This book is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥!

Miracle Creek, an #ownvoice debut novel by Angie Kim, felt like Where the Crawdads Sing meets Everything I Never Told You. There is so much this book offers: suspense, legal drama, medicine, autism awareness and advocacy, special needs parenting, immigrant experience, infertility, marriage...and it is all weaved together beautifully.

I absolutely loved how the story unfolded over the course of several days of court proceedings through alternating points of view, providing the reader with varying perspectives of the same flow of events. This tragic story will literally pull you in from page one and keep you utterly captivated to the final page.

The hype is real. Read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux who granted me an egalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a riveting page-turner for 2/3 of the way through, and then has trouble ending. Miracle Creek is the location of a special oxygen chamber used for healing various problems, including autism and infertility. The concept is controversial and attracts protesters. We learn a lot of background about a group of regular users of the chamber known as the Miracle Submarine. Circumstances happen in just the right order, leading to a deadly fire in the sub. The rest of the book describes the investigation, the trial, and the reveal of the guilty.

The story is fascinating and suspenseful, the writing is excellent, and the characters are well-drawn. The problem is the last part is too long. Editing could have tightened the story without affecting the plot. Still, it is a very terrific story!

What a crazy convoluted fraught plot Miracles Creek offers. But it was compulsively readable. It’s hard to believe it’s a first novel. I hope it isn’t Angie Kim’s last. The story is somewhat of a courtroom drama. Elizabeth is on trial for the murder of her own son and a friend. Both deaths occurred in a pressure chamber meant to help people with various conditions, such as autism and infertility. The story takes place over the course of a few days during the trial, and is told from the perspective of a number of characters including the owners of the chamber. Everyone has multiple layers of secrets that come out slowly as the story unfolds. It’s hard to categorize this one by genre. It’s not really a psychological thriller or a mystery. It’s more of a character driven novel, showing the twisted thought patterns and emotions of people in difficult situations. Smart, complex and emotional. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

Miracle Creek is an intricately crafted family and courtroom drama from debut novelist Angie Kim. I picked this one up after taking a self-imposed break with "suspense/thriller" books because they were all feeling rather similar and just couldn't hold my attention.

Miracle Creek was a surprise hit, not only because it kept me guessing until the end, but because of it's amazing depth and deep dive into so many important issues. While the courtroom drama was center stage, immigration, the hopes for experiencing the "American dream", and caring for children with special needs was right there too. There were so many layers to Kim's amazing storytelling. This wasn't an easy read but it was so compelling and thought-provoking which was exactly what I had been missing lately with these "types" of books.

HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy) was an entirely new concept to me and I found it added so much to the storyline. Kim was able to add so much emotion during this reading journey that I was able to connect with all the different characters perspectives, even when I couldn't always relate to their actual experiences.

I am so impressed with Angie Kim and I look forward to reading what she comes out with next!

I received an Advanced Review Copy of Miracle Creek by Angie Kim from the publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

“Miracle Submarine's oxygen tank exploded at about 8:25 pm on August 26, 2008, starting an uncontrollable fire. Six people were inside, three in the immediate area. Two died, Four, severely injured--hospitalized for months, paralyzed, limbs amputated.”


Miracle Creek is a courtroom drama with a lot of very heavy layers that make for some very deep character studies. The legal case is the Commonwealth of Virginia vs Elizabeth Ward, which centers around one primary event (that is really a tangled web of events that the novel delicately picks apart) where the “Miracle Submarine” exploded, killing two individuals, including a young child with ASD. The “Miracle Submarine” is a hypobaric chamber. Readers will learn all the ‘nuts & bolts’ of the science behind this contraption, but basically, it’s an alternative treatment for a varying list of conditions, including ASD and infertility (which are the primary two that we see in this novel).

There are quite a few characters in this title, which sometimes I struggle to keep up with in novels. However, I did not find it difficult at all in this case and enjoyed the alternating chapters, getting tiny snapshots of each character’s background experiences and piece-by-piece getting to see what happened on the day of the explosion.

A quick little ‘X-Ray’ of the characters you will encounter….

