SYNOPSIS
- One morning, Adam goes missing. Adam took Eugene, his teenage son with a dual diagnosis of autism and Angelman’s syndrome, to the park, and Adam never returned home. Rather, Eugene returned home by himself, and he’s in a bit of an unusual state. Due to Eugene’s condition, he is nonverbal, and he has some motor difficulties as well. Thus, the family cannot simply ask what happened.
- The remainder of the Korean American family consists of two college-aged twins, Mia and John, and the mother/wife.
- What happened to Adam? Did Eugene have anything to do with it?

MY THOUGHTS
- This was pretty good overall.
- It is told from Mia’s perspective, which I enjoyed.
- This felt less like a thriller to me, and it was more a thought-provoking, contemporary fiction & about family. All the family members slowly start to really understand each other.
- There were some parts that dragged a bit, and in my opinion, it could’ve been trimmed down a bit.
- I enjoyed how the book challenges readers to defy the notion that lack of verbal communication skills means someone is not intelligent. I liked seeing a nonverbal character, Eugene, shown to have so much more to him than the world, including his own family, has given him credit for over the last 14 years.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️worthwhile read & a great one to discuss with others.

Thanks to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out now.

The writing is solid, creating a vivid atmosphere, but the plot is a mix of captivating moments and predictability. Characters are well-developed, though some lack depth. Pacing fluctuates, making it a decent but not outstanding read.

Whew, what a book! I remember being taken by Kim's first novel MIRACLE CREEK. I wouldn't say I necessarily liked that book, but I remember thinking Kim has an extremely unique writing style and it was unlike anything I'd read before. I have to say I feel the same about HAPPINESS FALLS. I enjoyed my time with the story, but didn't love the experience of reading it. I found it extremely overwritten and more interested in the plot than the tangents the MC takes (which happen quite often). I don't know if I would go for a 3rd Angie Kim book, but I don't regret digging into this one. I just wasn't all that taken with it on the whole.

This book is beautifully written and the plot is quite unusual. It seems many of the books I read have interchangeable plots, but this one was totally original. I enjoyed learning about mosaic Angelman syndrome and how that, combined with autism, manifests itself. Most of all, I enjoyed the author's many musings on happiness and other topics, and I found the "footnotes" at the end of each chapter to be illuminating and fascinating. The Author's Note at the end of the book was also very interesting. I did think that the "mystery" part of the book dragged in places, though, but there is still much to recommend this book. Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book.

This was just stunning! I couldn’t put it down—the writing is excellent and the story and characters so compelling. Angie Kim is definitely an auto read author for me from here on out.

This was a very different kind of book for me to read. It is about a father who goes missing and his son who is autistic. Eugene struggles verbally so can't explain what happened to his father at the park.

I haven't had a lot of experience with people who have autism but felt that the author did a great job portraying Eugene. I also found the fact that he used sign language an interesting twist.

A most unusual novel about a missing father of an autistic, verbally challenged 14-year-old, Eugene, who cannot explain in words or actions what happened to his father on that fateful day at the park when Alan disappeared. In contrast I found the fact that his twin siblings being gifted was a good plot twist.

This was a good story all the way around.

I wasn't a huge fan of this one. A bit slow for me.this was my first from this author and probably my last.

I could not get into this book at all. Perhaps because of my mood at the time. I’m sure it could be a good read for someone else.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of “Happiness Falls” in exchange for an honest review. I personally loved this book so much, I ran out to my nearest bookstore, and was lucky enough to find a signed edition. It is now one of my most precious treasures! This book had me from the start, which is rare. It was mysterious and thought-provoking. I recommend this book to anyone who looks thrillers and to question everything!

When a father disappears on a walk with his mentally challenged son, who is also non-communicative, it is assumed that the son pushed the father off a cliff. As his wife and son and daughter try to piece together what really happened, they learn about the actions the father took to help the son lean to be communicative. A policewoman is convinced the mentally challenged son did indeed kill the father. His family must go to court to retain custody of him as they try to prove otherwise.

I had to quit the book at the 50% mark because I deeply don’t like the narrator or how the story was unfolding. I got what the author was doing and…it just wasn’t for me.

Amazing. Simply amazing. I will forever more add Angie Kim to my 'automatically read' list. Such a beautiful story with lovely writing.

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

❄️Happiness has been falling all around me today in the form of our first snowfall of the year, allowing me time to sit and finish this book. Sadly though, it was a huge miss for me, and a bigger miss for Random House who was harmful and irresponsible in publishing it.

