Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

45 reviews

fancyjess_party's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mirandalikesbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Enjoyed this a lot! It's a mystery that took me through a whole range of feelings about the narrator and her father. It also has some insightful commentary about privilege and abelism. 

In parts I felt like it could have used an edit. The main character used the word inane/inanity often enough that it was noticeable. I also thought some of the footnotes could have been cut. All in all though would recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Rape, Terminal illness, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

rsagarin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Grief

sassyykassie's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Racial slurs, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cancer and Injury/Injury detail

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this. It took me a fair bit to settle into the narrative voice -- Mia sure does love a footnote -- but I came to love how her tangents and (sometimes contradictory) rambles mirror our thinking in everyday life. And Eugene! The sheer love and research that went into crafting his character is a true highlight.

In short: another Angie Kim winner. I'm pleased.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Violence, Colonisation, and War

moriahleigh's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Police brutality, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cancer and Forced institutionalization

melodyseestrees's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

There are so many frustrating elements to this story, especially the ending. The character motivations seemingly make sense but the character actions do not necessarily match up quite right. There are many questions in the latter half of the book but don't hold your breath and wait for all the answers.

Mia goes 'eh, I don't care to know' and erases any evidence that was on her presumed deceased father's phone.

The end pacing also did not match up with how the rest of the story had been. A good portion of the dialogue around Eugene felt microaggression level ableist at best, though the surprise therapist at the end had the best dialogue with Eugene. Perhaps this is realistic but something about it felt off. This led to the rating falling from the expected 4 to a 3.25.
The edition I had did 'footnote' information in a jarring and disruptive way to the reading experience. Some whole pages had maybe a paragraph of information to them in an italicized font that was frustrating to read. These thoughts of Mia's surely could have been worked into the actual text as a mark of who she is as a person. 
There were a few characters who appeared, did maybe two actions, and then disappeared never to be seen again

looking at you unhinged lady in the park with pepper spray and supposedly existing band of teenage boys

. There were plot beats that were dropped.

We saw hints and part of the lead officer having seemingly faked one or two injuries in previous cases but this played very little in the hearing against Eugene for hurting her.

The notebook revealing that Mia's father was running experiments on his family, having no exploration done into it. Was he really just writing notes to himself? Was he writing a paper? Was he as unhinged as park pepper spray lady? We'll never know!

The police, having access to the same information as Mia not putting together the unlock code, as all of that info came from the notebook they were scanning and sending to Mia. Can police even do that during an active investigation?

Harmonee's backstory being sort of explained despite her having very little to do with the story. The perspective of familial trauma given was interesting but never really led anywhere. One could argue that whole history didn't need to be spelled out since it amounted to John was special cuz he looked white, Mia was treated like she was dumb because she didn't look white, Eugene witnessed a death firsthand, John and Mia learned how to whisper yell.

This book felt like it was trying to fit several stories into one- Harmonee's story, Mia's dad's story, Eugene's story, and Mia's memoir.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Racism

Minor: Rape, Suicide, and War

lindseybkoehler's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Grief

Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Cultural appropriation, and Deportation

skbat's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, and War

sparklefarm's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love discovering new-to-me authors and loving them immediately. This was an excellent read - I was hooked and in suspense from the get-go. Philosophical, tense, and personal - not a mix I expected, but one I really enjoyed. The author's note was meaningful (although upon reflection made some of the philosophizing and reflection within the work a bit heavy-handed, although I don't know that I really minded). Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Grief

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Racism, Rape, and Pandemic/Epidemic