★ Pak Yoo -- The Yoo family is from Seoul, South Korea, currently living in Virginia, in the US. Pak is the ‘head’ of the Yoo family. He is the owner and operator of the “Miracle Submarine” and is very dedicated to making sure his family, especially his daughter, Mary, have every opportunity for a better life in America. Pak was paralyzed as a consequence of the submarine explosion.
★ Young Yoo -- Young is married to Pak and has spent much of her recent years working incredibly long hours in order for her and Mary to live in America. She is a hard working woman who is desperate to rekindle a bond with her teenage daughter.
★ Mary Yoo -- Mary is 16 and really trying to find herself. After the explosion, Mary was in a coma for a period of time, but has since recovered.
★ Elizabeth Ward -- Elizabeth is on trial for the alleged murder of her son, Henry, who died during the submarine explosion. Elizabeth is a single mother who experienced a lot of frustration with coping with her son’s disability--she is type-A and relentless in the mission to provide her son with the best possible treatments and hope for a ‘cure’ possible.
★ Matt Thompson -- The Thompsons are family friends of the Yoos. Matt married into a Korean family and is currently experiencing the strain that infertility can put on a marriage. Matt was ‘diving’ (using the submarine) in hopes to treat infertility and was present during the explosion. Matt’s hands were severely burned during the explosion and he lost fingers.
★ Kitt Kozlowski -- Kit isa mother who used the submarine for treatment for her son TJ, who had ASD and engaged in self-injurious behaviors. Kitt is a mother of 5 and I would loosely call her a ‘friend’ of Elizabeth’s--they had a very complex relationship, layered with a lot of conflict. Kitt was killed by the explosion of the submarine.
★ Teresa Santiago -- Teresa was also present in the submarine at the time of the explosion and was part of the mom group that went on ‘dives’ regularly to treat the disabilities fo their children. Teresa’s daughter Rosa has cerebral palsy, which was caused by an illness in her childhood. Rosa is wheelchair-bound, nonverbal, and uses a feeding tube. Teresa has become a close friend to Young.


WOW!

I’m not sure I could have asked for much more from this novel. It really takes the framework of what makes up a family, holds it up to the light, and exposes all of the things that make us tick inside… including how far we would go to protect (or teach) those that we love, even when it’s incredibly painful. This novel is heartbreaking, moving, ugly, and beautiful, all rolled up into one unbelievably deep story that ties together the lives of so many.

The best part about this novel is that I think that there is a bit of something for everyone in regards to relatability--but I think that immigrants (especially Asian immigrants) and mothers (especially mothers with children with special needs) will be able to connect to this novel on an incredibly deep level.

This novel is an own-voices title, as the author, Angie Kim, came to America when she was a preteen from Seoul, South Korea. This is very reminiscent of Mary Yoo’s experience, so I am sure she has channeled a lot of personal experience and emotion into the Yoo family, and it really shows. There is so much depth to the experiences, challenges, and triumphs that this family faces--including, but not limited to, the challenge of a patriarchal culture where women do not hold the same power as men ( "No man wants a wife who eats or talks too much" ), the difficulty of language barriers, racism, family separation, and poverty on the way to a ‘better life’.

"It was as if discarding her Korean name had weakened her, like cutting Samson's hair, and the replacement came with a meek persona she didn't recognize or like."


I also would not be surprised if this is an own voices title for a parent of a child with special needs (I researched and could not find an answer to this). I am not a parent of a child with special needs, so I cannot represent that voice with full authenticy, but as a special educator who has worked with children with special needs, as well as their families, for the vast majority of my life, I would say that she does an impeccable job of capturing the realities of the challenges that these parents face. Not only does she touch on the experiences of these parents, but she does a fantastic job of representing the complexities and variance of challenges that parents face, based on their child’s disability. One child--Rosa-- is wheelchair-bound, uses a feeding tube, is nonverbal, and needs very high levels of assistance for day-to-day activities. TJ is also nonverbal, engages in self-injurious behavior (SIB), and requires moderate levels of assistance. And Henry is verbal and does not require very much assistance with regular, routine activities. But I loved that Angie Kim captured the fact that every one of these parents go through difficulties of their own and how easy it is to compare our own story to that of another--and in the process, we invalidate the difficulties they are experiencing, or we add unnecessary negative-light to their difficulties.

"Having a special-needs child didn't just change you; it transmuted you, transported you to a parallel world with an altered gravitational axis."


