whatwentsent's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Gore, Death of parent, Police brutality, Racism, Xenophobia, Deportation, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Injury/injury detail, Child abuse, Classism, Violence, Death, Rape, and Forced institutionalization
vedpears's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
I think this may be my favorite book I read all year.
This should be considered an instant classic and to me is on par with 1984 and Animal Farm. Cautionary tales warning us all of the potential consequences if politics and media, and thus culture, continues on a certain trajectory.
It is incredible how many parts of Ng's book became reality while she was writing it. So many moments in this book have clear parallels in reality now, unfortunately. I hope we can turn American culture around and stop accepting the blind hate being paraded as patriotism.
I do have a favorite quote from this book - ""...unity required a common enemy. One box in which to collect all their anger. One strawman to wear the hats of everything they feared." This has been a worry of mine for a long time. Growing up here, it seemed really obvious to me that Americans need an enemy outside of us to focus on in order to come together and see one another as neighbors, or else we turn on each other. That is how our nation was born, so I suppose it makes sense that it is really hard for us to break away from that and learn healthier relationship skills, as a nation.
I feel this should be required reading.
Celeste Ng has solidified herself as my favorite modern day author.
This should be considered an instant classic and to me is on par with 1984 and Animal Farm. Cautionary tales warning us all of the potential consequences if politics and media, and thus culture, continues on a certain trajectory.
It is incredible how many parts of Ng's book became reality while she was writing it. So many moments in this book have clear parallels in reality now, unfortunately. I hope we can turn American culture around and stop accepting the blind hate being paraded as patriotism.
I do have a favorite quote from this book - ""...unity required a common enemy. One box in which to collect all their anger. One strawman to wear the hats of everything they feared." This has been a worry of mine for a long time. Growing up here, it seemed really obvious to me that Americans need an enemy outside of us to focus on in order to come together and see one another as neighbors, or else we turn on each other. That is how our nation was born, so I suppose it makes sense that it is really hard for us to break away from that and learn healthier relationship skills, as a nation.
I feel this should be required reading.
Celeste Ng has solidified herself as my favorite modern day author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Xenophobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Racism, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Police brutality, Injury/injury detail, Death, Stalking, Bullying, Classism, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, and Sexual assault
atomicbritt's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
medium-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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Death of parent, and Death
swaanderer's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? No
5.0
Beautiful, heart-wrenching, disturbing, hopeful. And Lucy Liu's audiobook narration was perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Police brutality, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Violence, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault and Kidnapping
Spoiler
forced removal of childrenSpoiler
state-sponsored violenceSpoiler
fascismserendipitysbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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? No
4.75
Our Missing Hearts is a near-future dystopian novel that feels all to plausible, undoubtedly because so many of the plot details have occurred or are currently occurring in different parts of the world. In a future America PACT (the Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act) is a dominant piece of legislation, targeted towards those who look “different” (particularly Asian), who question the status quo, or who says or do anything that could be perceived as doing so. At the heart of the novel is a family torn apart because the Chinese-American mother wrote some poetry many years ago that was used by those concerned about children who had been removed from their parents as a result of PACT. This led the government to declare her anti-American.
The characterisation is strong. Bird is a child who’ll break your heart both for the quiet way he is suffering, but also for his strength, resilience, hope, determination and love. I also enjoyed the structure, particularly the way Margaret’s section followed Bird’s, revealing a fuller and truer picture of who she was, and why and how she came to be in the position she was, doing the work that she was. The ending felt just right - a hint of hopefulness, but not an unrealistic amount. I appreciated the way this story highlighted different ways of resisting a corrupt regime, showing that you can’t always judge by what you publicly see. Domi and Ethan are both supporting Margaret, albeit in an invisible way. I especially loved the way librarians were a key part of the underground network trying to obtain and disseminate information about children who had been taken from their parents. The way this story highlighted the role of guerilla public art installations as an essential element of the resistance was another highlight. Finally the book made me think. As a parent how far would I go to protest injustices if it meant my child might be taken from me? How would I balance my child’s safety, our bond and my duty to them with my duty as a citizen to protest social injustices, the need to work for the greater good?
