Book Review: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

For today’s reading challenge hosted by Caitlin from Reading Whale, I had to choose my favorite read of the month. I just finished Miracle Creek, which I’m hereby crowning my favorite for July, and one of my favorites in 2019 so far.

Miracle Creek is a “bookstagram made me do it” read. I had heard nothing but good things about this courtroom thriller/mystery, which made me hesitant to read it. But I’m glad I did, because it certainly lived up to the hype.

Synopsis:

“In rural Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine. A pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives,” it's also a repository of hopes and dreams: the dream of a mom that her child can be like other kids; the dream of a young doctor desperate to cure his infertility and save his marriage; the dream of the Yoos themselves, Korean immigrants who have come to the United States so their teenage daughter can have a better life.

When the oxygen chamber mysteriously explodes, killing two people, all these dreams shatter with it, and the ensuing murder trial uncovers imaginable secrets and lies. In Miracle Creek, Angie Kim takes a classic form—courtroom drama—and draws on her own experience as an immigrant, a lawyer, and the mother of a real-life "submarine" patient to turn it into something wholly original, unputdownable . . . real. This is a spellbinding novel by an exciting new voice.”

My thoughts:

Since I discovered a lot of exciting new authors back in May (during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month) I’m making it a point to read more books by Asian and Asian-American authors. I’d seen Miracle Creek around a lot, and I’m so glad I picked it up. Not only is the writing thrilling, but Angie Kim explores themes of the immigrant experience, family, motherhood, and the mutable nature of truth.

Plus, she writes from the perspectives of 7 different characters! Each character’s perspective of the events added to the tension and mystery at the heart of Miracle Creek. Angie Kim did an incredible job of making you like and sympathize with these characters. When the truth was revealed, I was shocked. I felt relieved that the stress of getting to the bottom of this mystery was over. I even cried a little, not gonna lie. It’s an emotional moment.

Rating:

5 stars

If you’re looking for a courtroom thriller/family drama to dive into, try Miracle Creek. I can’t wait to see what Angie Kim has in store next.