this was a page turning mystery as well as an examination of a family. The way Kim centers the novel and mystery around a non-speaking family member is quite interesting. I learned a lot about alternative communication methods. I can see this being an easy sell to our library patrons

Good storyline. It felt slow at times with all the footnotes, memories and going back and forth between past and present time. The MFC was annoying and I found myself so frustrated with her actions, behavior and internal dialogue. She seemed to be very smart and then she would do things that made her look not so smart and way younger than she was. The whole story felt all over the place.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim is a gripping novel that explores the themes of family, identity, and secrets through the lens of a missing person case. The story follows the Parson family, a biracial Korean American family living in Virginia, whose patriarch Adam disappears one day while taking a walk with his son Eugene (who has a rare condition that prevents him from speaking). As the police and the media get involved, the family members must confront their own secrets and question everything they thought they knew about Adam and themselves.

Kim, the author of the acclaimed Miracle Creek, delivers a masterful plot. She skillfully weaves in multiple perspectives, flashbacks, and clues that reveal the complex layers of the characters and their relationships. She also tackles timely and relevant issues such as racism, immigration, disability, and the COVID-19 pandemic, without losing sight of the emotional core of the story. Kim's prose is elegant and engaging, creating a vivid sense of place and atmosphere.

Happiness Falls is a novel that will make you think, feel, and wonder. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. It is a book that deserves to be read by everyone. I highly recommend it. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Really enjoyed this! There’s something interesting about books that make it seem like they are just a run of the mill mystery— but are really about so much more. Yeah, there was a mystery, but by half way through I couldn’t have cared less what the ‘answer’ was.

I loved Mia as a narrator. She was smart and weird and occasionally really infuriating. Also loved learning about the ‘non-speaker’ community.

Thank you for the ARC. This is a compulsive read, twisty and turny, with false leads, dead ends, and lots of cliffhangers. It had some interesting philosophical discussion as well.

Adam goes missing while on a walk with his nonverbal teenage son, Eugene, who is autistic and has Angelman's Syndrome. Eugene is very upset but cannot say what happened to his father. Written from the perspective of Mia, Eugene's older sister, who is moody, smart and over analyzes absolutely everything, the book was all at once a mystery and a family drama. Themes of linguistics, including how language is taught to those who do not speak, race (Eugene's mother is Korean), happiness and how it is measured, and how families with disability navigate are fully explored in this book that is packed with action, interesting characters and a plot that is overall propulsive. Mia gets a little annoying but I really cared for her and this family. Chapters are short with interesting footnotes from Mia.

Comparing this to Miracle Creek, the author's debut, I liked them both a lot. Forced to choose a favorite, I would choose MC but they are both great.

It really pains me that I did not enjoy this one. I absolutely devoured Miracle Creek and was thrilled when I saw Angie Kim was *finally* publishing another book. I think this one had almost too much going on for me and I didn't really connect or care for any of the characters. I did a mix of listening and reading this one and couldn't jive with it either way. I found the footnotes to be a bit distracting - inner monologue is sometimes hard for me. This one was definitely heavy on lit fit and not much mystery, which I think threw me for a loop a bit. The father missing seemed to be a tiny sub plot almost in this character driven novel. I know people loved this one, so I think I may be in the minority on this one.

This was a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

Love that this book featured someone with special needs without it being the sole focus/pity/rescue. So often people with unique needs are in stories for inspiration and I loved that this displayed a human who goes through hard stuff like everyone else.

I read Angie Kim's book, 'Miracle Creek' several years ago and really enjoyed it. That paired with the knowledge that she takes great care in portraying her autistic characters, this was definitely a book I wanted to read. Thank you very much to the publisher and author for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. Have the novel narrated by a college age girl (the sister/daughter) was a great perspective. Seeing the events from her perspective and being aware that she has her own aspects of neurodivergence was interesting. I like that you can read this book through the lens of it being a family story or the lens of a mystery (or both).; I also appreciated the way Covid was incorporated into the story. Not as a main plot point but as an aspect of the characters' lives that effected them in a similar way that it did a lot of people. I would definitely recommend this book, and look forward to other books from Ms Kim.

Angie Kim's first novel Miracle Creek was one of my favorites of 2019 so I was excited to read her latest - Happiness Falls. I thank the publisher for an early release copy. I loved loved loved this book -- I flew threw it I believe in a single day. The story was fast moving and I liked the POV of the story. The footnotes took me on my own little rabbit holes both during reading and even afterwards with discussions with my husband who is so NOT a reader. Typically I largely ignore footnotes but these were truly interesting to me. This was one of my favorite reads of 2023. I look forward to Kim's next release!!!