A very readable cautionary tale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Racism, and Xenophobia
rishel's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Racism, and Hate crime
javafenn's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book was haunting and incredible. Figuring out what happened to Bird’s mom but then also grappling with the fact that there is this whole anti-Asian, nationalist background permeating the entire story makes everything feel so tragic. I don’t want to say too much more because it gives everything away but it’s a great book, albeit very sad. It may just be a story but it feels like it was written as a modern day non-fiction. My only qualm was the narrator, Lucy Liu, spoke way too fast. It felt like she was frantic and most of the story was frantic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
awebofstories's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book shook me.
I went into it with some preconceptions. I read Ng's previous book and expected something that would feel like it was from the same author. However, Ng pulled an Ishiguru, and this feels as if a completely different author wrote it. However, I think that if Ng had stayed with her tried and true voice, this book would not have worked.
Sometimes the success of this book hangs on which buttons it pushes in a reader. This one pushed all the right (or maybe wrong?) buttons. I knew it dealt with Anti-Asian racism and was prepared for that. I was not prepared for the near-future dystopian world that Ng created. If you think about all the issues floating around now--book banning, attacks on education, racism, fascism, etc.--and bring them together, that's what you will find here. The familiarity of Ng's world is terrifying.
At the heart of the story is a boy called Bird, whose mother is gone and whose father lives in a state of high alert for reasons Bird does not understand. Ng hit a home run when creating these characters. I could feel the pain each character experiences, and my heart hurt for them while I became increasingly angered by their world.
It may be because I am a mother that this book touched me. Or it may be that I am especially angered by the attacks on education. Or it could be some other bit of Ng magic here. In any case, this is a book that shook me to my core and one that I will not forget.
I went into it with some preconceptions. I read Ng's previous book and expected something that would feel like it was from the same author. However, Ng pulled an Ishiguru, and this feels as if a completely different author wrote it. However, I think that if Ng had stayed with her tried and true voice, this book would not have worked.
Sometimes the success of this book hangs on which buttons it pushes in a reader. This one pushed all the right (or maybe wrong?) buttons. I knew it dealt with Anti-Asian racism and was prepared for that. I was not prepared for the near-future dystopian world that Ng created. If you think about all the issues floating around now--book banning, attacks on education, racism, fascism, etc.--and bring them together, that's what you will find here. The familiarity of Ng's world is terrifying.
At the heart of the story is a boy called Bird, whose mother is gone and whose father lives in a state of high alert for reasons Bird does not understand. Ng hit a home run when creating these characters. I could feel the pain each character experiences, and my heart hurt for them while I became increasingly angered by their world.
It may be because I am a mother that this book touched me. Or it may be that I am especially angered by the attacks on education. Or it could be some other bit of Ng magic here. In any case, this is a book that shook me to my core and one that I will not forget.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, and Racism
josefinessen's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Känns lite som att storyn går i slow motion, jag hade nog önskat lite snabbare utveckling eller att jag dragits in mer. Jag känner en viss distans mellan mig och karaktärerna. Utöver det så är det en bra berättelse, en lågmäld dystopi som absolut också har en hel del att säga om vår värld. Jag hade önskat att jag fängslades mer av karaktärerna och deras relationer, för berättelsen är i grunden verkligen värd att berättas och relevant på flera sätt. Mot slutet börjar jag känna mig mer engagerad, som att det är då själva berättelsen börjar egentligen.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, and Xenophobia
kimveach's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This dystopian novel will have you contemplating many ideas: race, class, patriotism used as a weapon, and the history of children being taken from their parents in the United States. I found the book to be slower than her previous books due to the storyline only focusing on a few people. The writing is stunning. While I normally prefer books that are more about the plot, I did like this character-centered book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Blood, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Police brutality, Bullying, and Classism