It was a truly beautiful representation and I think that many parents of children with special needs are going to really resonate with this novel and appreciate the heart that Angie Kim poured into it.

Angie Kim has a real talent for creating characters that are very dynamic. I felt so connected to the characters, as if I personally knew them, and my heart broke throughout the story as I watched all of these characters struggle with their own battles. She also created a conclusion that demonstrates that everything in life is not just black and white--sometimes the answers are more complicated than you expect, with layers upon layers of choices that led to consequences.

I would give more than five stars if I could!

Thank you to Angie Kim and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for providing me with a DRC of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

I had heard lots about this book before really so I was excited to see if it would live up to expectations. It did and it didn’t.

I loved the idea of the book, hope of a better life for a Korean family who were living in America. The introduction of oxygen therapy as a medical treatment was new to me and it was interesting to see how that played out through the book, especially following the explosion at the beginning.

I liked seeing the characters develop and the court scenes were written well, but I found it slow paced. I liked it but wanted the pace of the book to be faster, to make me not want to put the book down.

The book offered insights into the thoughts and feelings of not only the Yoo family, immigrants from Korea, but also the parents of those children with additional support needs. I felt these were written about very thoughtfully and tenderly and the author drew all these together to create a satisfying conclusion. Not an easy to read conclusion, but one that finished the book well. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Disclaimer: Thank you to Farrer, Straus and Giroux and Netgalley for the complimentary digital copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.

Miracle Creek is an assured and sharp courtroom drama from debut novelist Angie Kim. When Korean immigrants Pak and Young Yoo open a hyperbaric chamber wellness center in Miracle Creek, Virginia called “Miracle Submarine,” it offers them and their daughter, Mary, the promise of financial success and a new life in America, while giving hope to the families of their clients, mostly autistic and special needs children thought to benefit from the pressurized, pure oxygen therapy. But when a sudden, suspicious fire shatters the Yoos’ dreams and claims two lives, the investigation and trial which follow reveal a tangled web of motives and secrets in the private lives of the Yoos and their patients, all of whom seem to have something to hide. Don’t expect a police procedural—Miracle Creek is a courtroom drama in which the detective work is presented by lawyers and witnesses during the chapters covering the four days of the trial. Interspersed with these chapters are those of multiple narrators—the Yoos and their clients—which, while providing plenty of red herrings and moments of suspense, are more notable for Kim’s sensitive portrayals of the alienation of immigrants and the difficulties of parenting special needs children. I thought the book sagged a little in the middle, but Kim does a good job of tying all the threads she’s dangled throughout the novel together in the end for a satisfying, albeit sad, ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

An edge of your seat courtroom drama that has you guessing and second guessing who was responsible for setting the fire that killed 2 people inside the Miracle Submarine (a pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic sessions that may or may not cure autism, infertility, etc.).
I was hooked! I am usually pretty good at figuring out a mystery but this one had me stumped until 3/4 of the way in. The story is told from the various players' perspectives and it is from their different narratives that you find out all the secrets, all the pieces of the puzzle that led to the unfortunate event.

This is the 100th book I have read and reviewed through NetGalley's advance reader system -- and it may be my favorite. Here's why:

Each character was full-bodied, both heroic and potentially villainous. Each of the dozen or so prominent cast members had my full-flooded sympathy at one point or another, as well as my skepticism and distrust. Yes, it's technically a courtroom drama, and it's definitely a suspense story -- but the book's other components were so rich that it carried me beyond that narrow framework.

At the center is a Korean immigrant family, a couple and their daughter who turns 17 and then 18 while the story unspools. The story is arguably about children with disabilities and the toll this takes on their families. And yet -- the cross cultural and the medical and the psychological elements were so skillfully layered that they seemed an intrinsic part of the suspense.

The details also felt fully authentic, judging by my contact with Korean immigrants and people on the autism spectrum among my close kin. Many other reviewers called this a "tearjerker," and -- while my usual reading skews toward the hard-boiled and the stoic -- I appreciated the deep sadness I felt watching these tough, strong people deal with the random catastrophes Life brought them.

