on the science and communication behind the story, it really opened up a ton of discussions! I can see why this is a fabulous book club read!
of course, there’s a morality to this one - which I expected but would have loved to see wrapped up more. the ending was ambiguous as heck and left me feeling super unsatisfied… especially as the entire story shoved the missing person subplot aside and then gave a discontented ending to the neglected story.
another aspect that would have solved the problem in my book were alternating POVs!! I loved going through the story with mia’s POV, but it would have been fabulous to get a last minute POV from hannah or john to answer those needed questions!!! 😰😰
however, I absolutely will be going down a rabbit hole into research about new technology allowing advancement in non-speaking communication, as well as the idea behind a happiness baseline. mia’s footnotes were so fascinating!!!! 🤯😯
a huge thank you to netgalley and hogarth for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: south korean soju