Miracle Creek in Book Club for Introverts

Apr 17, 2019 ReadingGirlReviews (Gina) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019

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5 stars

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 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 stars

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. ...more

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May 15, 2019 Randi (randi_reads) rated it it was amazing

There has been so much hype about this book. I was excited to finally get to read it and that it definitely lived up to the hype. So good. Good is not even an adequate enough of a word.
The format of the book starts out the day of the tragic event where two lives are lost and then is broken up by each day of the trial. The courtroom trial is excellent, but the events that happen after the trial is recessed for the day is what is really drew me in. The author weaves all the characters' story toge ...more

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Jun 11, 2019 Ellen rated it really liked it

Shelves: botm-i-own, read-i-own

Couldn’t put it down: complex courtroom drama and murder mystery combined with deep empathy for both life as an immigrant and life as a special needs parent. I read that the author was a courtroom attorney prior to writing this, her debut novel, and the trial sections really shine as a result. I also suspect she has a child with some health or learning challenges, as her knowledge of this world and unusual treatments for these issues is familiar and accurate. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it ...more

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Sep 20, 2018 Aimee Dars rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, fiction, mysteries-thrillers, debut-novels

Korean immigrants Park and Young Yoo opened the Miracle Submarine, a hyperbaric oxygen chamber large enough for six, in the small town of Miracle Creek, Virginia. They offered this experimental therapy to clients with autism, cerebral palsy, Crohn's disease, and even infertility. Only open about a month, one August day challenged the new business owners. Protestors against using the 100% oxygen therapy on autism patients picketed and blocked the driveway. Mylar balloons released into the power l ...more

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Apr 26, 2019 Dara Tinius rated it really liked it

ARC/Netgalley

I had a hard time rating this because I couldn't decide exactly how I felt. Usually the sign of a great book club pick! Miracle Creek has some pretty challenging content (child death etc.) that makes it hard to ENJOY but I also could not put it down. The pacing is excellent and the court room scenes felt very real. A compelling story that covers a lot of debates I've seen play out in parenting circles. ...more

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Jun 03, 2019 Jude (HeyJudeReads) Fricano rated it really liked it

Read this one due to lots of hype. Story kept me very intrigued without being confused throughout. Going back and forth in my head trying to kit together all the bits of information and how they fit together to spell the truth. Reminded me of how things can go so wrong in so many different ways. Good story. 4 star.

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Jul 12, 2019 Cathi rated it liked it

3.5. Listened.

I liked this - my rating for this is more influenced by where I am in my reading life as opposed to the book. I appreciated the different perspectives, and how the narrative was so rooted in the courtroom.

Mysteries and thrillers are my default genre, but I haven't been getting as much out of them lately. I'm definitely leaning more towards character-driven stories as opposed to plot-driven ones, and while there was a bit of character development - I appreciated the push and pull ...more

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Nov 25, 2024 Sarah Cetra rated it it was amazing

I'm an Angie Kim stan. She writes characters that are so real and so believable, whether you hate them or love them. Clearly Kim knows how to write the legal stuff too, but more than that, she makes it RIVETING. Easy 5 stars. ...more

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Mar 22, 2020 Lisa rated it liked it

Shelves: x-popsugar-reading-challenge-2020

Although very easy to read, and apparently hard to put down as I read it in one sitting, this book did not wow me. I found it completely predictable and full of stereotypes, and did not get attached to the characters or feel sympathy or empathy for any of them at all. I kept waiting for it to take off emotionally but it just fell flat. Definitely underwhelmed.

Three stars.

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2020:
A Medical Thriller

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Apr 21, 2019 Anne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: x-read-in-2019

I loved this book! It felt exactly like sitting on a jury and hearing testimony from all the witnesses, each bringing a slightly different perspective to the facts of the case. It’s so realistic that I was thoroughly engrossed and found my opinion on the question of guilt changed every few pages.

Like most trials there was much to feel sad, mad, and shocked about. Angie Kim has been a trial lawyer and her experience is put to good use as she rolls out all the courtroom drama along with some of t ...more

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May 10, 2019 The Book Distiller rated it really liked it

A really well-written debut novel.

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May 17, 2019 Myra rated it liked it · review of another edition

So I kept reading this story because I just had to solve the mystery. However, I found the characters to be so unlikeable that I wanted to get to the end and get away from the characters.

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