Angie Kim’s debut novel Miracle Creek published in April 2019 and it begins with the Yoo family and their business, Miracle Submarine in Miracle Creek, Virginia. Miracle Submarine is a hyperbaric chamber that is controversially used to “treat” the likes of autism, Cerebral Palsy, and infertility. There are various “dives” that take place during each day where groups of people head inside what looks like a submarine, wearing helmets attached to pure oxygen while the chamber is depressurised. During one fateful “dive”, there was chaos; protesters were at Miracle Submarine, a power outage occurred, and six people head into the submarine with only four to come out alive after a fire starts at one of the oxygen tanks.

Miracle Creek is a courtroom drama and a modern day ‘whodunnit’ that breaks down the trial of Elizabeth Ward who was arrested for murder and arson in connection with the explosion and fire at Miracle Submarine. On top of that, Miracle Creek brings up themes such as racism, ableism, sexism, immigration, male fertility, and family dynamics. The reader learns about what happened before, during, and after the explosion through six different sections: “The Incident”, the four trial days a year after the incident happened, and a section simply called “After”. In each of these sections, the reader learns about the events from seven different narrators: Elizabeth (on trial for murder and arson), Pak, Young, and Mary Yoo (South Korean immigrants), Matt and Janine (married and struggling to conceive; Matt survived the explosion), and Theresa (mother to Rosa, a young girl who has Cerebral Palsy; both survived the explosion). Kim flawlessly and intricately interlaces the past and the present of the seven main characters throughout the novel to really give a broader picture of what each character’s life was like before, during, and after the fire. Kim leaves no stone unturned as the reader learns the truth of what really happened on the night of the fire at Miracle Submarine.

Kim’s writing style is both intense and effortless. She not only tells the reader what is going on, she uses gorgeous, rich prose that paints picture after picture for the reader as they make their way through Miracle Creek. Kim has written Miracle Creek in such a way that the reader has to peel back layer after layer to find out more to this mystery. Each character’s story bounces off of the next and propels the story forward at a smooth and steady pace. There is no rushing or redundancy to any of Kim’s writing and everything that she has written in this story has a place; Miracle Creek is extremely satisfying with no questions left unanswered when the reader closes the navy blue book for the final time.

Miracle Creek is not only an entertaining whodunnit, it raises many questions around our own morals and values; the bond and unconditional love we have for our children; and the way we perceive an event in comparison to someone else, even when it is the exact same thing. Kim has written an exquisitely unique piece of art that is to be cherished and praised. Miracle Creek cannot be compared to any other novel solely because it needs no comparison, this hasn’t been done before.

On a personal note, after finishing the novel, I reached out to Angie Kim to share with her a poem (that I had written years ago) about a woman and a weeping willow tree. In Miracle Creek, Mary finds solace in a grove of weeping willow trees, and this setting is brought up multiple times in the story. After sharing my poem with Angie, she told me the inspiration behind the weeping willow grove:

“Mary, in particular, finds the grove of the weeping willows to be her hideaway. That setting was inspired by these two gorgeous weeping willows we have in our backyard, which we planted when we first moved to our house in 1997! They’re now just gorgeous, and I love nothing better than lying on a hammock underneath one of the tree, half-hidden.” – Angie Kim

Miracle Creek is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.

Will you be picking up Miracle Creek? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

How far will you go to protect your family? Will you keep their secrets? Ignore their lies?

In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident.

A showdown unfolds as the story moves across characters who are all maybe keeping secrets, hiding betrayals. Was it the careless mother of a patient? Was it the owners, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester, trying to prove the treatment isn’t safe?

The post Review: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below if you will be reading any of them!

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon
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A chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times best-selling author of THE WINTER PEOPLE, returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don’t simply move into a haunted house, they start building one from scratch, without knowing it, until it’s too late…

When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
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In 1960s Florida, a young Cuban exile will risk her life–and heart–to take back her country in this exhilarating historical novel from the author of Next Year in Havana, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.

Only One Life by Ashley Farley
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A reunion between an estranged mother and daughter opens a world of secrets in a poignant novel by the bestselling author of Magnolia Nights.

The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr
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A post-mortem photographer unearths dark secrets of the past that may hold the key to his future, in this captivating debut novel in the gothic tradition of Wuthering Heights and The Thirteenth Tale.

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
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A literary courtroom drama about a Korean immigrant family and a young, single mother accused of murdering her eight-year-old autistic son.

The Missing Years by Lexie Elliott
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The French Girl captivated readers with a twisting tale of psychological suspense. Now author Lexie Elliott heads to the foothills of the Scottish Highlands, where a woman’s tangled family history comes back to haunt her…

Roar by Cecelia Ahern
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From the bestselling author of P.S., I Love You, a fiercely feminist story collection that illuminates–sometimes in fantastical ways–how women of all kinds navigate the world today.

The Great Pretenders by Laura Kalpakian
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The daughter of Hollywood royalty, Roxanne Granville is used to getting what she wants–even if she has to break the rules. But after a falling-out with her grandfather, a powerful movie mogul, she has to face life on her own for the first time….

Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer
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Can you love someone to death? Some would say Becky Gerard is a devoted mother and would do anything for her only child. Others claim she’s obsessed and can’t stop the vicious circle of finding a cure at her daughter’s expense. Fifteen-year-old Meghan has been in and out of hospitals with a plague of unexplained illnesses. But when the ailments take a sharp turn, doctors intervene and immediately suspect Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare behavioural disorder where the primary caretaker, typically the mother, seeks medical help for made-up symptoms of a child. Is this what’s going on? Or is there something even more sinister at hand?

Diary of A Murderer by Young-ha Kim
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Diary of a Murderer captivates and provokes in equal measure, exploring what it means to be on the edge—between life and death, good and evil. In the titular novella, a former serial killer suffering from memory loss sets his sights on one final target: his daughter’s boyfriend, who he suspects is also a serial killer. In other stories we witness an affair between two childhood friends that questions the limits of loyalty and love; a family’s disintegration after a baby son is kidnapped and recovered years later; and a wild, erotic ride about pursuing creativity at the expense of everything else.

The Better Sister by Alafair Burke
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From Alafair Burke—New York Times bestselling author of the runaway hit, The Wife—comes another twisty tale of domestic noir. When a prominent Manhattan lawyer is murdered, two estranged sisters—one the dead man’s widow, the other his ex—must set aside mistrust and old resentments . . . but can they escape their past?

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
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Pulitzer Finalist Susan Choi’s narrative-upending novel about what happens when a first love between high school students is interrupted by the attentions of a charismatic teacher.

Are there any other April fiction book releases you’re excited to read? Tell us in the comments below!

The post April Book Releases: Fiction appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Happy April, everyone! In today’s post, we’re going to share a selection of our most anticipated debuts for this month. So, if you’re looking to find your new favourite author, just keep on reading!

Contemporary

Stay Up with Hugo Best by Erin Somers (April 2)
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An incredibly timely, terrifically witty and moving debut about a young writer’s assistant on a late night comedy show and what transpires when she accepts an invitation from its enigmatic host to spend a long weekend at his mansion in Connecticut.

You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn (April 2)
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Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things. He needs to convince Annie to join his summer tour, or else his music label is going to drop him. But, what will happened when romance started to spark between the two of them?

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary (April 18)
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Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time. And they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan (April 30)
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Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way: a new job at Magic Castle Playland as a dancing hot dog, a crush who already has a girlfriend, a strained friendship, and a last summer at Magic Castle Playland before it closes.

Literary

Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick (April 2)
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Lights All Night Long is a thrilling story of the fierce love between brothers, Ilya Alexandrovich Ekhlakov and his older brother, Vladimir, the sacrifices for family, and the power the past holds over the future.

The Ash Family by Molly Dektar (April 9)
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When a young woman leaves her family—and the civilized world—to join an off-the-grid community headed by an enigmatic leader, she discovers that belonging comes with a deadly cost, in this lush and searing debut novel.

Mystery

A Lily in the Light by Kristin Fields (April 1)
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A harrowing debut novel of a tragic disappearance and one sister’s journey through the trauma that has shaped her life.

Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly (April 2)
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Little Lovely Things is the story of a family shattered by an unthinkable tragedy. Played out in multiple narrative voices, the novel explores how the lives of those affected fatefully intersect, and highlights the potential catastrophe of the small decisions we make every day.

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (April 16)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A literary courtroom drama about a Korean immigrant family and a young, single mother accused of murdering her eight-year-old autistic son, when an experimental medical treatment device mysteriously explodes and killing two people.

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding (April 30)
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Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest. And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own…creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things. A month passes. And one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. But when they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley―to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. They are not her babies.

SFF

The Devouring Gray (The Devouring Gray #1) by Christine Lynn Herman (April 2)
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Trying to fit in her new school and neighbourhood in Four Paths, Violet Saunders, descendant of one of the town’s founders, doesn’t have much hope. But when she met the other descendants of town’s founders, bodies started to appear in the woods, the locals become downright hostile. Can they solve the mystery of Four Paths, and their own part in it, before another calamity strikes?

Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan (April 2)
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A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself. A prince in danger must decide who to trust. A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He (April 9)
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A journey of Princess Hesina of Yan who suddenly got thrust into becoming a queen of an unstable kingdom when her father mysteriously murdered. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina’s willing to do and sacrifice everything.

The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1) by Swati Teerdhala (April 23)
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Esha, the rebels’ highly skilled assassin known as Viper, devoted her life to avenging what she lost in the royal coup and now in mission to take down the ruthless General Hotha. Kunal, the trained soldier since a child, devoted his life to uphold the power of King Vardaan. When their paths crossed, an unimaginable chain of events unfolds and they realized that they’re not the only players moving the pieces.

Any other April 2019 debut authors you would recommend? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 14 Debut Authors To Discover This April appeared first on The Nerd Daily.