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Miracle Creek

Angie Kim

Start date: January 1, 2021

Finish date: January 28, 2021

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

Why we're reading this: January Bonus Read- Korean American Day

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
[close] January Bonus Read- Korean American Day

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

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What Members Thought

Apr 29, 2019 JanB rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-of-the-month, buddy-read-with-marialyce, netgalley, 2019-reads

I loved this book! This is a fascinating murder mystery/courtroom drama/immigrant story that is unlike any other I have read. Along with being a riveting page-turner the author explores tough questions that have no easy answers.

The book opens with an explosion in a hyperbaric chamber, the so-called “Miracle Submarine”, a medical treatment used in the hope of a cure for conditions ranging from autism to infertility. The resulting fire took the life of two people: an 8-year-old boy with autism, a
I loved this book! This is a fascinating murder mystery/courtroom drama/immigrant story that is unlike any other I have read. Along with being a riveting page-turner the author explores tough questions that have no easy answers.

The book opens with an explosion in a hyperbaric chamber, the so-called “Miracle Submarine”, a medical treatment used in the hope of a cure for conditions ranging from autism to infertility. The resulting fire took the life of two people: an 8-year-old boy with autism, and the young mother of one of the patients. Several others were left with devastating injuries.

Elizabeth, the mother of the young boy who died, is charged with wanting her son dead and orchestrating his murder. Is Elizabeth guilty, or, as the defense suggests, is someone else the guilty party? Told from alternating perspectives, there are little lies, big lies, and lies of omission. Everybody is hiding something and everyone has a possible motive for the crime.

The courtroom drama was riveting. Depending on which piece of evidence is explored, the suspicion leans strongly toward one person or another. No one has the full picture but each reveal draws us closer to the truth and keeps the reader guessing.

I think one of the strengths of this book is allowing the reader a peek into the minds and hearts of parents of disabled children. Parenting is a tough job, even more so when faced with the overwhelming exhaustion, grief, and fear of parenting a child with special needs, and the worry of what will happen to your child when they outlive you. The dynamics of the group of mothers who have children with varying degrees of autism was especially interesting.

Despite a great love for your child, shameful, but all-too-human, thoughts can creep in. Thoughts that could never be voiced out loud to anyone. I hope this book gives parents in similar circumstances reassurance and validation that they aren’t awful people, just flawed humans. Like all of us.

The immigrant experience is also explored, specifically the clashes between the old ways and the new, and the sacrifices immigrant parents make for their children, which don’t always lead to the expected outcome.

The author is Korean-American, a trial lawyer, and has a child who received hyperbaric treatments for a health condition. She writes with authenticity based on personal experience. This is an amazing debut and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Highly recommended for fans of thoughtful character-driven mystery/courtroom dramas.

I read this with Marialyce and we had a great discussion. For those in a book club this would be an excellent pick.

**I received a free copy of the book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
* for our duo reviews of this book, and others, please visit Marialyce's blog: https://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpres... ...more

112 likes · Like · see review

Sep 23, 2019 Cam rated it it was ok

I waited a long a while to read this and I was disappointed.
This book started out good and then it felt like it dragged out to a big “who dunnit” mystery. And I took forever to get to the end. Hell Im still confused about who did the crime 🤣🤣🤣🤣. I couldn’t wait for this book to end because I was ready to throw in the towel if it was any longer.

14 likes · Like · see review

Jul 24, 2020 Em rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult-book-club-sugg-2020-21, favorites, audios, book-club-must-reads-2024-25

Audio-I felt like I learned a lot about the experience of immigrants-Korean immigrants specifically. I especially gleaned even more from the author interview at the end of the audio-I hope that it is at the end of the physical book too. The audio was very well done and enjoyable, but I know that the experience of reading it would have been one that I would have really relished. Very well written.

I was given much to think about and learned about several different topics : -autism,infertility,im ...more

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