🏞️The premise: a dad goes missing during the pandemic in 2020 and the only one who was with him and knows what happened is his 14 year old nonverbal son who has Autism and mosaic Angelman Syndrome. Nobody wanted to love this book more than me…as a Speech-Language Pathologist I always cheers for disability and varied ability character representation in print. But the foot of snow accumulated faster outdoors than this plot unfolded across the pages, and it missed the mark on educating the masses on current Speech and Language therapies.

✍️I know our educational system is flawed and that children in areas of the country don’t have access to the same low tech or high tech augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems as others, but the portrayal of how the son’s abilities came to light felt antiquated and inappropriate in today’s app filled world.

🛑Kim mentions her fictional system was based on Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) and Spelling to Communicate (S2C), two facilitated communication systems the American Speech Hearing Association (ASHA) has adopted a policy position on that advises against the use of. Like any cultural story in which sensitivity readers are used, I would have hoped this novel could have used readers in the field to help her write another route to highlight the variability in AAC systems, and in doing so would have at best educated readers on currently used and acceptable methods and at worst, avoided propagating outdated ideas about working with nonverbal individuals and autistic stereotypes.

I haven't read this kind of narration since JD Salinger's Seymour: An Introduction: overly analytical with *so many* tangents and actual footnotes. It's absolutely tedious to read, just like with Salinger's Buddy, but it also helps to build this wholly realized person. And the lens in which Mia analyzes her family, the events surrounding her father's disappearance, the world...is so interesting and makes for an immersive read. 4.5 stars.

This was the first Angie Kim. This book had me hooked from the start. It is a slow burn but it will keep you on your toes. It has a heart-wrenching ending and worth every minute it took to get there. I would recommend this book.


Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Hogarth for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

✨Book Review✨
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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This book is a really hard one to review. It was so well written and was such a great read, but I did find the Autism representation to be stereotypical and ill-informed. I know Kim did her research and has worked with non-verbal Autistic youth, but something about her represenation rubbed me the wrong way. She talked a lot about her experiences with language, and feeling non-verbal at times due to a language barrier, but that is such a different experience and I wish she could have focused her story more around something she has first-hand experience with.
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I also really hated the ending of this book. I'm not sure why I'm still giving it so many stars. I guess because I really didn't want to put it down and it was so well written.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚-𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙧, 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨.

📍 Read if you like:
• Multi Genre Stories
• Heartwrenching Moments
• Family Drama
• Neurodivergent Rep

I have yet to read Miracle Creek by this author, but I was so excited to pick this book up when I got it from NetGalley. I loved that this didn’t only focus on the mystery, but also had a bigger purpose to the story.

Based on what I got from the synopsis, I went into this expecting mainly a mystery following a missing father. I was not prepared for the emotions this book was going to leave. There was so much family drama and touching moments. I also felt like the representation of Angelman’s Syndrome was written so well by this author.

I loved the characters in this book, but I mainly loved Eugene. It was so heartbreaking to read about how he wasn’t able to communicate with others because of his condition.

I was hooked on the story from very early on, and while it dragged a few times, I still felt invested in the story and the characters. This book was absolutely touching and intriguing, I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Ableism, Death Of Parent, Grief, Bullying, Cancer, Racism

This book missed the mark for me! This is the first book by Angie Kim that I have read. The storyline was good, but it seemed at times that there was too much going on to keep track of. I like the inclusion of a non-verbal character and how their intelligence is often overlooked. It wasn't bad, but I didn't love it. Thank you to NetGalley and Hogarth Publishing for the ARC opportunity.

What a book! I was quickly hooked. This book was not what I expected, but much more!!

I loved the story line and the uniqueness of characters. Felt so many emotions as the story unraveled. Definitely appreciated the authors research into Eugene’s character. Feel like that was very well executed!!

Have definitely recommended this story to many friends!!

Mia’s father is missing and the police are investigating what happened. Her brother Eugene who has autism and Angelman syndrome, was the last to see their father but cannot tell what happened because he is nonverbal and can’t communicate. Piece by piece, Mia tries to learn the truth, but discovers that some of the clues only add to the mystery.

Eugene is central to the story and his disability is integral to the complexity of the case. Most have never heard of this rare condition and will come to appreciate the intricacies of the disorder and the impact it has on all members of the family. Anyone who has a special needs child in their household will identify with the way it directs all of the family’s activities.

The writing is crisp and the family dynamics are crucial to the plot. Eugene is the most fascinating and the way the family embraces him is heartwarming. The book brings to mind Trueman’s young adult novel, Stuck in Neutral.

Read this novel for the humanity on display, for the moving portrayal of a family that’s bonded by one member who needs continual care. That’s where the strength of the book lies.
3.5*