basil_touche's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Police brutality and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
karmapen's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Racism, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Death of parent
clalaure's review
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual assault
daydreamdarling's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Blood, Classism, Death, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, and Vomit
nerdy_reader_9571's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
While I absolutely adored this book, I will say that it is a very American story. The historical events mentioned and the trauma that those events and their aftermath caused characters are all very real and very specific to the American experience. Yes, the Crisis is fictional, but the rest of the story is very realistic. I’ve heard and read other reviews that characterize this book as dystopian, but I didn’t think the story as a whole was one that I would characterize as dystopian. It felt too close to America’s current and very recent realities to be characterized as such.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
angelkisses's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
dananana's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Hate crime, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Deportation
kimmag92's review
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.5
This is one of the best and one of the scariest books I’ve read in a while. In Our Missing Hearts Ng has created a near-future America where after the Crisis Asian Americans are targeted with hate and violence, children are removed from their homes for their parents having “un-American” values, and books that feature Asian characters and/or are deemed un-American are banned. In the vein of A Handmaid’s Tale, Ng holds up a mirror to our own world exposing the hate and fear people feel towards Asia and the lengths they’ll go to protect their “values”. This novel could not have come at a better time in our history as the current attempts to ban books and the rise in hate crimes towards Asian people are very similar to what Ng lays out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Hate crime, Violence, and Police brutality
kelly_e's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
3.75
Title: Our Missing Hearts
Author: Celeste Ng
Genre: Dystopian
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: October 4, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Contemplative • Forceful • Moving
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in Harvard University's library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve "American culture" in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic-including the work of Bird's mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.
Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn't know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn't wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is drawn into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I had been hesitating on picking up Our Missing Hearts since it's release last fall, mostly because dystopian novels aren't ones I typically gravitate towards. And while, I don't regret reading it, it is certainly my least favourite of Celeste Ng's books.
I must start off by saying, as always, Celeste's writing is absolutely beautiful! It's complex, layered and deeply evocative. And while, this book tackles a lot - including themes of family and sacrifice, as well as library resistance, racially motivated injustice, and the removal of children as a means of political powers - this dystopian novel tis an ode to motherhood.
When it comes to the characters, I'd have liked significantly more character development. Each of the characters felt very one dimensional, verging on young adult. Additionally, I didn't necessarily connect with the mother at all, even though I found her sacrifice to be selfless. I did have a soft spot for Bird as he'd gone through so much at such a young age.
When it comes to style, one of my biggest pet peeves is when no quotation marks are used, which was the case here. I know this is a stylistic tool used by authors, but it's just one I cannot get behind as I find it disrupts the flow of my reading. For this reason, I had to switch to mainly the audio (where you don't notice this fact), and the audio is very well done.
At the end of the day, Our Missing Hearts verged on being a little too political for me at this point in time. It is a beautiful reflection on motherhood, and a book to spark discussion and shift perspectives. Overall, the premise was certainly intriguing, but the execution was lacking. And yet, I'll continue to read everything Celeste Ng writes simply because her writing is a gift.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who enjoy stories of motherhood
• Celeste Ng fans
• bookclubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"If we fear something, it is all the more imperative we study it thoroughly."
"Who ever thinks, recalling the face of the one they loved who is gone: yes, I looked at you enough, I loved you enough, we had enough time, any of this was enough?"
Author: Celeste Ng
Genre: Dystopian
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: October 4, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Contemplative • Forceful • Moving
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in Harvard University's library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve "American culture" in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic-including the work of Bird's mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.
Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn't know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn't wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is drawn into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I had been hesitating on picking up Our Missing Hearts since it's release last fall, mostly because dystopian novels aren't ones I typically gravitate towards. And while, I don't regret reading it, it is certainly my least favourite of Celeste Ng's books.
I must start off by saying, as always, Celeste's writing is absolutely beautiful! It's complex, layered and deeply evocative. And while, this book tackles a lot - including themes of family and sacrifice, as well as library resistance, racially motivated injustice, and the removal of children as a means of political powers - this dystopian novel tis an ode to motherhood.
When it comes to the characters, I'd have liked significantly more character development. Each of the characters felt very one dimensional, verging on young adult. Additionally, I didn't necessarily connect with the mother at all, even though I found her sacrifice to be selfless. I did have a soft spot for Bird as he'd gone through so much at such a young age.
When it comes to style, one of my biggest pet peeves is when no quotation marks are used, which was the case here. I know this is a stylistic tool used by authors, but it's just one I cannot get behind as I find it disrupts the flow of my reading. For this reason, I had to switch to mainly the audio (where you don't notice this fact), and the audio is very well done.
At the end of the day, Our Missing Hearts verged on being a little too political for me at this point in time. It is a beautiful reflection on motherhood, and a book to spark discussion and shift perspectives. Overall, the premise was certainly intriguing, but the execution was lacking. And yet, I'll continue to read everything Celeste Ng writes simply because her writing is a gift.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who enjoy stories of motherhood
• Celeste Ng fans
• bookclubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"If we fear something, it is all the more imperative we study it thoroughly."
"Who ever thinks, recalling the face of the one they loved who is gone: yes, I looked at you enough, I loved you enough, we had enough time, any of this was enough?"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Bullying, Violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Hate crime
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abandonment, Classism, Child abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual assault
bookmindedmag's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Animal death
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Sexual assault