Mia Parkson
Mia is the narrator and protagonist of Happiness Falls by Angie Kim. Mia is a curious, confident, and intelligent girl who has a solution to every problem she encounters. Mia is the twin sister of John and the daughter of Adams and Hannah Park. Mia takes her time to study every member of her family, and she imagines the problems they are going through so that she can come up with possible solutions.
Mia plays a significant role in solving the mystery of her father's sudden disappearance from the family. Mia, her twin brother John, and Eugene are close-knit siblings ready to support each other. One day, when their father fails to return home, Mia helps the investigators interpret her father's scientific studies about happiness to trace his whereabouts. Mia intelligently interprets her father's notes and concludes that he escaped with another woman in search of happiness.
Adam Parson
Adam is Hannah's husband and father to Mia, John and Eugene. Adam is a curious and intelligent man who wants to discover why things happen in a particular way. When his autistic son's condition becomes worse, Adam quits his career to be his son's primary caregiver. While caring for his son as a stay-at-home dad, Adam starts conducting various experiments on his family to investigate the quantity of happiness in his home. One day, Adam fails to return home with Eugene. Eugene does not speak, and the family gets confused because Adam's disappearance becomes a mystery.
Hannah Park
Hannah is Adam's wife and mother to Mia, John and Eugene. Hannah is a Korean immigrant living with her white husband and children in the United States of America. Hannah has a PhD in applied linguistics and teaches at a local university. Hannah is a busy woman with little time for her family, especially the disabled 14-year-old Eugene. Hannah's unavailability forces her husband to quit his career to become a stay-at-home dad to take care of the special needs of their disabled child.
John
John is the twin brother of Mia and Eugene. John is a calm and composed boy who does not interfere with other people’s affairs. Mia describes John as an individual who is comfortable with everything around him. When Adam fails to return home, John is not bothered because he argues that he will return at his convenience.
Eugene
Eugene is the fourteen-year-old autistic boy in the Parksons family. Eugene is the brother of John and Mia and the son of Adams and Hannah. Eugene is a disabled child who depends on the people around him to conduct most of his duties. Eugene does not speak, and one has to use gestures while communicating. The bond between Eugene and his father is very strong because they spend most of their time together. For instance, Eugene and his father go hiking together daily. However, Eugene feels sad because most people around him do not understand his needs, representing societal ignorance of the special needs of disabled children.
