This is my second book by Angie Kim, and I'm always impressed by how her books make me think differently about life, and a condition I had not known before (Angelman syndrome), and I think her writing is very good. I even really liked the tangents and footnotes she went on and felt that the stream of consciousness POV was very similar to how I think. I also like how this book delved into the experience of being biracial in two different countries, and really challenged assumptions on various groups of people.

Where this fell short for me was actually the whole mystery element. I did not actually feel invested in the mystery, and almost felt like Angie Kim agreed because it didn't feel like she wanted any resolution to what was happening either. There is also a massive subplot involving Mia's brother Eugene and the police that I also really did not enjoy, and at times I felt my eyes glazing over because the pacing was just not there.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"Happiness Falls" by Angie Kim is a gripping and poignant exploration of family, secrets, and the complexities of human connection. Kim's storytelling prowess shines in this intricately woven narrative, offering readers a compelling journey filled with suspense and emotional depth.

I loved the premise of this book. A family of a child who has a rare genetic disorder. I'm familiar with the disorder, so I was all in from the beginning! I loved the concept, but the footnotes were a lot of work...more than what I was looking for in a fictional read. Overall, I think the story line is great.

Happiness Falls was one of the best books I read in 2023. It had heart, mystery, racial issues, mental health issues, and they were all, in my opinion, perfectly executed. The character development was fantastic, and I loved Mia and Eugene so much. I was enthralled with this book from the first page and the ending had me grabbing the tissues. Definitely highly recommend. 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House publishing for allowing me to read in return for an honest review.

First I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of Happiness Falls, by Angie Kim. I read Miracle Creek and expected a similar type of story. However, Happiness Falls leads the reader in a family drama when a father goes missing. I really liked some characters while other drove me a little crazy. Overall, I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed Miracle Creek or Angie Kim's writing.

This book was my first by Angie Kim. A moving story of a family before, during and after a major crisis. This didn't really strike me as a thriller as much as a family drama. But I was not disappointed. 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.

3.25 stars!

This is my second book by Angie Kim, and I'm always impressed by how her books make me think differently about life, and a condition I had not known before (Angelman syndrome), and I think her writing is very good. I even really liked the tangents and footnotes she went on and felt that the stream of consciousness POV was very similar to how I think. I also like how this book delved into the experience of being biracial in two different countries, and really challenged assumptions on various groups of people.

Where this fell short for me was actually the whole mystery element. I did not actually feel invested in the mystery, and almost felt like Angie Kim agreed because it didn't feel like she wanted any resolution to what was happening either. There is also a massive subplot involving Mia's brother Eugene and the police that I also really did not enjoy, and at times I felt my eyes glazing over because the pacing was just not there.

I'm a little bummed because I did enjoy Miracle Creek, but I look forward to continuing to read what Angie Kim releases in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book. I’m so happy to have read it before anyone else had the chance to get their hands on it!

This was such an interesting and unexpected book, an excellent combination of thriller and family drama rolled up neatly in a bow. Loved it and recommend it highly.

As someone who normally reads traditional thrillers this was going to be my palate cleanser but instead turned into an emotional rollercoaster. It was so much more than just a missing person story, the intimate view into this family's life was my favorite part and their secrets. I look forward to reading more from this author!

My goodness. The speed at which this book reads makes me feel like I’m getting whiplashed. I spent 90% of the time reading in a very tense state, trying to figure out what is happening and had happened to Eugene and his dad Adam. This is such a well-paced book, I just could not put it down. The first line was a hook that I could not release myself from. How Angie Kim decided to conclude the story is interesting…so much room for interpretation! I loved this book.

Compelling in every way. I am still thinking about this book a few days after finishing it. The hype is real and honestly, it deserves more

One of the best books I’ve read. A perfect book club selection that uses the solving for mystery to guide the reader into what the heart of the book is about. You’re gonna love these characters!

Hands down one of my favorite books of 2023. I was all-in from page one and had such a hard time putting it down. Kim's books seem so well-researched and meticulous in the details, but it doesn't read like it is - meaning, it's not this dry book bogged down in minutiae, but instead a beautiful story about a family and people that happens to have a lot more behind it. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Happiness Falls, by Angie Kim. In this book Kim does a great job of painting pictures of family dynamics, families who have an autistic child, and the lengths parents will go to for their children. While bits of the story did drag a little I found that the mystery was enough to keep me reading.

In a DC-area park, a Korean-American father goes missing and his fourteen-year-old son, Eugene, returns home from the park without him, bloody and distraught but unable to communicate anything. Eugene has Angelman syndrome and autism, which means he is unable to speak and is easily overstimulated. Over the next three days, 20-year-old daughter Mia, tells about the missing person investigation that turns into questions about Eugene’s possible role in her father’s disappearance. As she wrestles with what could have happened, she learns secrets about her father and her brother that lead to more questions about what happened that day.

While this is the plot of this literary mystery, Kim explores so much more through Mia’s analytical, somewhat rambling narration, including happiness and how to measure it (or manipulate it), language and how it’s equated with intelligence, and family trauma and secrets. Readers have had mixed feelings about Mia’s narration and copious asides in footnotes. While I could have done without the footnotes (just the format, not the content), I loved her voice, which rang true of a smart but somewhat neurotic, prickly, and self-absorbed 20-year-old. I was fascinated by Kim’s exploration of the science of happiness, language, and disability alongside the mystery. I couldn’t put this one down.

I don’t know why I put off reading this book. It was really good, kept my interest the whole time. This story revolves around a family with a 14 year old autistic boy and his missing father. The story is told from Mia’s point of view, the sister, as she replays the days after her father goes missing. While I didn’t love the ending, it is a great book

Dnf,d. Giving 3 stars here bc writing was great. Just didn't connect with the characters, felt very YA, and though I was hooked right away with the story about the dad, I lost interest pretty quickly as the subplots seems to drag and be too long. Nothing against the author, just wasn't for me

Angie Kim does it again with a suspenseful family drama that explores themes of disability and superpowers. I never knew where this book was going and that was a delight in itself!

This is my second #book in a while in which an author’s previous works (in this case Kim’s debut) really just far outshone their later works. Let me preface: this one is still incredibly beautifully written and I would recommend it to anyone. As Kim did in her debut #novel Miracle Creek (which I absolutely cannot say enough good things about and highly recommend), Kim manages in this one to showcase both the joys, struggles, family dynamics, and humanity in having a child and sibling with severe and often misunderstood disabilities, as well as the experience of first and second generation Korean immigrants to America. I still rate this one highly and thought it was both brutal and inspiring - it just was not as top notch for me as Miracle Creek.

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I will say, this one is very, very heavy on the stream of conscious narration of the first person main character, who is a bit unlikable at times, although I did not find her nearly as bothersome as many other reviewers did. I really did not have a problem with her, although at times I struggled with her thought progression and actions. That being said, as a college student, I think her strengths, failures, feelings, and thoughts were very well represented and understandable for her age.

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This one centers on a seemingly lovely - albeit clearly not perfect - family: two loving parents, twins, and their younger brother, who is diagnosed with an exceedingly rare disability that requires nearly full time care and prevents him from being able to communicate in any way with his family.

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When the father of the family goes missing after a normal outing in the local park, the family is forced to search relentlessly for answers, and face the overwhelming and harsh truth of the fact that maybe everything they knew about their father was wrong. Or… maybe everything they knew was exactly right, and tragedy and darkness sometimes strikes decent, good people.

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The mystery of this disappearance is heightened ten fold by the discovery of his remaining belongings, which includes a new hope for their disabled brother and a striking study and obsession with a so called formula for happiness that will change them forever.