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim is the story of a missing father, and everything his family does to try to find him. But it's so much more than that. It's about family, connection, and philosophy too. I loved the connection that this family had to each other, and I loved the deep, philosophical inquiry as well. I definitely need to check out more of this author's books. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

This is a tough book to review. I truly loved the diversity of characters and the inclusiveness of this story, and I thought the premise was great. From the start I was completely invested in knowing what was going to happen.

Once I finished it though, I still had a disconnect from the book and I'm not sure why exactly.

I'm sure it's more a matter of timing for me because it is a well- written book that many will absolutely love.

This was my first of Angie Kim's novels, and it will certainly not be my last. I absolutely fell in love with this story. I had never heard of Angelman's Syndrome, but was pleased to learn so much. The family at the center of this story was fascinating and the heart of the novel. I loved the footnotes, they were informative and added an additional layer to the text. Would gladly recommend this book to my students and anyone else who wants to think more about how a child with disabilities might impact a family. The story kept me guessing and desperate to know what happened.

new auto-buy author alert 🚨

Here I am sleeping on this e-ARC I had for way too long, finally reading a physical copy I bought, and gushing about how much I loved it.

HAPPINESS FALLS is the epitome of intentional writing. It showcases the power of family and explores the essence and importance of human communication. Most importantly, it holds at its core the humanity of people living with disabilities.

Written from Mia’s perspective, this book begins with her father disappearing. The last person to see her father is her little brother, Eugene. However, Eugene lives with autism and Angelman syndrome, two conditions that affect his ability to speak verbally. As Mia’s family tries to navigate this mystery, Eugene quickly becomes the police’s first suspect.

HAPPINESS FALLS had everything I want in a book: a unique plot, a captivating exposition, and reflective prose. I am so deeply impressed. I felt inspired, reflective, challenged, emotional, and human.

TLDR; This book sounds like a generic mystery novel, but it is so much more than that. For fans of Jodi Picoult (🙋🏻‍♀️), you’ll devour this book.

Thank you to random house Hogarth and NetGalley for my digital ARC of this beauty. HAPPINESS FALLS is available as of 8/29/23.

I almost didn’t read this book because I was not a huge fan of Kim’s first novel. I did enjoy this one a lot more. The beginning of the book does a good job of pulling you in so it held my interest for most of it (I felt like the ending was kind of drawn out). I will say that I think it was fairly predictable and gave me some Jodi Picoult vibes (this is not a good thing for me). Even though it was not the authors intention, I sort of feel like the semi ambiguous ending left the disabled brother looking like a bit of a villain and that gave me the ick. But a good story over all.

Adam Parsons disappears while on an outing with his 14-year-old son who suffers from a cocktail of neurophysical conditions, rendering speech impossible. In Angie Kim's second novel (following her wonderful Miracle Creek), we follow the search for his disappearance from the perspective of college-student Mia, who along with her twin brother John and their mom Hannah, a Phd linguist, comprise the family unit. Discovery of Adam's obsession with developing a Happiness Quotient, dependency on a variety of philosophical theories, and secrets about Eugene's condition converge to make this novel anything but a typical mystery, or even a typical literary mystery. Instead it soars above those genres, causing the reader to think deeply and teaching, in Mia's words, "I'm just saying please don't make assumptions before you know." Readers who are not willing to engage with the book's challenges should not be directed to it. However, thoughtful readers' assumptions and expectations will be surpassed and I recommend it highly to those readers.

A delightful unexpected book! Great integration of Korean culture and autism. A family solves a mystery of their missing dad, with their special needs son and twin kids (the daughter is protagonist. Lovely story.

I am having a hard time reviewing this book. There were parts I loved but somehow I was still bored.

I was expecting it to be a fast paced psychological mystery. It wasn’t! There were so many interesting threads but unfortunately they didn’t lead to the reveal which is why the denouement fell flat for me.

Happiness Falls is the sophomore effort by Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek. Similar to Miracle Creek, a character in this book is living with Autism and there is experimental therapy. The footnotes are so hilarious and well-placed, I can now call myself a "footnote enthusiast". This was a book that I slowed down my reading because I didn't want it to end. Highly recommended to fans of Miracle Creek, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, and mysteries with heart.