From the Bookshelf of Bound Together…

Happiness Falls

Angie Kim

Start date: May 1, 2024

Finish date: May 31, 2024

Discussion: 2025 May

Why we're reading this: May Members Choice
Thanks Wendy
[close] May Members Choice
Thanks Wendy

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What Members Thought

Oct 02, 2023 ☮Karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, read-in-2023, libby, mystery-suspense-thriller

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this story, the characters -- the overall mystery of what happened to the father and what the son Eugene, the only witness, might be able to communicate about it. Eugene is nonverbal with Angelman syndrome, which "causes delayed development, problems with speech and balance, intellectual disability.... People with Angelman syndrome often smile and laugh frequently, and have happy, excitable personalities." (Mayoclinic.org)

Mom is Korean and I loved how the author lightly compa ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Jul 15, 2023 Karen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, netgalley, family, 2023

Engaging, complex and original. I learned while enjoying this spectacular novel.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

3 likes · Like · see review

May 20, 2024 Irene rated it it was ok

The author uses a missing person story to inform the reader about theories around the perception of happiness, false assumptions regarding those unable to communicate verbally, prejudices toward people who cannot speak the dominant language, jumping as self-soothing or exercise, the challenges of conducting an orchestra, and just about anything and everything she might think about. The story was not bad, a quick read could have kept my interest if there were not so many side lectures.

2 likes · Like · see review

May 25, 2024 Wendy rated it really liked it

Shelves: bound-together, 2024

One of the best first lines I've read in a long time, "We didn't call the police right away" pulled me into the mystery of what happened to Mia's dad when he went missing on his daily hike with her 14-year-old special needs brother, Eugene.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this book, but there were points where I got bogged down in the happiness experiments. I also found some of the foreshadowing a bit heavy-handed.

Overall a 3.75 star review, rounded up to 4 stars here. ...more

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Feb 10, 2024 Glenda rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-read-in-2024

Happiness Falls revolves around the disappearance of a fifty-five-year-old man and the events that follow as both his family and local law enforcement try to locate him and piece together the events that led to his disappearance and the impact these efforts have on his immediate family. Adam disappeared while on a walk to a local park with his fourteen-year-old son, Eugene, the only witness to what transpired. Eugene is autistic and nonverbal, having been diagnosed with mosaic Angelman syndrome ...more

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May 03, 2024 Angelica rated it did not like it

I read this book because I was curious about the synopsis: a father goes missing. And I thought since it was so long, so long winded and so detailed, there must be some truly amazing story about what happened to him right? WRONG.

It isn’t until nearly 3/4 of the way through that we find out what happens to the dad, it isn’t amazing or worth continuing to read through and I ended up skimming to find out what happened because that’s the only reason I didn’t completely stop, but I should’ve.

This b ...more

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