This book has so many layers and they are all woven together to form a beautiful tapestry. I journied through so many emotions while absorbing this story. There is courtroom drama, family dynamics, and mystery in the plot. The characters are well defined and likeable. This book is a true gift to the reader. Many thanks to Farrah, Straus, and Giroux and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm so happy I heard people talk about how amazing this book was, because it wasn't on my radar at all. It's hard to quantify---it's mostly courtroom drama, but there's a bit of domestic suspense and obviously a ton of literary fiction. I mention that because if you think "Oh, this doesn't sound like my thing," try it anyway. It's probably just about everyone's thing. It's also impossible to talk about because literally every plot point is two steps from a spoiler.

I loved this book immediately but it was also really hard to not try and figure out who was responsible for the explosion. It felt like that scene in Scream where Randy yells "EVERYBODY'S A SUSPECT!" 

I'm going to be recommending this to every actively literate person I know. Highly recommended.

Page turning, emotionally complex, and haunting story. Ms. Kim has managed to create sympathy and understanding for all of her characters, even as they make terrible mistakes and cause each other great harm. It casts a wide net yet never looses focus. I recommend it highly.

Troubling and complex… adjectives that, in my opinion, best describe Miracle Creek. This is the story of a family of Korean immigrants who operate an alternative health clinic. It offers hyperbaric oxygenation, or HBOT, as a treatment that may help with a number of health problems particularly autism. One day, as a group protests the use of this treatment outside the facility, it explodes with tragic results. The story itself expands outward from this core mystery and the subsequent trial, a year later, which explore how the tragedy occurred and who is responsible.

Told in third person narrative by a myriad of characters, the story slowly unfolds - peeling away layers of perspective and truth. It requires careful attention by the reader as the plot is told and re-told from these various perspectives. There is repetition between these re-tellings but also important variations and nuances as the puzzle pieces come together.

Even though Miracle Creek has been described as a mystery and a thriller, I did not find it to be your typical page-turner. The explosion and criminal investigation were almost secondary to a number of other current, important themes intertwined with a wide cast of characters – all flawed in their own way. Besides the drama of interpersonal dynamics, I found the moral and emotional dilemmas faced by parents and caregivers of children on the autism spectrum to be the most compelling and thought-provoking aspects of this debut novel. The author, Angie Kim, moved as a teen from Korea, is a former trial lawyer, and the mother of three sons – all of which add authenticity to her superb storytelling.



FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had the privilege of given a.free copy of this book for an honest review from Netgalley
I wasn't sure about reading this book as I just didn't know what to expect.
In the story Pak opens a treatment center called HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy), This is a kind of treatment that is supposed to effectively treat autism and infertility. There is a fire at the treatment center and a couple of people die. This is the crux of the story. Who.was responsible for the fire? As the investigation and trial.goes on, further lies and secrets are revealed in different characters in the story. It appears as it could be anyone. A great story , great character development. You won't be able to put this down.
I give this an easy 5 stars.!

I didn't really know anything about this book before reading it but thought the description sounded interesting. So glad I picked it up because this book was fascinating.

Pak and Young own Miracle Submarine, which administers HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy), which some local people use as treatment for things like autism, or infertility. When there is an explosion and people die, charges are laid against one of the mother's of the children undergoing treatment and the book follows the trial.

Each chapter was told in point of view of one of the important characters and we cycled through various people's perspective on the same event. I found almost all the characters at least partly relateable and the author was great at portraying even characters who made bad decisions.

I can’t explain how much I love this book. I grew up in southeastern Virginia and Miracle Creek feels so familiar. Although I didn’t grow up in an immigrant family, I’ve been close friends with many and found the struggles of understanding an American raised teen versus the experiences of their immigrant parents perfectly portrayed. Seeing the different lines of this story twist and turn was a great ride to be on and I also enjoyed the writing and voice Angie Kim gave the story. Bravo!

Big Little Lies meets the courtroom thriller mystery in Angie Kim’s debut novel Miracle Creek. DO NOT pass this one up. Easily earns 5 stars.

Miracle Creek, a town in rural Virginia. Young and Pak Yoo, immigrants from Korea who live in Miracle Creek and run a privately owned medical device, a chamber for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) treating off label/experimental conditions that hospitals won’t. An explosion. 2 deaths. A murder investigation. A courtroom drama. The case against the alleged culprit unfolds and is not as cut and dry as it appears.

