Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

89 reviews

knkoch's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

I listened to the audiobook version of this, narrated by Lucy Liu, and it worked well for me in that format. It’s fast-paced, urgent, measured, well-structured, and contains no superfluous elements. The political dystopia it depicts feels extremely relevant, and the warmth of resistance throughout was well-executed. I would have gotten to this much sooner if I’d known it had this darker, urgent tone. Some of the fault lies with me never reading summaries, but the cover image (the feather on a pale blue background) also feels jarringly off. It gave me the impression this was a light, frothy story. 

Celeste Ng is a master, unsurprisingly!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Violence, and Racism

There are several incidents of overt anti-Asian racism and violent hate crimes described.

tltorrez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Like everything Celeste Ng writes it’s beautiful but it’s incredibly sad. Her books always have an element of hope but this one feels much harder. This is a dystopia in the near future. Too near really. Definitely a must read if you’re a fan of her work.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Xenophobia, Deportation, Grief, Abandonment, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Colonisation

adragoninspace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Hate crime, Death, Racism, Bullying, Police brutality, and Racial slurs

bookswithisabel's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad

4.5

*4.5 stars
Ugh I just love Celeste Ng, this was so good but heartbreaking, as all of her books are. No spoilers, but as an aspiring librarian/archivist the role that librarians and libraries played in this story made me so emotional. 🤍

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Kidnapping, and Hate crime

Moderate: Police brutality, Abandonment, and Death

Minor: Racial slurs and Panic attacks/disorders

basil_touche's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-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? No

3.75

I wouldn't say this is ground breaking, but it feels very personal and raw; about injustice and xenophobia and individuals trying to make change in a world that sees them as the other. It's a narrative very much focused on love and grief, inspired by real world events (I appreciate that the author left an afterword referencing the books she used for research). 

Something about the pacing and some character writing didn't really work for me but it has left me thinking, and that is more than I can say about a lot of books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Police brutality and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

annamay1021's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, and Bullying

karmapen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Racism, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Death of parent

gondorgirl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Grief, and Hate crime

teeclecticreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I can admit that this is the second best book I’ve ever read. No joke. Celeste Ng is such a talented writer. I love how she always uses these young main characters who make such a huge difference as they find their own way. Bird’s curiosity, determination and wonder was nicely balanced with his naivety and ignorance of the world. And Sadie! Ugh that firecracker. She was a delight to read about.

In terms of the plot, she captured xenophobia, racism and animal abuse in a way that was still hard to read, hurtful but tasteful enough to not be stomach-curdling. It’s so sad that this was a word of fiction but still spoke to a very-present American reality. Having to deny who you are and the people you love because of their cultural background sucks.

The pacing was perfect. Things didn’t happen too quickly but it also wasn’t too slow. We got the right amount of context to figure out what was happening and what would happen. First Bird’s past, then Margaret’s, and those both helped form the future details. I still can’t believe that cliffhanger though! It was so sad 😭 I wish we could know what happens after.

I read the physical book along with the audiobook and it really enhanced the experience. Celeste and Lucy Liu did a great job bringing the story to auditory life. The ooooooonly little qualm I had was the fact that there were no quotation marks or chapter labels. Otherwise, absolutely a 5 star read and and eye-opener.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Death and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

It sheds a light on the removal and replacement of children from their families which can be a sensitive topic for some.