The lives of 5 families intertwine in this story about love, family, immigration, the human nature of parenting disabled children, and the lengths people will go for their families.

I’ve been struggling to review this book because I’ve not been sure what to say. There’s not much to put in a review about a book that is beyond exceptional and extremely well written. Except, well, just exactly that…… Miracle Creek is beyond exceptional and extremely well written. Mind Blown!!! One of my first thoughts when finishing was how well thought out and detailed this novel is. The insight into the emotions of each character, the human nature of what it feels like to parent a disabled child, the pain and struggles of amputation/disfigurement, the despondency of immigration, the despair of being alone, the description of such human characteristics is off the charts. The character development in itself is remarkable, which is extremely important in this book considering each person’s life struggles plays a major role in how the story plays out. I need to make sure to mention the brilliantly written courtroom scenes, because they are like the icing on the cake to a book that already was pretty darn sweet.

When you read a novel of this magnitude, the ending becomes challenging. You wonder to yourself well before you get there if it is going to be fulfilling, how is the author going to pull this all together, am I going to walk away from this feeling satisfied, will all my needs be met? I don’t know how Angie Kim was able to execute such an achievement, but she was able to masterfully create an ending that gave the reader everything they wanted. It closed every door. Now, whether or not you agreed with how it ended, is another story. I personally had to think long and hard about it, it stuck with me, I questioned myself, I asked myself what would I do? And then I agreed with Ms. Kim. It’s amazing to think about the unintended consequences of the decisions we make.

I highly recommend this book. It deserves more than 5 stars. When I read a debut like this, I always wonder to myself what the author is going to do next. How do you outdo something so brilliant? If Ms. Kim continues to write the way she did with Miracle Creek, she should have no problem at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for an ARC of this novel for my unbiased and honest review.

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim is a very highly recommended twisty legal thriller and a notable debut novel.

Young and Pak Yoo and their teenage daughter Mary are an immigrant family from Korea who run a private experimental medical treatment facility in rural Miracle Creek, Virginia. Their "Miracle Submarine" is a pressurized oxygen chamber for hyperbaric oxygen therapy or HBOT, which involves breathing pure, pressurized oxygen. Patients enter the chamber for "dives" that are believed to treat a wide range of issues and medical conditions. Their chamber is located in a barn behind their home. A fire, clearly arson, occurs, which causes the submarine to catch fire and explode, killing two people and injuring four others.

What or who caused the explosion is the focus of this legal thriller. A single mother of one of the patients who died is being charged with murder in the opening scenes. Her actions seem clearly suspect, but this is a complicated story with many suspects. As the trial starts the list of suspects, the secrets and the lies being told seem to multiply. As Kim develops the backstory of all her characters, new information and complications emerge, and the list of suspects grows ever longer as the plot becomes increasingly complicated.

Miracle Creek is an irresistible page turner, merging a dramatic murder trial with in-depth character studies and compelling courtroom scenes. All of the characters have secrets and information they are hiding from that night, but the complications are even more intricate than just a simple omission of a single fact. The suspects will change as you are reading and more facts and secrets come forth. You will feel some empathy or sympathy for all of the characters at least once. All of the lies and omissions will make sense if you have ever encountered a person who always makes themselves look good during all events and can never admit flaws. Even the way the lawyers can twist facts to benefit their clients is telling.

The writing is absolutely excellent and the plot is the perfect synthesis of character development, a complicated mystery, and a legal thriller. I was entrenched in the complicated, detailed plot and really had no clear idea who was guilty or if it would be a perfect storm of lies and mistakes that led to the explosion. The final denouement is very satisfying and ties up all loose ends. This is a brilliant debut novel.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/04/miracle-creek.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2789791224
https://www.librarything.com/work/22204565/book/167899967
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1118591664052944896

Alternative medicine. A deadly accident. Immigrants. Courtroom drama. This is everything wrapped into one perfect book.

Miracle Creek (previously Miracle Submarine) is told from various points of view and each point cuts directly into the gut of the reader. There are passages that are difficult to read because of the level of pain. There are passage that are difficult to read because they are gruesome. And then there are passages that are hard to read because they are just beautiful.

This debut novel from Angie Kim is one that is sure to on the top of many bestseller lists and it will be well deserved.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.